Having become accustomed to the rather sweet sounds of Finnish choirs doing Mäntyjärvi, this new release from Hyperion comes across as wonderfully sumptuous. Stuttgarter Psalmen is expressive and expansive, and Mäntyjärvi makes effective use of the sounds of the German language. The harmonies in the Trinity Service are also weighty and expressive. Strictly speaking, Mäntyjärvi’s brand of neo- and free-tonality is not really about harmony but about orchestral tonal colours executed through harmony. He is able to do this because as an experienced choral practitioner he has a complete command of how to use registers and textures in a choral context.

It takes a world-class ensemble to fully bring out the sumptuousness of all this harmonic colour, and the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge is just such an ensemble. Their combination of sonorous voice production and utterly precise intonation makes light work even of dense chords in the lower register, and there is power in the upper and lower reaches of their range that makes Mäntyjärvi’s widespread chords ring brilliantly. In Stuttgarter Psalmen, Mäntyjärvi has written a few very intense dissonances whose power one can truly appreciate only now when they are reproduced with accuracy.

Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s works have been recorded on many occasions in the past, to be sure, but he certainly deserves—and perhaps needed—a showcase album by a top-quality choir.