Neither Stefan Parkman nor Chandos could be accused of pandering to the masses in their choice of repertoire for this series of recordings by the Danish National Radio Choir. True, Reger's name may be more familiar than, say, Lidholm, Norgard, Pepping or Pizzetti (featured on previous discs), but only to the extent that the mere mention of Reger's a cappella music will send sensitive souls scurrying into the nearest Karaoke lounge. Visions of myriad notes covering the page would frighten most choirs away, but these singers are made of sterner stuff. For them complex contrapuntal structures, devious chromatic harmonies and textures so thick you need a forage knife to get through them, hold no terrors. Rather they not only weave their way through Reger's characteristically tangled scores without a moment's doubt, but illuminate the paths so clearly one hardly notices the dense musical undergrowth all around.
Parkman has a clear-sighted view of what is wanted and, aided by singers whose pure, perfectly blended tone is in itself a joy to hear, he follows his vision unfalteringly: everything falls neatly into place making real musical sense. The hefty Op. 110 Motets (ostensibly in five, but often diverging into as many as nine independent parts) can, and usually do, sound oppressively heavy. But the first time I heard this recording of the first, ''Mein Odem ist schwach'', I found myself reaching for the repeat button. The entry of the chorale melody (7'30'') surely ranks among the most sublimely beautiful moments yet captured on CD. A triumph of skill over adversity if ever there was one.'