Musicology Commons^™

Review Of Choral Music Of Thea Musgrave, Bridge Records, 2004, Vicki Stroeher

Music Faculty Research

Extraordinary music demands extraordinary performance. Unfortunately, in this recording of Thea Musgrave's recent choral works (most composed between 1986 and 1994 ), the music presented here fails to receive fully satisfying realization. Each work, however different, receives the same approach, as though director and chorus understand neither the texts nor their settings. While Musgrave’s craft proves remarkably consistent, the diverse compositional techniques she exploits show an equally remarkable variety. Unfortunately, these performances by Harold Rosenbaum and the New York Virtuoso Singers capture their unity, but not their variety. It is precisely this variety that must drive interpretation.