2019 NativeDSD Album Of The Year Award – Classical Chorale
The Magnificat is the Virgin Mary’s song of praise to God after one of the Bible’s greatest wonders: the angel Gabriel visiting her with the message that she is to be the mother of God’s son. In his setting Kim André Arnesen expresses the feelings Mary must have felt. Wonder, devotion, gratitude, joy, humility, hope, and compassion.
God’s selection of an unknown woman living in poverty to be the mother of His son is a bottom-up view of the world if ever there was one – and Arnesen sees the Magnificat as offering support and hope for all people struggling against adversity or in need of strength. Musica Celestis portrays the ceaseless praising of God by angels in heaven.
Aaron Jay Kernis builds his work around a simple melody which he remolds in a series of variations. The intensely beautiful and mostly barren Hardangervidda mountain plateau inspired Ola Gjeilo to write Tundra, while his Song of the Universal expresses unabashed optimism, exuberance, and poet Walt Whitman’s unwavering confidence in our deeper humanity – all through the prism of a big, warm, beating heart.
Magnificat is one of 2L’s Best-Selling albums of the entire catalog! Along with the album Quiet Winter Night.
Nidaros Cathedral Girls’ Choir (Nidarosdomens jentekor)
Trondheim Soloists (Trondheim Solistene)
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 01:07:54
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | 2L106 |
| Qualities | DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 24 Bit, FLAC 192 kHz, FLAC 96 kHz |
| Channels | |
| Artists | Nidaros Cathedral Girls’ Choir (Nidarosdomens jentekor), Trondheim Soloists (TrondheimSolistene) |
| Composers | |
| Genres | |
| Amplifiers | Millennia Media |
| Digital Converters | Syphnx 2 and Horus, Merging Technologies |
| Editing Software | Pyramix, Merging Technologies |
| Financial Support | Arts Council Norway and Torstein Erbos Gavefond |
| Mastering Engineer | Pyramix, Merging Technologies |
| Microphones | DPA Microphones |
| Conductors | |
| Instruments | |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Producer | Morten Lindberg |
| Recording Engineer | Morten Lindberg |
| Recording Location | Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Normay in May 2013, January 2014, and May 2014 |
| Recording Software | Pyramix, Merging Technologies |
| Recording Technician | Beatrice Johannessen |
| Recording Type & Bit Rate | DXD |
| Release Date | April 18, 2019 |
Press reviews
Audio Review
These are serene, contemplative, seductive pages in the sense of offering a music that has its roots in the choral repertoire of Northern Europe and which are easy to listen to. Refined atmospheres, even with rarefied features that have an undeniable strength in the spatial distribution of the sources (an essential feature in the 2L house). The enveloping depth of the organ is unprecedented in my listening and you can appreciate the natural timbre of the strings and the authentic breath of the choir with a sense of ambience and dynamic articulation surpassed in discography. The Nidarosdo-mens Jentekor together with the Trondheim-Solistene are interpreters. In addition, soprano Lise Granden Berg, Magne Draagen at the great organ of the cathedral of Nidaros under the direction of Anita Brevik. Contemporary music therefore, ideal for broadening the horizons of the audiophile repertoire and at the same time, an absolute reference record in terms of sound performance.
NativeDSD – 2019 Album of the Year – Classical Vocal & Audience Award
Contemporary choral music composed by composers who are all not only alive but surprisingly young? Contemporary music which is not only rich in melody but deceptively simple?
This is a superb album by Nidarosdomens Jentekor girls choir, the Trondheim Solistene Chamber Orchestra, and vocal and instrumental soloists all under the direction of Anita Brevik. My reaction to this music is the same I felt the very first time I heard Maurice Durufle’s magnicent Requiem more than 50 years ago.
Listening to the Magnicat by Kim Andre Arnesen, Musica Celestis by Aaron Jay Kernis, and Tundra and Song of the Universal by Ola Gjelio with the mixture of girls choir and adult sopranos is totally uplifting. 2L’s recording is magnificent.”
Positive Feedback
I am listening to the Double DSD version of Magnificat while I am writing these notes to you. The second track, “Ecce enim,” is simply floating in the air…three-dimensionally…transforming my desktop space into a sound field like unto a church space…which is where it was recorded…an echoing realm of angels and humans singing glory, glory. Right here. Right now.
I don’t quite know how Morten Lindberg and friends have done it, though their technical notes in the booklet are, as usual, wonderfully thorough…but this recording in Double DSD is a contemplative experience of the very highest order, stunning both spirit and soul with a sweetness and pleasure that reminds me why I love the possibilities of the audio arts so passionately. 2L’s Magnificat is a true garden of delight for lovers of great music, one that I will return to again and again in the future, I know.
Truly transformational art: I can pay no higher tribute to a recording than this.
It has my very highest recommendation.
Audiophile Audition
As indicated, the music is first rate and the sound exceptionally resonant and deep, actually as good as you are going to hear on a SACD [DSD download]. Do something for your spirit and get this.
3 reviews for Magnificat
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Magnificat is the first album I bought in DSD. Although I prefer Rock, Pop, and Jazz music, this album allows the listener to approach classical music more simply.
It must also be said that the quality of the DSD sound of this recording brings us closer to the sound of Vinyl LPs. It was the sound that first brought me into the world of high-end audio. That is why I hesitated for a long time to throw my Thorens 125 Mk. II turntable and its SME 3009 arm which had been broken down for many years in the trash.
A word about the Native DSD website. This is a serious site for me to find reference quality DSD files. The NativeDSD team is always at your service and always finds a solution in case of problems. The site is well done and has evolved well. NativeDSD’s secure payment option is also present and much appreciated.
My configuration:
Audirvana under Windows music software
Topping d50s DAC
Audiophonics power supply
Little Dot Mk. II headphone amplifier
Sennheiser HD 599 headphones.
André Decellier (verified owner) –
Magnifique !
Victorien Etheve (verified owner) –
Amazing!
Kyungwon Yoon (verified owner) –