There are two primary reasons to hear this disc. One is for its first-rate rendition of John Rutter's Fancies, a Britten-like cycle of six songs for choir and chamber orchestra set to early-English texts by Shakespeare, Campion, Herrick, and others. To my knowledge this is only its second recording, after Rutter's own (in 1991) with his Cambridge Singers, and it stands equally with the earlier version. Hearing these songs again after several years--and after many intervening Rutter works--it's easy to assert that Fancies is among Rutter's most successfully conceived and effectively written pieces, artfully marrying texts to vocal lines and coloring each with just the right instrumental accompaniment. It's unfortunate that the cycle is not better known, but hopefully these fine performances will help expand its audience.

The second reason to hear this is to acquaint yourself with one of North America's outstanding choirs. Founded 10 years ago by director Jeffrey Hunt, the 32-voice suburban-Chicago group already has an impressive performing history and deserves to be more widely represented on disc. Its program here shows the ensemble in a variety of folksong arrangements, both a cappella and accompanied, some familiar--James Erb's Shenandoah, David Willcocks' Early one morning, Percy Grainger's wordless Londonderry Air, Stuart Churchill's classic setting of Black is the color--and some more rare, including a lovely version of Flower of Beauty (She is my slender small love) by John Clements, Holst's Swansea Town, and a very lively Lamorna, arranged by Goff Richards. The singing is invariably clear and cleanly articulated, the voices bright and generally well-balanced, the overall performances benefiting from crisp rhythms and phrasing and dynamic choices that bring character and excitement to each piece.

For all of the charisma and top-notch musicianship these performers project, their effect is hampered by sound that's overly bright and a bit too close for ideal comfort. The soloists tend to pop out unnaturally from the ensemble and the treble grows harsh in louder, tutti passages. Balance in Londonderry Air favors the upper voices at the expense of the interior parts (where at the beginning the melody lies). While certainly noticeable, these sonic considerations should not deter choral fans, who won't have forgotten the two important reasons to own this: the repertoire and the excellent choir.

--David Vernier