💿 CANTATE DOMINO 50
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💿 A CATHEDRAL OF SOUND, PRESERVED IN GLASS 💿
Oscar’s Motet Choir • Torsten Nilsson • Marianne Mellnäs • Alf Linder
50th Anniversary of Cantate Domino on Crystal Disc CD | AudioNautes Recordings AN-2616-KD
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Few recordings have earned the title “audiophile classic” as convincingly as Cantate Domino. Recorded in 1976 inside Stockholm’s resonant Oscar’s Church, the album unites Oscar’s Motet Choir with conductor Torsten Nilsson, soprano Marianne Mellnäs and organist Alf Linder. The recording was captured by Bertil Alving, whose natural approach allowed the scale and reverberant character of the church to become part of the performance itself.
The celebrated opening performance of Marco Enrico Bossi’s “Cantate Domino” immediately reveals why this recording became legendary. The organ emerges from the acoustic with genuine weight before choir, trumpets and trombones expand across a vast soundstage. Individual voices remain distinct, yet the ensemble possesses an effortless unity. Listen beyond the initial impact and you hear something more important: the natural decay of the church, the air surrounding the performers and the silence into which each phrase disappears.
The programme moves gracefully through sacred works, traditional carols and seasonal favourites by Handel, Otto Olsson, Adolphe Adam, Max Reger and others. Marianne Mellnäs brings luminous purity to the quieter passages, while Alf Linder’s organ playing ranges from delicately articulated accompaniment to room-filling authority. Torsten Nilsson maintains dignity and spiritual concentration throughout—never allowing the recording’s spectacular sound to overshadow the music.
Critics and listeners have repeatedly praised Cantate Domino for its immense soundstage, wide dynamics, tonal richness and convincing sense of place. A review of the analogue tape edition described it as a genuine reference recording whose realism remains exceptional decades later.
✨ THE CRYSTAL DISC EDITION
Created for the recording’s 50th anniversary, this forthcoming AudioNautes edition is mastered from the original Proprius analogue session tapes and encoded as an MQA-CD at 176.4 kHz, while retaining a conventional 44.1 kHz CD layer for playback on standard CD players. The Sound of Tape
Unlike an ordinary polycarbonate CD, a Crystal Disc uses an optically precise glass substrate, a gold reflective layer and specialised photopolymer pit-transfer technology. Its purpose is to provide exceptional physical stability and highly accurate laser reading. The construction is extraordinary, although any audible advantage will ultimately depend on the playback system and listener. Crystal Disc technology
EDITORIAL VERDICT
Cantate Domino is much more than a spectacular demonstration disc. Beneath its famous dynamics and cavernous organ tones lies an intimate, deeply reverent musical experience. The Crystal Disc edition presents this historic recording as a genuine luxury artefact—an uncompromising physical edition intended for dedicated collectors and reference-level systems.
The price and specialised manufacture place it firmly beyond the conventional CD market. But for the collector seeking the most exclusive digital presentation of one of analogue recording history’s enduring landmarks, Cantate Domino 50 may become a definitive edition.
Editorial note: our assessment of the music and recording draws upon the historic master and reviews of earlier editions. At the time of writing, we have not found an independent listening review of the finished AN-2616-KD Crystal Disc.
Crystal Disc CD is a specialist audiophile product and should be purchased on the understanding that it is generally an advance-order product rather than a conventional shelf-stock item.
🎧 Would this be your ultimate edition of Cantate Domino - or would you choose the master tape, vinyl or SACD?
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