Howells: Requiem; Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing / Vaughan Williams: Mass in G Minor; Te Deum in G

Even the manner and structure of the performing forces--double choir, a cappella--clearly indicates that Vaughan Williams's venerable Mass in G Minor, premiered in 1922, is a throwback, perhaps to Bach, Gabrieli, or one of the great 16th-century English masters. In fact, there are many influences at work in this fusion of ancient chant style and austere modal harmony with a more modern, expansive structural concept. The writing style elicits a characterful confidence typical of much of Vaughan Williams's music--born of early 20th century English colonial pride and the remnants of 19th-century Romanticism. The younger Howells composed his Requiem in 1936, and although it's often reminiscent--especially in its harmonic style--of Vaughan Williams, it reaches much further while imparting a deep emotional power. The Requiem Aeternam movements are exquisite. --David Vernier