An album of this sort, from the Robert Shaw Chorale in its heyday, practically defies criticism. Sixteen chanties and songs are featured in arrangements by Shaw and Alice Parker, all scored for men’s chorus. For the most part the singers are unaccompanied, but a discrete guitar accompaniment can be heard in “A-Roving”, “Good-bye, Fare Ye Well”, “The Shaver”, and “The Drummer and the Cook”. Special moments abound, and will vary for each listener. Mine were found in “Shenandoah”, “What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor”, and “Lowlands”. Good as the singing is, it is largely homogenized, and there are times when I could do with a little more “bite” in the attacks and a bit more boisterousness. These songs were originally sung by sailors, after all. Shaw has smoothed them out to sound like works for a college glee club, but they are so beautifully executed as such that it seems merely quarrelsome to complain. This set reminds us how much we will miss the recently deceased maestro, for few conductors before or since could secure such unified, mellifluous choral singing. The sound is warm and rich, the guitar perfectly balanced with the singers.
