Barnes & Noble

Since maverick conductor Robert Spano became music director of the Atlanta Symphony in 2001, the orchestra has emerged as a leader in commissioning and recording new music, especially from American composers. City Scape, the most important of their Telarc CDs to date, brought much attention to the wonderfully inventive music of Jennifer Higdon, while Rainbow Body introduced listeners to Christopher Theofanidis, whose music gets another outing on this latest recording. Both Theofanidis's The Here and Now and David Del Tredici's Paul Revere's Ride are large works for chorus and orchestra, premiered in Atlanta on the same evening in May 2005. The Atlanta Symphony Chorus has a distinguished history, thanks to Robert Shaw's long tenure as music director, and it's good to hear the tradition continuing in such fine form. A varied and engaging setting of selected texts by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi (translated into English), The Here and Now shows Theofanidis's mastery of the orchestra and his strong sense for both melody and drama. If the beautifully harmonized choral parts don't always allow the lyrics to come through clearly, the shorter "Narratives" for solo baritone do bring Rumi's insightful words to the fore. Del Tredici's setting of the famous Longfellow poem about Paul Revere provides a brilliant showcase for soprano soloist Hila Plitmann, and fans of the composer's neo-Romantic style will find much to enjoy in this viscerally evocative work, which was conceived as a patriotic post-9/11 response. Yet the most eloquent music on this disc comes at its center, with mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby's gripping performance of the "Lamentation" from Leonard Bernstein's "Jeremiah" Symphony. Bracketing this American classic with the two new works, Spano and the Atlantans have once again done their part to demonstrate the ongoing vitality of the nation's musical scene. Scott Paulin

All Music Guide

Fans of contemporary but conservative choral music brimming with tonal melodies, steady rhythms, and accessible harmonies may find this Telarc album a pleasant diversion, though they should also note that the works presented here by Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus are fairly dramatic, somewhat presentational, a little pretentious, and decidedly not intended for meditation or "chilling-out." Christopher Theofanidis' lush, epic cantata on verses by Rumi, "The Here and Now"; David Del Tredici's frenetic (and sometimes silly) setting of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Paul Revere's Ride"; and Leonard Bernstein's poignant Lamentation from the "Symphony No. 1, Jeremiah," were programmed together, partly for the works' shared neo-Romantic qualities, but also because Spano wished to unite them around a memorial theme, marking the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and the heroism displayed by many that day. This 2005 disc was made in connection with the concert premieres of Theofanidis' and Del Tredici's works, yet sounds like a good rehearsal recording with clear sound, thanks to the DSD mastering, but also with a pleasantly spacious ambience, due to the resonant acoustics of Atlanta's Symphony Hall. Blair Sanderson

Gramophone

Both the Theofanidis and Del Tredici works offer far more than a disc’s-worth of musical enjoyment. Andrew Farach-Colton

BBC Music Magazine

All praise to Robert Spano and his Atlanta Symphony forces for commissioning [the Theofanidis and Del Tredici], and for the clearly audible commitment of the performances. Anthony Burton