CCMusic.com

Ever since it's creation more than twenty-five years ago, the Accentus chamber choir has ardently championed the a cappella repertory: under it's conductor and founder Laurence Equilbey, it has produced an impressive discography that sets the benchmark in this music. For this new recording, the first for Alpha, she hands over direction of the ensemble to Christophe Grapperon, it's associate conductor since 2013: 'It can never be said often enough: the a cappella repertory is a Holy Grail of vocal music! It is a sensory experience directly accessible to everyone, but demanding and often atypical for the listener.' Hahn and Saint-Saëns are on the program of this album in superb choral works combining simplicity and expressive power, some of which have never been recorded before.