Title : Our American Journey
Author : Traditional
Release Date : 20021112
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $17.98
Amazon.com Price : $14.75
(18
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
Editorial Reviews : This is Chanticleer's 25th recording and also marks its 25th anniversary season. The title refers to the group's wide-ranging repertoire; this disc includes Mexican baroque, traditional American songs in various styles and music commissioned by Chanticleer itself. A program that tries to please everybody is bound to disappoint somebody; however, no one could be disappointed by the singing. The sound of these 12 unaccompanied male voices has an unearthly, celestial beauty and purity; their blend is perfect. Though the singers rarely use vibrato, their intonation is impeccable both together and in solos. Their expressive range and stylistic versatility are incredible: they can project tenderness, pleading, and bitter protest and are equally at home in plainchant, Latin hymns, blues, spirituals, shouts and crooning. Among the highlights are the three opening hymns, settings of two poems of Torquato Tasso by William Hawley, commissioned by Chanticleer, which combine 16th- and 20th-century styles, and the two final folksongs, the last with a stride-style piano accompaniment, making a rousing, exuberant ending. The booklet, in three languages, is well laid-out and informative.
Buyer Reviews : By saying that Chanticleer does it again, I mean that they have, astonishingly, matched the all but unbelievably high quality of their previous discs. I've copies of everything they've recorded, and the range of the music they sing is, so far as I know, incomparable. E.g., their recording of Gregorian Chant, 'Mysteria,' is finer than that of any of the many monastic choir recordings available! And the aptness of the sound they produce, matching the specific work being performed, is itself, truly wonderful. The present recording exemplifies all these virtues, and to the same exceptionally high degree.
