This generously packed two-disc set will delight Robert Shaw fans and anyone who loves choral Christmas music. True, the newly remastered sound of the earliest-recorded tracks–from 1952 and 1957–still is a bit constricted, lacking some depth and full bloom on top, and that of the later ones (1963) has moments of saturation and distortion in the loudest, full-ensemble sections, but there’s no denying the strength of the repertoire or this legendary choir’s profound musicality and high technical accomplishment, so enormously influential during its heyday. Although some of the Robert Shaw Chorale’s Christmas carol performances have appeared in bits and pieces on earlier reissues, this one boasts far better sound than any of those versions and also is the most complete–no less than 49 carols from the original “Orthophonic” mono and “Living Stereo” LPs, the majority of them the beloved Shaw/Parker arrangements. Not only do these performances hold up very well today, but the settings are so unfussy and straightforward (which is not to say uninteresting!) that you find yourself appreciating how easily and irresistibly they lend themselves to singing along.
But that’s not all. The big surprise here is how well this group sings Britten’s cantata Rejoice in the Lamb. What a lovely, vibrant, and expertly realized performance! It’s from an album recorded in 1963 that I can’t recall ever having been released on CD. Not only is the choral singing excellent, but the soloists are first rate–especially soprano Saramae Endich, tenor Jon Humphrey, and, most memorable of all, alto Florence Kopleff. Also quite good is A Ceremony of Carols, however you have to accept a certain weightiness of tone and absence of innocence in this rendition by mature women’s voices rather than the originally-intended trebles. A bonus is Britten’s Festival Te Deum, featuring some nice solo work from Endich and more exemplary singing from the Chorale. I haven’t been all that complementary to some of Shaw’s work in his later years in Atlanta, nor to some of his more blatantly commercial productions during the ’50s and ’60s; but revisiting these performances was a pleasurable reminder of just how good a choral conductor he was–and how really fine his and Parker’s Christmas arrangements are. The CD booklet contains an interview with Shaw along with liner notes from the original LPs. Grab it before it disappears! [9/18/2001]
