Desert Island Record Picks, Part I

    To kick off this blog, I've compiled a list of "essential" music records that I would want with me in the off chance I get stranded on a desert island (with all my favorite records and a device to play them... What luck!). It should be noted that not every pick is one single piece of music. Most of the picks are quite large works, actually. Similarly, not every record consists of just one CD or vinyl - some of them include two or three. Maybe that's cheating, but I figure the rules aren't too strict on unexplored desert islands in the Pacific ocean.

    This article is divided into two parts: this first part is dedicated to works that are primarily choral or vocal, and the second to purely non-vocal ("instrumental") music. Since the greatest instrument of all is the human voice, I have given special attention to selecting my favorite choral works, and these would take priority for me if I had to choose between the two.

I. Choral Works

1. S. Rachmaninoff: Vespers, Op. 37 by Valery Polyansky (Melodiya)

    When I first heard this piece about five years ago, I thought it was the most beautiful music I’d ever heard, and my estimation of it hasn’t changed since. It is divine, ethereal music. Particularly notable are the sections that feature basso profondo. The second chant, "Bless the Lord, O My Soul," is one of the most soul-stirring things I've ever encountered.

2. Bach: St. Matthew Passion by Otto Klemperer (Columbia)

   

    Bach's three-hour oratorio the St. Matthew Passion leaves one wondering how a human being could write such music. The work reveals the drama of the Passion narrative in the last chapters of Matthew's Gospel through its exalted chorales, recitatives, and arias. From the very first bars to the very end, the beauty of this music - in the harmonies, the polyphony, and the overall texture - creates a true sense of awe in the attentive listener like few other works can.

3. Fauré: Requiem, Op. 48 / Duruflé: Requiem, Op. 9 by Robert Shaw (Telarc)

    

    I chose this recording for Fauré’s requiem, but Duruflé’s is an added bonus (though, the more I listen to it, the more I begin to think I might actually prefer it). Both works are heavily influenced by Gregorian chant, and both express great drama and austerity consistent with the spirit of a Mass for the dead. Nevertheless, there is also a great tenderness in many sections of each requiem.

4. Liszt Ferenc: Christus by Antal Doráti (Hungaroton)

Though I am new to Franz Liszt’s vocal music, I have been avidly devouring it lately. Doráti’s masterful rendition of the Christus oratorio tempts one to declare it the greatest, without even needing to consult other recordings. To be sure, there are other performances of great merit - Miklos Forrai's, for example. But in Doráti's 1986 recording, all the nuances and intricacies of each movement come together to form an extremely compelling whole. Nearly every movement in this huge work is ingenious in its own right. Take the beautiful lyricism of "Die Gründung der Kirche" (The Foundation of the Church) of the second part, for instance, or "Resurrexit," the concluding movement of the whole work, featuring the stunning motif in ascending fifths. I couldn't stop playing "Die Heiligen drei Könige" (The Three Kings) on repeat when I first heard it, only a couple of months ago. I've listened to that movement probably a hundred times since.

5. Light Eternal: The Choral Music of Morten Lauridsen by Nicol Matt (Deutsche Grammophon)

            This album includes Morten Lauridsen’s most significant choral works, including Lux Aeterna, O Magnum Mysterium, his four Nocturnes, and several other works. While Lauridsen's music is profoundly beautiful, I also find it extremely calming, which is not a characteristic I encounter in all great choral music (that's not to say it isn't present in all great choral music). The final movement of Lux Aeterna, the "Agnus Dei," is one of the pieces I most moved by among choral works.

6. Bach: Mass in B Minor by Otto Klemperer (Warner Classics)

    One sacred choral work by Bach just wasn't enough for me, I guess. Bach's Mass in B Minor really needs no introduction - it's one of the greatest and most famous musical works ever produced. This is one of those pieces in which, for me, the first impression was very strong (unlike some music I love, such as piano works by Rachmaninoff and Medtner, which were acquired tastes). I find it amazing that the same person who composed Nine Little Preludes, BWV 924-932 (wonderful pieces, to be sure), also composed this Mass - a work of such breadth and expansiveness.

7. Salve Regina: Gregorian Chant by Benedictine Monk of Clervaux (Decca)

            Gregorian chant is timeless music, the Benedictines of Clervaux have served it well by producing a recording of remarkable beauty and simplicity (recorded in their monastery in Luxembourg). This CD includes a wonderful selection of hymns, antiphons, and sequences exhibiting the beauty of the Gospel and the Church's liturgy. Tantum ergo" and "Alma redemptoris mater" are two of my favorites, but they are all sublime.

That's it for Part I of this article. In the meantime, feel free to post your favorite choral works in the comments!