Limelight Magazine offers a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review for the Richmond Symphony and Chorus and Steven Smith’s recording of Mason Bates: Children of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem. “[Bates’s] choral writing is reminiscent of Vaughan Williams, whose well known Dona Nobis Pacem is the coupling. … Bates’ command of orchestral texture is colourful and assured. In the choral sections, he sets poets such as Whitman, Sandburg, and the long passage from Genesis about the creation of the world.…
The Richmond Symphony and Chorus and Steven Smith’s Mason Bates: Children of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem recording is a December Opera News Critic’s Choice! “Richmond Symphony’s new album pairs works by prominent contemporary composer Mason Bates and twentieth-century master Ralph Vaughan Williams. Brimming with vitality, the performances of the orchestra and the Richmond Symphony Chorus, led by conductor Steven Smith, deftly reflect the strength of both composers’ choral writing while establishing a connection between…