Schnittke: Concerto For Choir

The 1985 Concerto for Choir, by Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke, has one of the most arresting openings in 20th-century choral music. Schnittke, known earlier in his career for wild borrowings from other genres, still works multiple styles into a single phrase: ancient-sounding polyphony fragments out into dazzlingly prismatic clusters in the course of few seconds.  Schnittke was also known for his late-career spiritual intensity, which is almost overwhelming here.