RUNESTAD Dreams of the Fallen. Earth Symphony • Eric Holtan, cond; Jeffrey Biegel (pn); True Concord Voices & O • REFERENCE 756 (57:55 )

Over the last couple of years in particular, I have reviewed many discs of choral works composed in our time, most of which have featured frankly poor music, no matter how well performed. It is a particular pleasure, therefore, to be able to report that this new recording of two major works by the young American composer Jake Runestad, entitled A Dream So Bright, is absolutely not of that ilk. This is exceptionally fine music that has something original and important to say, and the performances given here—as well as the recording itself—fully live up to the challenges the music presents. It is also important to note that despite Runestad’s reputation as a “choral composer,” the works presented here are actually not “choral” compositions at all, as their identity as belonging to the choral-orchestral repertoire is absolutely clear from the start.

The first work presented here is a very substantial single-movement construction of over 25 minutes, entitled Dreams of the Fallen. Scored for chorus, orchestra, and solo piano, Runestad sets poems by Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Brian Turner, and paints a grand canvas that is powerful and evocative without resorting to the overt sentimentality that seems rife within the 21st-century choral scene in the United States at the moment. Jeffrey Biegel’s contribution on piano is pivotal here, and it is to Runestad’s enormous credit that the whole thing unfolds seemingly inevitably from start to finish. Very few composers can sustain inspiration to produce an organic work of musical art over such a time span, and Runestad’s work here deploying these forces is masterful. The climax conjured up just before the end is one of the most powerful I have yet heard from a 21st-century composer.

The other work on this new disc, Earth Symphony, is cast in five movements and was commissioned by the forces gathered on this recording. The work turns an imagined story of the Earth itself interacting with her human “children” into a broad narrative tinged with all the good and bad that the Earth has witnessed in the course of this at times uneasy co-existence. Once again, Runestad could easily have fallen into the trap of producing predictable, sentimental, obvious music in which to clothe his vision, but he never does. Even the Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean sounds with which the second movement opens—which initially had me a bit concerned—do not go quite where one might think they would, especially had this been conceived by lesser hands. Once again, this is an exceptionally fine piece of music that is approachable, profound, and challenging all at the same time.

The performances set down in this new recording are outstanding. While I feel that the orchestral sound is a bit light in the string area (4/4/4/3/2), the playing is outstanding. The chorus is equally excellent, with fine tone, ensemble, and diction across the board. It also does not sound like an American choir, many of which cannot escape the pitfalls of vernacular pronunciation of English (no matter what its regional dialect). The balance and soundstage are always expertly handled by the engineers, and this is a recording of demonstration quality with gorgeous tone colors always to the fore.

This is a remarkable new release from Reference Recordings. Urgently recommended without reservation. William Kempster