Alma redemptoris Mater
Jubilate Deo
Truro Canticles
Diptych for solo organ
Praise
Of a rose sing we
Kynance Cove
On the South Downs

I know I've said this before, but too many of today's composers paint their choral works with light watercolors or soft pastel hues, favoring the bright treble voices over a broader depth of tone and color. I've heard recent settings of the Requiem Mass bubbly enough to be played at a wedding. British-Bulgarian composer Dobrinka Tabakova (b. 1980) on the other hand paints her sonic canvases with rich and vibrant oils. She combines modern techniques with ancient miens to great effect. For example she defines the Alma redemptoris Mater thus: "like the resonance left after the ringing of large bells, the opening triad becomes the background of this antiphon. The triad lingers, then other triads are juxtaposed in dissonance, only for the initial sound to prevail. On the background of this triadic haze, a Gregorian chant emerges." To my ears, the composition that sets her apart and truly brings out the scope of her profound harmonic understanding, is the song Praise. Scored for 8-part choir and organ, it slowly builds to a mystifying climax rich in dissonance, only to be in the end, released into pure and radiant harmonic bliss. It is quite moving as all great compositions are. You can hear a short sample of it in the audio clip below. Another fine choral recording from the people at Regent records, with the Truro Cathedral Choir under the direction of Christopher Gray well projecting the multiple nuances within this music.