WTJU Apr 29th, 2021 | By Ralph Graves
Let’s be clear. Michael Haydn was not a bad composer. He was a very good one. Just not as great as his brother, Franz Joseph. But even Franz Joseph thought Micheal was the better choral composer of the two.
This album helps make that case with a set of unusual works. All three compositions are for upper register voices. In some cases, these may have been boys instead of female singers. For this recording, it’s the St. Albans Cathedral Girls Choir.
I’ve heard enough female choir pieces by second and third-tier composers to understand the challenge. How do you provide contrast and variety when all the voices are clumped together?