Fantastic blend of voices and styles. A must get!
03/12/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This recording of the Kansas City Chorale is a wonderful collection of American songs ranging from 20th century Britten to spiritual arrangements that are superbly sung. I have sung many of these songs myself, and will heartily recommend this CD to anyone looking for a choir with tremendous expression, musicality, and tone. This CD has a variety of music that music teachers can use to preview pieces for use in their choirs. It isn't often that you can find an album that has such a combination of styles, and it is refreshing to listen to. If nothing else, purchase this CD for the title piece Fern Hill."
No reservations on this one
Joshua Saulle | Yonkers, NY USA | 06/04/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Never mind the few gripes of the Amazon reviewer. What he decries as "unoriginal" settings by Belmont and Mulholland are wonderful settings by composers who have clearly mastered the art of choral arrangement and composition. Their rich harmonies are colored with wonderfully expressive dissonances which tense and then resolve into lush consonances, but never does the harmony become ponderous or leaden. 'The Passionate Shepherd', 'The Roadside Fire' are totally satisfying, far more so than many more 'original' works which place their originality above emotional expression. 'A Red, Red Rose' is the most beautiful setting of the poem I've ever encountered.
I concur with the reviewer on the rest of the disc. Splendid singing and musical interpretation. I lost my copy of this disc and I am pining for it, so I've come back to buy another. It's that good."