I was really taken by the conductor, and felt that there was something oddly familiar about him. And as it turns out...it's Allen Hightower, who directed the Sam Houston State choir for 10 years including the very short time I was a part of it. Of course it is. Beautifully done.
Yes, this is the one I keep coming back to. There's a version by Los Angeles Master Chorale which is a full minute longer, but it's just too ponderous. This one carries you along with its swells and fades and manages to be simultaneously dreamy and vibrant. Sheer perfection.
This performance is the benchmark for this piece, period. There is no other performance which outshines this one. The interpretation captures every essence of this corner stone piece.
You are so right!This is my favorite performance of this song. Setting the bar for how other choirs and others perform the song. I have listened to it many times over the time since it was recorded. It is very very strong
Absolutely agree with you! I came across this years ago.. and keep coming back regularly to savour it again and again. My only recommendation is to be ready to mute the sound before the clapping starts.. but you'll need to be quick after the first moments of silence at the end of singing.
Amazing and such a great performance with so many nuances but have to disagree … Brady Allred Utah is incredible in a different way … Alred’s elasticity is breathtaking and the piano accompaniment equally divine
Thank you for a truly beautiful vocal performance. Rich warmth of tone from the whole choir even on the high notes and first class interpretation of dynamics. Wonderful!
A timeless performance of a evocative composition. The choral conductor Allen Hightower demonstrated sensitive and graceful direction. The male baritone singers are outstanding.
The beautiful phrasing and expression is immaculately performed. This is one of my favourite songs in the contemporary choral repertoire. This performance is simply exceptional.
Brilliant. Let’s also credit the pianist, whose excellence adds to this moving performance of an extraordinary piece of music. It’s not an easy one to do well, with subtleties of interpretation- as well as some melodic challenges for the singers! The first two unison entrances are beautifully sung and captivate the listener. Very well directed, too.
Absolutely magical. Perfect intonation and exquisite sensitivity. Wonderful singers. Inspirational conductor and perfect accompaniment. I love the gentle swaying by the ladies.
This performance of Sure of This Shining Night, by MortenLauridsen, is one of the most beautiful vocal performances I have ever heard! Everything is perfect, and the musical expression is outstanding in the way these passionate, and very skilled singers, reveals the poem's mystery so real, as we were there ourselves on that special night! It is a wonderful experience to listen to and watch this devoted choir. Who is their fantastic conductor who make them sing like this? Thanks also to the pianist who follows the dynamics of the song beautifully from the beginning to the very peaceful end! 💗👏
Simply wow! One of my favorite Lauridsen pieces and perfectly performed by an extraordinary group. Finding this has provided a ray of hope in this crazy 2020 nightmare. Thank you.
I’m in tears. Thank you for being such humble and devoted ambassadors for the beauty given to us by the divine creation. Blessed be your hearts and voices.
Such lovely (and rare) soaring delicate high notes are perfectly done and perfect for this song. My spine tingles and my eyes water. A master performance of this much-done piece. Thank you for sharing.
I Adore this choir. And Morten Lauridsen’s music touches my heart. What an exquisite pairing. ♥️💞💖 I can feel them holding hands. The love and respect is palpable.
We sang this back in high school. I'm surprised I remember how this sounded, along with the pitches and lyrics. Gosh, I miss those times. This song is SOOOOO beautiful. ❤️
You guys are simply the best. Love the tone, the blend, the technique (vocal as well as ensemble wise), the interpretation, esp when it comes to inflections. Superb. My most favorite among many that exist in You Tube. Please keep singing and sharing. God bless you all.
For this piece, this is a performance for the ages; outstanding vocal quality, excellent pacing and inflection, intricate but with great precision, pianist catches all the emotion but does not dominate, and on and on. Choras Bel Canto of Vilnius, likely the best amateur choir in the world, the only other version on line that even comes close to this. But only close. This is 5 minutes of musical perfection. This deserves 500,000 views.
Always tricky to deem anything 'the best,' particularly in the realm of Art. There are though many exquisite moments. However...tuning the piano would certainly help the overall effect. Perhaps this is representative of the tuner in question... one hopes not.
@@JS-yk7pv Speaking to you as a member of the ensemble, I do not disagree with you at all about the tuning of the piano. However, this concert was part of our tour, so we had no control over the tuning of the piano and had to use the instrument the church provided to us. I am glad you enjoyed our performance of this wonderful piece.
I go to St Olaf (one of Luther’s rivals) and honestly, Nordic Choir blows me away. So beautiful. Kind of wish I went to Luther instead of being an Ole sometimes! Beautiful choir and a beautiful performance
The phrasing is magnificent! I have a soft spot for poet James Agee because I am in recovery from alcohol and alcohol probably contributed greatly to his early passing. What a great thing that his 57 words met Morten Lauridsen and his creativity. There are lots of other versions of this I love, but it can't be done better than this.
This is the most beautyful Title i've ever listen to. What a great Choral Performance. At 2:20 I start to cry. 🙈 I really love this! German: Ich habe dieses Stück auch bereits von vielen anderen Chören gehört, aber dieser Chor singt dieses Stück mit weitem Abstand am besten. Die etwas reduzierte Geschwindigkeit bringt wesentlich mehr Gefühl hinein und die Stimmen der Sopranistinnen sind wunderschön zu hören. 🏅😊👍
Wow. Actually though, that was great. Flowy, dynamic, delicate when it needed to be, strong when it needed to be---and the pitch was on. The unison at the end--perfect. That's hard to nail at pp and after that pause, but you did. Kind of makes me wish I had gone to Luther! lol
While looking for Barber's arrangement to practice for tomorrow I came across Lauridsen's grand one - complete with swaying sopranos! This performance is captivating.
sopranos at 2:24 sound so nice. in a lot of recordings of this piece there’s kind of a lift before the word “shine” but dr. hightower clearly does not mess around. pristine. back to tell you that 2:10 is some of the most music i've ever heard some from a choir.
brilliant performance!!! and FINALLY, a choir sings the phrase sung by the men "all is health" correctly!!! That top note of "all" should be sung softly and quietly, and yet every other choir blasts right through it! I suspect this is due to Mr. Hightower's training under one of the greatest choral conductors who ever lived, the late maestro paul salamunovich. Excellent!
Cristian, you should find a library copy of James Agee's "Permit me Voyage". this is part of a much bigger poem but to me those 57 words speak about life, our journey, and the hope we engender in the human heart.
Fastidious attention to detail, but not at all as compelling as the Concordia Choir's interpretation of this wonderful piece, easily found on You Tube. Concordia rightly revealed the passion just under the surface of Lauridsen's pastel harmonic palette. The Nordic Choir's interpretation sounded cautious and bloodless.
Ken I'm not going to say that the Concordia recording isn't a fine representation, however anyone with an ear can hear that they struggle with balance throughout the performance. Add to that the fact that they are very robotic and lacking in phrasing, they don't even approach the musicality of the Luther performance.
Another lovely performance of a beautiful work. One of the things I like about you guys is the warm, focused and slightly dark tone, without the twang that so many (often highly regarded) US choirs unfortunately still have.
Love everything about this. Watching the choir members sway together as the music takes over and moves them is beautiful. Very expressive singing, and conducting, the intonation is breathtaking, it's all there. Someone had posted saying the piano sounded funny. That's because the microphones are placed to capture the choir, and aren't close to the piano, coupled with the lid being down. Because of that, the articulation of the hammers on the strings is muffled in this recording. That didn't bother me, because of the quality of the performance. The accompanist followed Dr. Hightower flawlessly, and his dynamics were fantastic. I have several recordings of other very good choirs singing this, but this is the best I've heard. Morton Lauridsen is a genius, and his setting of the Agee poem is my favorite.
My 90 yo partner, a pianist and voice teacher, died nine months ago. Watching this accompanist brought back a flood of memories of him. Bravo, he performed flawlessly.
Agree with GDArkn: this is a fabulous performance of one of the very best choral pieces out there - Amen! I had a chance to see/hear this choir in Estes Park this January. They were wonderful, particularly loved their take on the Wailin' Jennys - hoping to see that on RU-vid some time.
deb losey I have recorded this setting 5 or 6 times by various groups. Two other fine performances of this are from "The Singers" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1O_FWlmEeNM.html and The Concordia Choir: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Mwy-EkkOKgI.html
I'm captivated by their dynamics, too. The way the baritones in particular drop off at the ends of phrases in the first passage is so delicate and masterful. And the "High summer" passage -- exquisite. I'm appreciating these skilled singers and Mr. Hightower especially. A gorgeous piece, gorgeously sung.
My best friend Barbara was a freshman here (not in this choir) and at the same time my high school choir did this song for contest. :) so many connections. I absolutely adore this song
