St. John’s College Choir, Cambridge – On Christmas Night CD (2011) Audio

Description

In the run-up to Advent and Christmas, the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge under Andrew Nethsingha presents a joyous celebration of music for the festive season. The disc includes original works by John Rutter, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Elizabeth Poston, and Kenneth Leighton. These are complemented by arrangements of popular songs, and a selection of congregational hymns, all displaying strong ties to the Advent and Christmas seasons. This disc was recorded in the College Chapel in full surround-sound, which means that it not only sounds spectacular, but recreates to a spectacular degree the experience of listening to the Choir perform in the Chapel. The Choir of St John’s College, established in the 1670s, is today one of the finest college choirs in the world, known and loved by millions for its recordings, broadcasts, and concert tours.Review
Recommended in Classic fm’s Christmas CD Guide. –Classic fm Magazine,Dec’11
Chandos engineering(specially impressive on the SACD layers) casts a luminescent glow round these excellent performances by the choir of St.John’s College Choir,Cambridge.Old Favourites like In the Bleak Midwinter,O Come All ye Faithful and Silent Night emerge all the fresher for being sung by young,enthusiastic voices,under Andrew Nethsingha’s incisive direction. Performance **** Recording ***** –BBC Music Magazine,Christmas’11
You can’t go wrong with this.**** –Mail on Sunday,27/11/11
This is a warming disc, eloquently sung by the choir of St John’s. There are some core Christmas hymns, but the bulk of the 24-track programme comprises some of the modern classics of the repertoire such as Elizabeth Poston’s Jesus Christ the Apple Tree and Joubert’s There is No Rose. –Sunday Telegraph,11/12/11
This release stands out thanks to the commitment to quality and high artistic values shown here by St John’s College Choir and Chandos. EDITORS CHOICE ***** –Classic FM Magazine,Feb’12