Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Yet again Geoffrey Webber takes us on a musical journey with his ever reliable choir from Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. In 2014 they took us deep into the heart of Celtic church music on a journey to find St Columba and now we are off to contemporary Brazil. The soundscapes are different but the attention to detail, the musicality, the joy and so many other qualities remain. "Romaria", a word suggesting pilgrimage, crowds and processions, evokes much of what is distinctive about modern Brazil, its mix of people, its vibrancy, its faith. This survey of modern Brazilian choral music reflects these qualities, as well as the natural wonders of this amazing land and includes both sacred and secular works dating from the 1950s through to the present, in a programme developed in conjunction with experts from the University of São Paulo's music department. This collaboration also led to the reconstruction of the rainforest soundtrack that originally accompanied Henrique de Curitib's inventive and unusual piece "Metaphor". I have visited Brazil only in my imagination so the closest I have got - so far - has been the rain forest biome at the Eden Project. However in "Metaphors" the music and soundtrack combine so evocatively that I almost believed I was there and this one piece on its own is good enough to make recommending the album an easy option. Thankfully there is much more to enjoy: the arrangements of folk songs by Ernst Mahle and M A da Silva Ramos (the latter being a premiere recording) are well worth hearing and sound great fun to sing. Also represented is Brazil's most famous composer in the classical idiom, Hector Villa-Lobos, who gives us "Cor Dulce, Cor Amibile" and "Magnificat-Alleluia"; both pieces are excellent. There are seven other Brazilian composers represented in this collection. All are new to me and all are worth hearing, particularly when we have a choir at the absolute top of its form. I am confident that I will not hear a better collection of Brazilian choral music for many a long day.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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