Search - Constantines :: Nativity

A Romanian "Messiah"

12/18/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having just purchased and listened to this work, I was pleased and moved by its beauty. Based, like the "Messiah" of Handel on Biblical texts, as well as Byzantine liturgical texts, the music is splendidly melodic, and the singing powerful and moving. One note however: "Byzantine" refers only to the liturgical tradition of Romanian Orthodoxy. The music is decisively Western in style, and the language Romanian. This is NOT a Greek work...It is however well-worth its modest price. Definitely recommended."

A haunting and beautiful piece: Constantinescu's "Nativity"

ems-d | Ann Arbor, MI United States | 07/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This remarkable piece (and its composer as well) deserves to be known in a much broader circle of musical appreciation than it is currently. Using the principals and sonorities of byzantine musical forms but transposing them into an idiom readily accessible to lovers of western masses and oratorios, it reveals the composer's deep attachment to Christian religious sensibilities and his singular ability to give those sensibilities musical expression. Beautiful melodies interwoven with unexpected harmonies leave a haunting impression, as if one had only now gotten the true sense of the Messiah's annunciation and birth. I was deeply affected by hearing it. The soloists, chorus, and orchestra and are all excellent, especially the tenor who performs most of the narration; unfortunately the quality of the recording itself is technically less than ideal--but that only means that someone should do a better one!"