MAHLER, Gustav (1860-1911)
1.	Die zwei blauen Augen, song for low voice & piano (or orchestra) (Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen No. 4)	5:31
RAVEL, Maurice (1875-1937)
2.	Soupir, song for voice & ensemble (or piano) (Poemes de Mallarmé No. 1)	3:50
DEBUSSY, Claude (1862-1918)
3.	Des pas sur la neige, prelude for piano, L. 117/6	3:40
WAGNER,(Wilhelm) Richard (1813-1883)
4.	Im Treibhaus ("Hochgewölbe Blätterkronen"), song for voice & piano (or orchestra) (Wesendonck Lieder), WWV 91/3	6:14
5.	Träume ("Sag, welch wunderbare Träume"), song for voice & piano (or orchestra) (Wesendonk Lieder), WWV 91/5	4:24
WOLF, Hugo (1860-1903)
6.	Und willst du deinen Liebsten sterben sehen, song for voice & piano (Italienisches Liederbuch)	1:46
7.	Das verlassene Mägdlein ("Früh, wann die Hähne krähn"), song for voice & piano (Mörike Lieder)	3:07
8.	Auf ein altes Bild ("In grüner Landschaft Sommerflor"), song for voice & piano (Mörike Lieder)	2:25
9.	Der Gärtner ("Auf ihrem Leibrösslein"), song for voice & piano (Mörike Lieder)	1:48
DEBUSSY, Claude (1862-1918)
10.	Les Angélus ("Cloches chrétiennes pour les matines"), song for voice & piano, L. 76	2:55
WEBERN, Anton (1883-1945)
11.	Tief von fern, song for voice & piano (8 Early Songs, No. 1)	1:20
12.	Heiter, song for voice & piano (8 Early Songs, No. 6)	1:21
13.	Der Tod, song for voice & piano (8 Early Songs, No. 7)	1:05
14.	Sommerabend, song for voice & piano (8 Early Songs, No. 5)	3:11
BERG, Alban (1885-1935)
15.	Early Songs (7), for voice & piano (or orchestra) (Die Nachtigall)	2:39
16.	Early Songs (7), for voice & piano (or orchestra) (Im zimmer)	1:09
17.	Early Songs (7), for voice & piano (or orchestra) (Traumgerkrönt)	2:46
CAPLET, André (1878-1925)
18.	Le Miroir de Jesus (Présentation)	3:00
19.	Le Miroir de Jesus (Agonie au Jardin)	1:53
20.	Le Miroir de Jesus (Résurrection)	2:58
PUCCINI, Giacomo (1858-1924)
21.	Gianni Schicchi, opera (Oh! mi babbino caro)	2:58
DEBUSSY, Claude (1862-1918)
22.	Soupir ("Mon âme vers ton front ou reve, ô calme soeur"), song for voice & piano, L. 127/1	2:46
MAHLER, Gustav (1860-1911)
23.	Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, song for voice & piano (or orchestra) (Rückert Lieder No. 3)	5:36

Gramophone Awards 2007 (October 2007)

The extraordinarily lavish choral transcriptions of Clytus Gottwald have been superbly captured on disc by Accentus in their "Transcriptions" series on Naïve (A/03 - nla; 3/07). Gottwald's awesome technical demands put much of this music way beyond the scope of most choirs, and it is greatly to Ralph Allwood's credit that the Rodolfus Choir, most of whom are students and all of whom are under 25, have not only tackled this music at all but have done so with considerable distinction. Most notable here are the choir's impeccable tuning and Allwood's sensitive balancing of a choral texture that, in places, moves into no fewer that 16 parts.

But considerations of age and experience shouldn't come into the equation if you're investing in a full-price CD to hear fully accomplished performances of this music. From both technical and interpretative standpoints, the Rodolfus Choir is eclipsed by Accentus

That, though, is only part of the story. With a young choir whose members have spent weeks intensively polishing their craft, there is a collective enthusiasm for the music and for art of choral singing which transcends matters of technique and interpretive depth. What this choir lack in polish (the top sopranos strain horribly in the first Wolf Lied, while there are very rough edges at the climax of Wagner's second Tristan and Isolde study), they more than compensate with their desire to convey real passion for this music. They clearly relish the vocal harmonics in Ravel's Soupir, they love the bell effects in Debussy's Les Angélus, they positively luxuriate in the warm glow of Gottwald's take on "O mio babbino caro" and they float around with enormous enthusiasm in the misty textures of Caplet's Présentation. It may not be perfection but this is an undeniably enchanting disc.

Marc Rochester



Choir and Organ, January/ February 2008
****

The arrangements of Clytus Gottwald take a lot of beating. They derive from late 19th- and early 20th-century works, and his approach is basically symphonic. Do his arrangements stand up well against the original? The answer is mainly yes. This is thanks to the persuasive performance of the young singers of the Rodolfus Choir, who do not blench at what is sometimes a formidable task. Composers given the Gottwald treatment include Mahler, Debussy, Wagner, Wolf, Berg and Webern. It's a pity there is some sound distortion in the fortissimo passages.

Shirley Ratcliffe

Gottwald's awesome technical demands put much of this music way beyond the scope of most choirs, and it is greatly to Ralph Allwood's credit that the Rodolfus Choir, most of whom are students and all of whom are under 25, have not only tackled this music at all but have done so with considerable distinction ... there is a collective enthusiasm for the music and for art of choral singing ... They clearly relish the vocal harmonics in Ravel's Soupir, they love the bell effects in Debussy's Les Angélus, they positively luxuriate in the warm glow of Gottwald's take on "O mio babbino caro" and they float around with enormous enthusiasm in the misty textures of Caplet's Présentation"
Gramophone, Awards 2007
"Do his arrangements stand up well against the original? The answer is mainly yes. This is thanks to the persuasive performance of the young singers of the Rodolfus Choir, who do not blench at what is sometimes a formidable task"
Choir and Organ