The title of the 2012 compilation,
Accentus: Best 20, has a double meaning: it's a celebration of the choir's 20th anniversary and it includes 20 of the best tracks from its 18 albums made for the Naïve label. The ensemble has established itself as one of the world's most distinguished and versatile chamber choirs, excelling in the traditional repertoire as well as the work of avant-garde composers like
Stockhausen,
Manoury, and
Dusapin. The group is perhaps most widely known for its best-selling albums of choral transcriptions of orchestral works, piano music, and solo song literature. The selections on this compilation are heavily weighted to the Romantic, post-Romantic, and early Modern eras. The Baroque is represented by a chorus from a
Buxtehude cantata and a transcription of a movement from
Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and the contemporary by
Pascal Dusapin's Dona eis. The choir is joined by a number of distinguished ensembles, pianists, and vocal soloists. The sound throughout is consistently good: clean, balanced, and nicely ambient. This compilation of very diverse works from the choir's expansive repertoire is an excellent introduction to its versatility and finely-honed musicianship and should whet listeners' appetite for seeking out the complete albums.