His Majestie's Clerkes -- an unlikely name for a Chicago-based choral ensemble -- celebrated 10 years together in 1993 by recording this absolutely lovely a cappella Christmas disc called New of Great Joy on the Centaur label. The repertoire ranges from the very well-known -- the African-American spiritual "Go Tell It on the Mountain" arranged by leader Heider -- the well-enough known -- Vaughan Williams' arrangements of the "Sussex Carol" and the "Gloucester Wassail" -- to the nearly unknown -- the Ukrainian carol "Nova ...
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His Majestie's Clerkes -- an unlikely name for a Chicago-based choral ensemble -- celebrated 10 years together in 1993 by recording this absolutely lovely a cappella Christmas disc called New of Great Joy on the Centaur label. The repertoire ranges from the very well-known -- the African-American spiritual "Go Tell It on the Mountain" arranged by leader Heider -- the well-enough known -- Vaughan Williams' arrangements of the "Sussex Carol" and the "Gloucester Wassail" -- to the nearly unknown -- the Ukrainian carol "Nova radist stella" and the Latvian carol "Kalado" -- but it's all consistently enjoyable. Because His Majestie's Clerkes is an a cappella choir, the music tends toward the spacious, the soulful, and the spiritual, but for fans of choral music, the group's warm tone, clear intonation, and balanced ensemble coupled with Heider's devoutly dedicated interpretations will be self-recommending. Recorded in the Chapel of St. John the Divine at the Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston,...
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