Search - Grant Llewellyn :: RYELANDT: Agnus Dei, Op. 56

Good performances of more than worthwhile music

G.D. | Norway | 12/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Joseph Ryelandt (1870-1965) is yet another Belgian late romantic who has fallen by the wayside but who really deserves reassessment (Biarent is the most obvious candidate among them, I think). His Agnus Dei is an oratorio in five parts, and as opposed to the large-scale, dramatic oratorios of his contemporaries, Ryelandt's approach is mysterious, subdued, introspective but finely colored. The music is finely wrought and scored, combining romantic harmony inspired by Franck and Richard Strauss with a polyphonic style which owes a lot to Händel.



Agnus Dei, dealing with the mystery of Easter, consists of a prologue and five large, continuous sections (liturgical and biblical sequences) contrasting exquisite arias with lyrical and very effective but always contemplative and meditative choral sections, most impressive, perhaps, in the beautiful Angels' Chorus. The work is structurally coherent, culminating in a splendid finale where the harmonic language also displays Ryelandt's familiarity with more contemporary styles (i.e. impressionism). Textures are often sparse, but wonderfully and vividly atmospheric and the thematic foundation is strong.



The performances, by mostly lesser-known soloists, are pretty good, if not remarkably so. The choral parts are very fine, and so is the orchestral playing by the Royal Flanders Philharmonic Orchestra under Grant Llewellyn, finely paced and sufficiently opulent to realize the nuanced and subtly colored textures. While I would recommend anyone interested in the composer to start with his fourth symphony, this is a very fine release, which deserves attention."