King’s Singers fans who particularly appreciate the group’s smoothly polished, impeccably balanced interpretations of English, French, and German partsong repertoire will be delighted with this nearly 70-minute program. Unlike the processed sound and unusually close listening perspective we heard on the sextet’s recent studio “pop” album, Simple Gifts (which just won a 2009 Grammy for best Classical Crossover recording), here is the familiar, precisely enunciated, more naturally vibrant ensemble quality that’s characterized the King’s Singers’ sound for most of the past 40 years.
The variety of repertoire and the programming also are typical of these musicians’ interest in works both old and new, obscure and well-known. For instance, Saint-Saëns’ rarely-heard gem Calme des Nuits appears next to the Bairstow (not the more familiar Parry) setting of Music, when soft voices die; but later we hear the well-loved Draw on sweet night (Wilbye) and Brahms’ Waldesnacht. There’s relatively obscure Schubert (Liebe) and Schumann (Ritornelle), along with Elgar (Love; O happy eyes), Strauss (Traumlicht), and Arthur Sullivan’s classic and very affecting partsong The long day closes. Libby Larsen’s A Lover’s Journey (four settings of texts by Shakespeare and James Joyce, written for the King’s Singers in 2001) is consistently engaging and smartly written–especially the opening song, In the still garden (“O bella bionda…”).
I guess you could say that this program and its performances represent classic King’s Singers, who never fail to entertain, and whose vocal style always manages to enliven even the most melancholy piece. My only reservation concerns the somewhat odd French pronunciation in the Saint-Saëns selections. The sound (engineered by choral recording veteran Mike Hatch) is first rate, reveling in every detail of this group’s acclaimed technical precision and expressive nuance. Highly recommended.
