Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

We have previously expressed our admiration for the prowess of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and this new release confirms our belief that it really is made up of the best of the best. We have not checked to see how many of the choristers have appeared on previous recordings but we can and do applaud conductor Mike Brewer who holds everything together while making it seem so effortless. We also note how good the recording sounds and tip our hat to producer-engineer Paul Baxter who has given us a true audiophile quality disc. We could stop here and urge all who enjoy contemporary choral singing to investigate 'Totus Tuus' but a word about the composer is surely not out of place. Henryk Mikolaj Górecki (1933-2010) was part of the Polish avant-garde (think Lutoslawski and Penderecki) but became world famous after the release of his 'Symphony No 3 - Sorrowful Songs' which bracketed him, at least in the public eye, with the "holy minimalists" Arvo Part and John Tavener. As has been said in other reviews on this site, Gorecki did not want the Sorrowful Songs to be considered religious and his own Catholicism was less than orthodox but the music is clearly spiritual and when the texts are religious we can be justified in labelling them as such. Alongside the ever-popular "Totus Tuus", this resplendent recording also contains two recent works here receiving their premieres on disc - the luminous "Lobgesang" and the thrillingly massive "Salve Sidus Polonorum", for choir, organ, two pianos and percussion. The little accompaniment that we hear here is overshadowed by the massed voices of the choir which are ideally suited to the choral music of Górecki, music of a monumental radiance which demands a huge and rich sonority. So, to conclude, the performance is well worth hearing and the music is of sufficient interest to make this a highly recommended recording.

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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