Rosanna Wicks (ds); Elisabeth Paul (mz), Jimmy Holiday (b) / Tenebrae, Nigel Short (dir) / Richard Gowers, George Herbert (org)

Hampton Roads ★★★★

One senses that Michael John Trotta’s life and musical world have always been affected by a sense of how we mark grief and solace. [He lost his father when aged seven and it was music that began to fill that empty space.] Trotta’s musical prayer for those who have gone beforeis a perfect balance of respectful homage to the great Requiems of the past – never explicitly quoted, but often alluded to – and a thoroughly modern compositional language that has two chant motifs running through it, balancing fear and succour. That it’s exquisitely sung by Nigel Short’s Tenebrae could reasonably be taken for granted, but they’re in exceptional form here, conveying a conviction that, even in the fearful unknown, there is hope.

This review originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of Choir & Organ magazine. Never miss an issue – subscribe today