Vita Nuova

Vita nuova. New life. Something the world was perhaps hoping for during the 1950s, when Gunnar de Frumerie composed his elegant a cappella piece with text by Pär Lagerkvist. By contrast, Francis Poulenc wrote his Mass in G major at a time when World War II was almost upon Europe, and a new seriousness and depth not previously associated with the composer is perceptible in this religious work. For Lars Edlund, religion was a central theme of life, and his Gloria is a stand-alone work in which the shifting tones of the choir provide a nuanced expression of the text’s meaning.