The Voice of the Beloved Netherlands Radio Choir & Benjamin Goodson

• Frank Martin (1890 - 1974): Mass for double choir a cappella:
• 1 Martin: Mass for double choir a cappella: I. Kyrie 04:43
• 2 Martin: Mass for double choir a cappella: II. Gloria 05:31
• 3 Martin: Mass for double choir a cappella: III. Credo 05:35
• 4 Martin: Mass for double choir a cappella: IV. Sanctus - Benedictus 04:04
• 5 Martin: Mass for double choir a cappella: V. Agnus dei 04:25
• Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur (1908 - 2002): Le Cantique des cantiques:
• 6 Daniel-Lesur: Le Cantique des cantiques: No. 1, Dialogue 02:59
• 7 Daniel-Lesur: Le Cantique des cantiques: No. 2, La voix du bien-aimé 03:34
• 8 Daniel-Lesur: Le Cantique des cantiques: No. 3, Le songe 01:34
• 9 Daniel-Lesur: Le Cantique des cantiques: No. 4, Le Roi Salomon 01:36
• 10 Daniel-Lesur: Le Cantique des cantiques: No. 5, Le jardin clos 04:10
• 11 Daniel-Lesur: Le Cantique des cantiques: No. 6, La Sulamite 03:42
• 12 Daniel-Lesur: Le Cantique des cantiques: No. 7, Épithalame 02:56
• Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992): O Sacrum Convivium:
• 13 Messiaen: O Sacrum Convivium 05:38
• Total Runtime 50:27

Info for The Voice of the Beloved

The Netherlands Radio Choir and Benjamin Goodson present The Voice of the Beloved, a powerful collection of 20th-century sacred choral works by Frank Martin, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, and Olivier Messiaen. At its heart is Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, a deeply personal expression of faith composed in 1922 and kept private for decades. Its austere beauty and luminous harmonies make it one of the most moving sacred works of the last century. Daniel-Lesur’s Le Cantique des cantiques transforms the Song of Songs into a sensual and spiritual choral tapestry, weaving up to twelve voices into a radiant soundscape. Messiaen’s O sacrum convivium, a brief but transcendent motet, completes the program with shimmering reverence.

Following their acclaimed 2023 release Rheinberger & Mendelssohn: Choral Works, the choir returns with a recording that reveals the sacred not only in worship, but in the raw, expressive power of the human voice.

Each of these works opens a different portal to the sacred: through awe, through longing, through patience. They remind us that religious experience is not always about answers, but about being present to mystery in all its forms.” (Benjamin Goodson)

Netherlands Radio Choir
Benjamin Goodson, conductor

Benjamin Goodson
Born in Hertfordshire, UK, Benjamin Goodson studied music at Hertford College, Oxford. Benjamin studied conducting with Sir Colin Davis, Paul Spicer, Peter Stark and Ulrich Windfuhr. Three years after graduating, Benjamin was appointed Director of Music at Somerville College, becoming the University of Oxford's youngest Director of Music. Benjamin now teaches conducting as a lecturer at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam.

Benjamin Goodson is the chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir. He was appointed as the youngest chief conductor of any major European ensemble. Following three seasons of inspirational partnership and critical acclaim for their performances together, Benjamin extended his contract to ensure their collaboration will continue until at least the summer of 2027.

Benjamin also works as a guest conductor with many of the other most prominent choral ensembles, including BBC Singers, Rundfunkchor Berlin, SWR Vokalensemble, Collegium Vocale Gent, MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig, NDR Rundfunkchor Hamburg.

A cappella and new music: With razor-sharp ears and a passion for moulding choral sound, Benjamin is regularly invited to conduct the central 20th-century a cappella repertoire. He is also committed to performing and commissioning new music, with contemporary pieces featuring prominently in nearly all of his concert programmes. Benjamin has commissioned or given the first performances of works by composers such as Sir James MacMillan, Jonathan Dove, Roxanna Panufnik, Peter-Jan Wagemans, Baart Visman, and others. He has performed and recorded some of the most technically challenging choral scores in the repertoire, including those by Feldman, Berio, Ligeti, Friederich Cerha, and Steve Reich.

Booklet for The Voice of the Beloved