Much of the music of Knut Nystedt (b. 1915) is devotional in character and inspiration and of his almost 400 compositions three-quarters are choral. Some of his shorter motets (such as Cry Out and Shout from the 1950s included here) have achieved marked success, while the orchestral Ichthys (Op. 76: 1976) has been broadcast in Britain. If broadly traditional in style he has learned from younger figures, not least Ligeti, as can be heard in the bold and impressive cantata Lucis creator optime (1968); the absence of the text (attributed to Pope Gregory I) from the CD booklet makes it difficult to gauge Nystedt's response to the words here, as in the motets. Both the Pia memoria (''Requiem for nine brass instruments'', 1971; the finale features chimes) and Rhapsody in Green (1982) reinforce the impression of solid craftsmanship and fluency of expression.
The 19 motets on the second disc are a selection only, although the booklet's re-numbering from one of the last eight (all in English) might mislead one into thinking that two distinct sets are present. The motets are uniformly lovely, not unlike Holmboe's Liber canticorum, though on a smaller scale and beautifully sung.
As with the Nordheim disc reviewed in December, Aurora have again not been over-generous; the addition of Ichthys and a larger choral work (the 1984 Missa brevis, Op. 102, perhaps) would have made for a more valuable issue; but let's not be ungrateful for what has been made available.'