This Easter release is the second live recording of an Evensong service from St. John's College, Cambridge, by the college's celebrated choir under director Andrew Nethsingha. The chief difference between the two is that this service contained an organ, concluding with the blazing finale of the Symphony No. 6 for organ by Charles-Marie Widor, whereas the earlier release is a cappella. However, it is also notable that this album nicely exemplifies the aims of Nethsingha and the choir, which point in the direction of the ...
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This Easter release is the second live recording of an Evensong service from St. John's College, Cambridge, by the college's celebrated choir under director Andrew Nethsingha. The chief difference between the two is that this service contained an organ, concluding with the blazing finale of the Symphony No. 6 for organ by Charles-Marie Widor, whereas the earlier release is a cappella. However, it is also notable that this album nicely exemplifies the aims of Nethsingha and the choir, which point in the direction of the contemporary. Of course, this is English collegiate choral music, so there is going to be an encrustation of tradition, but consider the striking cover image in the graphics, not from St. John's at all but from a church in Dallas, Texas. Note the bright sound of the young singers and the recent translations of biblical texts, which will either irritate the listener or bring those texts a new immediacy. Most of all, consider the program, which contains only one Renaissance work, which is...
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