Slava! Stravinsky, Bartók, Kodály, Bárdos, Penderecki, Łukaszewski

Coincidentally, "slava" was the familiar name for the famed cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, to whom Krzysztof Penderecki dedicated his Iže cheruvimy-the second selection on this recording. [...]this recording embodies both the pulsating, rhythmically dominated texture associated with Stravinsky's primitivism period-as illustrated in the choir's articulation in the "Credo" and "Sanctus"-and the static, neo-classical style of Stravinsky's later works-demonstrated in the opening "Kyrie" and concluding "Agnus Dei." Performing his Four Russian Peasant Songs, La Maîtrise de Toulouse reinforces the unifying elements of this recording, both thematically-with the Slavic nature of these four works-and literally, with their repetitive exclamations of "Slava!" Again, Stravinsky's rhythmic intensity is embodied by these young voices; Opstad's direction is both engaging and faithful to the score.