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| CHRISTMAS Reviews |
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The Daily Telegraph "The King's Singers' latest disc of carols deserves a warm welcome for its musical sincerity and its quality of execution. The choice of repertoire is wide-ranging, here from Praetorius and the ubiquitous "Anon" to Part and Tavener,though there is a strong theme of traditional Christmas melodies newly arranged for the group.Although all the original members of the King's Singers have now retired from the group and gone on to other things, the new generation maintains the standards first set by those six Cambridge choral scholars 35 years ago. This, the first recording by its latest line-up, established two years ago, brings the sense that nothing fazes them, however tough the demands,and there is a combination of precision and warmth to the singing, captured in sympathetic acoustics. There is no gimmickry, no over-the-top arrangements - at least until the final track, a souped-up version of You Are the New Day. Elsewhere, it is just good, honest music-making, whether in the refined harmonised plainsong of Veni Veni Emmanuel, the restrained poignancy of Warlock's Bethlehem Down or in the novelty of carols from France, Poland and Argentina. Well done all round again!" International Record Review "After a 3 year holiday from recording, the King's Singers have burst back onto the scene with their first Christmas disc in over a decade. King's Singers Christmas marks something of a break with the past as the boys forsake the luxuries of the studio, with its multiple mics and the technical trickery, to stand naked before a straightforward stereo pair in the church of St Michael's, Highgate. The results take your breath away. In the raw, these gents sound better than ever.Frighteningly precise intonation, instinctive articulation, a downy, luxuriant tone, all captured in an excitingly lifelike recording. There are 24 carols, one for every day of Advent, plus a bonus track Born on a New Day, which is a seasonal reworking (with string quartet) of one of the group's crowd pleasers. They traverse five centuries in seven languages, from well-known carol service fare sung in unadorned versions, through to the 'living tradition' - Part's epigrammatic Bogoroditse Dyevo and Tavener's The Lamb, both originally commissioned for the famous Christmas broadcast from King's College, Cambridge. The prevailing mood is more reflective than popular - it's a red-nosed reindeer-free zone - but there's plenty of unexpected colour.The lovely Szezo to za prediwo is a Polish-Ukranian song which they first heard in Warsaw, sung by one of the choirs at a King's Singers' workshop. My favourite track, though, is a refreshing and revitalized Veni, Veni, Emmanual: one of several perfectly calculated arrangements from the group's baritone Philip Lawson. Christmas close harmony at its best." Classics Today In 35 years, the British male vocal sextet known as the King's Singers has experienced many turnovers of personnel, including the retirement of virtually all of its original members--but three important things haven't changed one little bit: quality of the performances, camraderie among the singers, and compatibility of the voices. And on evidence of this new release on the Signum label, this premier ensemble has found a recording team that shows the group's talent to an even higher engineering standard than we've ever heard before in previous issues from EMI and RCA.Throughout these 70-plus minutes and 25 tracks, we hear nothing but absolutely first-class musicianship, top-notch arrangements, and always thoughtfully chosen, entertaining repertoire that invariably and ideally suits the group's sound and style. Among the selections are a few standard carols and arrangements--Vaughan Williams' This is the truth, Ravenscroft's Remember, O thou man, Bach's harmonizations of In dulci jubilo and O little one sweet, and the familiar, anonymous settings of There is no rose, and The Coventry Carol--but there also are many more newer and captivatingly original pieces, several exceptional ones created by King's Singers member Philip Lawson (Lullay my liking; Veni, veni Emmanuel; No‘l nouvelet). Notable too are a nifty (and most uncharacteristic) Bogoroditsye Devo by Arvo PŠrt, an exquisitely lovely and dramatic rendition of Tchaikovsky's The Crown of Roses, "transformed by the great jazz arranger Jeremy Lubbock", and the concluding re-working (with new, Christmas words by Lawson and a string quartet accompaniment) of the King's Singers signature You are the New Day. For sheer vocal beauty, you can't beat the performances of Rutter's There is a flower and Stille Nacht, Lawson's Away in a manger, Praetorius' Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen, or Bach's O little one sweet. But then, the whole thing is just gorgeous, and if you love Christmas music recordings, well, what are you waiting for? This is one of the best ever. Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Five centuries, seven languages, and six singers with 35 years of remarkable experience inform this rare collection of choral music. In the world-renowned King's Singers resplendent voices, ancient and modern choral music comes to life with all the blazing immediacy and timeliness of the gospel of the nativity. With 25 pieces of music--ranging from familiar works such as "Coventry Carol" to the obscure Tchaikovsky piece "The Crown of Roses"--the King's Singers move through this hallowed and festive set with the vocal mastery that only three-and-a-half decades of accomplished work together is capable of creating. A number of contemporary carols written in the last century by composers such as John McCabe, Philip Lawson, John Rutter, and others are balanced by pieces by Bach and a host of traditional works. Lawson's "You Are the New Day," performed with a string quartet, stands out as one of the more notable performances. Like most of their music throughout Christmas, it reminds listeners that the art of music often interprets divine aspects gladly realized here on Earth. --Martin Keller |