Mass for double choir a cappella

Frank Martin Mass for double choir a cappella
Valentin Villard Mass for 6 voices, Op. 44
(concert in the context of the Zermatt Music Festival & Academy)

Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir a cappella is one of the repertoire’s most widely performed monuments, and Valentin Villard’s Mass for six voices could well follow in its footsteps. Although 90 years separate these two works, there is an evident filiation between Frank Martin and Valentin Villard. Both composers develop their own harmonic lan­guage based on contemporary practices, seek lines of great vocality and explore the orchestral dimen­sion of juxtaposing human voices. Furthermore, both put their writing to the service of an expres­sion of interiority devoid of affectation, with total sincerity and the same ethical and artistic aim.

The recording of these masses performed by the Académie vocale de Suisse Romande (on the label Claves, 2022) received ‘5 Diapasons’.

© photo: Grégoire Fillon