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Sing We Christmas
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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. --Barbara Eisner Bayer | |
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| | | I simply don't have the words to describe the sublimity of this CD. Breathtaking? Sublime? I'm not sure words have been invented for it. It was my first Chanticleer CD, recommended by a music club, and it certainly hasn't been my last, but it's still my favorite. I love it so much that I listen to it year-round--even in the heat of summer, when I put on this CD, it's Christmastime to me by the end of "Es ist ein Ros". The voices are simply amazing. It sounds like angels singing. I think part of the haunting, resounding sound that sets this CD apart from other choral CDs (and even from other Chanticleer ones) is that it was recorded in a cathedral, so there are some amazing acoustics. I don't know all that much about music theory, so I'm sure my words seem amateurish and maybe a little silly, but this is a truly glorious CD.
| | The best of Chanticleer's Christmas CDs | |
| | | 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.
| | Reaffirming the glory of the a cappella choir. | |
| | Sing We Christmas is a terrific CD for those who like their Christmas music to have a touch of mystery and mysticism. The exquisite versions of "Hier Ist Ein Ros' Entsprungen" and "In Dulci Jubilo" alone are worth the price of the CD, but there are also many fascinating rarities, including an obscure (but very melodic) Christmas carol by Charles Ives and a honey-sweet set of spirituals. The twelve voices of Chanticleer reaffirm the beauty of unaccompanied, classically trained voices raised together in song. Playing this CD is enough to make any Christmas special.
| | Essential Christmas Listening | |
| | | I could quite likely make it through the Christmas season with only this CD. Chanticleer is an ensemble that sets the highest standards for itself, in terms both of performance and production, and lives up to them with every album. This album presents a variety of languages, cultures, and time periods (Renaissance to American Gospel) and Chanticleer switches seamlessly from style to style, often in the same piece. The vocal sound and ensemble are unparalleled by any other group I've heard. Every line is clear and beautiful, from the bass up through the soaring countertenor voices. While there are occaisonally soloists, there really are no stars in this album - it is a performance by the entire group. The arrangements are also very creative, such as Silent Night with 3 verses, each in a different language, and In Dulci Jubilo with 4 verses, each by a different arranger. The bottom line, however, is the music itself. It doesn't matter how many different styles will fit on one album if the end result is musically lacking. That is not a concern here - music is first and foremost, and this album rises well above a densely-packed field of Christmas records.
| | | | Chanticleer is a group that you can always rely to provide a quality performance; in this album they exceed their own high standards. The most striking cut is the medley "Glory to the newborn King" with four sprituals. The arranged, Joseph Jennings, refused to provide music, rather he required that the choir learn to perform in the improvisational style of the black choirs from which he drew inspiration. This result is an absolutely stunning performance that is uniquely Chanticleer - not an attempt to sing a style that is not naturally theirs, but the creation of a style that is theirs. The remainder of the album contains a wide variety of music from the 15th century to contemporary music - worthy of special note is their rendition of "In the bleak mid-winter" and Billings' "A virgin unspotted". There are absolutely no mediocre cuts. Put this on your top 10 Christmas albums.
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