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Track(s) taken from CDA66925

Five Carols

composer
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012)
author of text
Anonymous - traditional
Selden MS (No 2), William Ballett's Lute Book (No 4)

Polyphony, Stephen Layton (conductor)
Recording details: August 1996
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Lucas
Engineered by Ken Blair
Release date: October 1996
Total duration: 8 minutes 44 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter (conductor)

Reviews

‘A gloriously sung collection … captures the tranquil pastoral mood of Christmas Eve. The recording could hardly be bettered’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

‘Polyphony is superb … the most completely recommendable new issue for Christmas I've found so far’ (The Independent on Sunday)

‘The choir conveys Warlock's genius quite irresistibly. These are superlative performances, beautifully recorded. A first-rate production’ (Organists' Review)
No survey of Bennett’s choral music can overlook his contribution to the repertoire of Christmas carols. Like Vaughan Williams, Holst, Britten, Walton, and numerous other English composers, he had a clear affection for this, the oldest genre of vernacular choral music, not least because of the many lovely texts it offers for musical setting. The Five Carols quickly found a place in the repertoire of choirs everywhere, and they have stood the text of time uncommonly well because of their freshness, simplicity, and fidelity to their beautifully-chosen texts.

from notes by Collegium Records © 2005

Other albums featuring this work

Bennett (RR): Sea change & other choral works
The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter (conductor)
CSCD521Download only

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