Title : Sing We Christmas
Author : Praetorius, Michael
Release Date : 19950919
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $16.98
Amazon.com Price : $14.95
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Editorial Reviews : Christmas is the season for whipping out those holiday-specific standard recordings. This splendid gift by Chanticleer should top the list, for one will never tire of this a cappella choir's interpretations. With selections spanning the last five centuries of Latin, German, English, Spanish, and French festive fare, this recording exemplifies the sacrifice of the ego to the higher form of choral sound. Jacob Handl's 'Mirabile Mysterium' takes you on a trip into the chromatic wonderlands, where you temporarily lose tonal balance. Victoria's eerie and dissonant 'O Magnum Mysterium' treats us to rich voices swelling out of one organic whole. The phenomenal blend and perfect intonation elevate this recording above others in its category.
Buyer Reviews : The 12 voices of Chanticleer (the only full-time professional choir in America) are justly famous for their exquisite tone and range, both vocally and stylistically. 12 men, but nothing is missing. The first two tracks, Es ist Ein Ros by Preatorius and the famous O Magnum Mysterium of Tomas Victoria are absolute gems -- as well as studies in perfection of choral tone and balance.
The repertoire here runs from the early Renaissance (Josquin's O Virgo Virginum) to the more well-known 18th and 19th centuries (including the purest performance of Stille Nacht available) thru the American colonies (Billings' A Virgin Unspotted) up to the 20th century. This latter time period includes a marvelous little gem, Noel Canon, and a surprisingly lyrical composition by Charles Ives. Jennings (the director of the group) has chosen the original Holst version of In the Bleak Mid-winter (as opposed to the Harold Darke setting, which has become more popular over the last several years). This performance of the Holst is simply impossible to improve upon.
Defintely one of my half-dozen picks for a desert-island Christmas CD. Highly recommended.
