presskit - Gloriæ Dei Cantores

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P R E S S
K I T
CELEBRATING 50 RECORDINGS OVER 25 YEARS
Faithful Interpretation in Recorded Sound
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sr. Mercy Minor
Marketing Director, Paraclete Recordings
srmercy@paracletepress.com
Tel: 508-255-4685 x.319
www.paracleterecordings.com
Internationally acclaimed Gloriæ Dei Cantores celebrates
50 recordings over 25 years.
Fueled by a passion for excellence, and devoted to musical and artistic authenticity in worship and performance,
Gloriæ Dei Cantores has been recognized as one of the United States’ most vibrant choirs for over 25 years.
Their belief in the tremendous power of sacred choral music to create an aesthetic space for wholeness, spiritual
imagination, and divine conversation, is the cornerstone of each recording in their vast discography.
With a 2015 concert series of exquisite Winter Chamber concerts, performances of Mendelssohn’s epic oratorio Elijah
with full orchestra and soloists, culminating in a tour of Italy in November, this is a fitting year for the Cantores to
celebrate this recording milestone.
Their expansive discography—encompassing a rich tradition of sacred choral music from Gregorian chant to the
twenty-first century—includes five commissioned world premieres, as well as the works of 150 composers, 140 works
recorded for the first time, and 125 works available only in this discography. Composers include Bach, Mendelssohn,
Brahms, Mozart, Palestrina, and Liszt, Alan Hovanhess, Herbert Howells, Edvard Grieg, Howard Hanson, William
Mathias, and numerous others.
Specialized Collections within the discography include:
THE AMERICAN COLLECTION
THE GREGORIAN CHANT COLLECTION
THE EARLY MUSIC COLLECTION
GLORIÆ DEI CANTORES
COLLECTIONS
THE AMERICAN COLLECTION from Gloriæ Dei Cantores stands as a testament
to their commitment to American music. The collection includes 8 CDs of late 19th- and
20th-century American sacred choral music from the Boston Classicist Arthur Foote to
newly commissioned works by Samuel Adler and violinist Mark O’Connor. Represented
on these CDs are first and only recordings of more than fifty works, making this collection
stand alone in choral discography. Other important American composers recorded here
include Copland, Thomson, Hovanhess, Rorem, Pinkham, Ives, and Thompson—making
this collection an excellent introduction to American sacred music.
THE GREGORIAN CHANT COLLECTION. Dedicated to the singing and
study of Gregorian Chant, Gloriæ Dei Cantores Schola enjoys an expertise and experience
from over 30 years of extensive study with the late Dr. Mary Berry, CBE, founder of the
Schola Gregoriana in Cambridge, England, and the original directors’ study with Dom
Cardine at St. Peter’s Abbey, Solesmes, France. The schola conducts chant workshops in
the USA and abroad and has a discography of 10 CDs. The schola continues to chant the
Liturgy of the Hours daily and the Ordinary and Proper of the Mass at the Church of the
Transfiguration in Orleans, Massachusetts. They have been praised by the New York Times
for “expert renditions of Gregorian Chant” and “excellence of interpretation” by Fanfare
magazine. The Chants of Angels and The Chants of Mary combined have sold over 30,000 copies.
The Early
Music Collection
THE EARLY MUSIC COLLECTION contains fourteen CDs of treasures from
early Western music. ​Highlights include early French sacred literature from Leonin to des
Prez; the only recordings of two Palestrina masses, one of which was taken from part-books
in the Vatican Library; a cappella Renaissance motets in each of the European schools
of composition (Italian, Flemish, German, Spanish, and English) giving a fascinating
cross-section of styles and influences of this time period. Also included is a remarkable
selection of Bach’s cantatas with period instruments, motets, and organ masterpieces; and
Gregorian chant embodying the spiritual ambiance of the monastic aesthetic—including
four CDs inspired and compiled by the late Mary Berry, CBE, telling the story of the life
of Christ through Gregorian Chant.
PRESS QUOT ES
“Gloriæ Dei Cantores Women’s Schola have given us . . . a living and loving manifestation
of these ancient chants as something that breathes life into a contemporary cultural setting.
One can hear the evident love and devotion . . . in this astoundingly beautiful music.”
AU D I OP H I LE AU D I T IO N ( T H E C H A N T S O F T H E H O LY S P IR IT )
“Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola specialize in the daily singing of Gregorian chants and their familiarity
with its various repertoires is very much in evidence in this wide-ranging anthology.”
INT ERNAT ION A L R ECOR D R EV I EW (A CEL E B R AT IO N O F FA IT H IN H IS N A M E GR EGO R IA N C H A N T S E RI E S )
“Truly golden sound and beautifully nuanced singing.”
A M ER I CA N R ECOR D GU ID E ( S AC R E D S O N GS O F FR A N C E )
“If we have ever had a finer Palestrina recording available, I’ve not heard it.”
I N TU N E M AG A Z I N E ( GIOVA N N I P IE R LU IGI DA PA L E S T R IN A )
“Vibrant choral ensemble singing and the equally dynamic and tightly knit orchestral accompaniment,
expertly conducted by Richard Pugsley.”
DAV I D V ER N I ER , CLA S S I C S TO DAY.CO M ( M OZ A R T: R A R E C H O R A L WO R K S )
“It’s rare to find a recorded program like this—so for specialists and fans of late-Romantic church music,
it’s a welcome addition to the catalog.”
CLAS S I CS TODAY.COM (FA I TH OF MY H E A R T: S AC R E D C H O R A L M U S IC O F FR A N Z L IS Z T )
“Mathias could hardly have hoped for more persuasive advocacy, nor finer recording.”
PENG U I N G U I D E TO COM PACT D I S C S ( T H E D O C T R IN E O F W IS D O M AWA R D E D A “R O S E T T E ” )
“Nothing could have prepared me for the day that I first heard this music sung back to me. . . .
Gloriæ Dei Cantores’ voices sounded like angels descending from Heaven, delivering and rendering my music
in a way that seemed to shake the rafters and elevate the spirit.”
M A R K O’ CO N N O R ( A P PA L AC H IA N S K E TC H E S )
“Gloriæ Dei Cantores continues to produce recordings featuring interesting, often neglected repertoire performed with
great style and polish . . . and Virgil Thomson’s vocal music remains largely underperformed and underappreciated, and the
pieces on this disc are most welcome.”
R I CH A R D BU R K E, FA N FA R E ( A A R O N CO P L A N D & V IR GIL T H O M S O N )
“This is the best—the best—compilation of standard Russian sacred choral music I have ever heard.”
A M ER I CA N R ECO R D GU ID E ( S AC R E D S O N GS O F R U S S IA )
Photo © Stu Rosner
DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR
RICHARD K. PUGSLEY
Known for his depth of interpretation and musical sensitivity, Richard Pugsley has conducted the internationally
recognized Gloriæ Dei Cantores for over 15 years and performed with the choir in concert halls and churches in
24 countries throughout Europe, Russia, and North America for over 20 years.
His commitment to inhabiting the world of the composer and his unwavering pursuit of spiritual authenticity
and musical excellence in every performance has garnered critical acclaim and cemented his reputation as a
thoughtful and imaginative musical artist.
The popularity of the highly-esteemed concert series under his direction at The Church of the Transfiguration,
Orleans, Massachusetts, attests to his passionate belief that every choral presentation should create a pathway
to the Eternal and a profound response of the heart. In collaboration with full orchestra, he has brought to life
many monumental works including Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt, and Saul; Menotti’s Amahl and the Night
Visitors; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; and J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. And under his leadership, Gloriæ Dei Cantores
collaborated with Philippe Entremont and the Munich Symphony Orchestra on a 16-city U.S. tour of Mozart’s
Requiem.
In addition to being conductor of both choral and orchestra ensembles, Pugsley has been hailed as an
extraordinary teacher and coach of vocal technique. His own performance as the lead baritone in the New
England premiere of Pilgrim’s Progress won accolades from The Boston Globe. A tenacious advocate for youth
music education, Pugsley has directed workshops with thousands of students throughout the world—using the
medium of music to inspire young musicians to reach their greatest potential and experience the joy of excellence
in performance.
Equally adept in the sound studio as in the conductor’s stand, Pugsley has produced over 25 recordings both
choral and instrumental on the Paraclete Recordings record label, and is a member of the Academy of Arts and
Sciences in the Producers and Engineers wing. He is responsible for introducing SA-CDs and studio master
downloads in the Paraclete Recordings label in his continual pursuit to create aural transparency between the
listener and recorded performer.
Pugsley most recently produced Gloriæ Dei Cantores’ collaborative recording of Rachmaninoff ’s All-Night Vigil
with an anticipated release later next year.
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Gloriæ Dei Cantores (Singers to the Glory of God) holds a passionate dedication to the
faithful representation of spiritual and musical authenticity in the choral arts through the rich
tradition of sacred music from Gregorian chant through the twenty-first century.
The choir has received extensive national and international critical acclaim for its artistic elegance,
performance authenticity, and compelling spirituality in numerous publications including Gramophone, In Tune,
American Record Guide, Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, and The Boston Globe among others. Its discography of
recordings is distributed in the United States through Harmonia Mundi and Paraclete Recordings; and in the
United Kingdom through Norwich Books and Music.
Sharing its vision of inspiration and hope, Gloriæ Dei Cantores has toured extensively, touching the hearts
of audiences in 24 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America. The choir has appeared on the concert stage or
in recordings with Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Samuel Adler, Mark O’Connor, Stephen Cleobury, Vladimir
Minin, and the late George Guest, Mary Berry, and Margaret Hillis, among others. Highlights of the choir’s career
include three invitational tours of Russia, the opening of the 900th anniversary of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice,
live broadcasts with the BBC, the soundtrack of Lorenzo’s Oil, featured on the soundtrack of the television series
drama finale Detroit 1-8-7, and performances in some of the finest concert halls throughout Europe.
Photo © Stu Rosner
The choir makes its home at the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, Massachusetts, where it sings
weekly worship services and concerts throughout the year.
“Seamless ensemble, seductive phrasing and surprising dynamic range . . .
producing a sound of great physical beauty.”
LO S A N G E L E S T I M E S