Search - Morten Lauridsen, Eric Whitacre, Sven Lekberg :: Voices and Light

Mediocre singing at best

a lover of choral music | Minnesota, USA | 12/27/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is mediocre at best. While the University of Miami Chorale is a fantastic choir, it should shy away from certain types of songs. It doesn't have the broad range of sounds that the far better BYU Singers or Concordia Choir does. 'Water Night' is sung well, but not appropriately. This song should be sung without vibrato or it destroys the effect of the setting. The dissonaces that vibrato creates takes away from the beauty of the dissonances that Mr. Whitacre has written. Unfortunately for the listener, vibrato is used in this recording and destroys nearly all of the beauty contained in this wonderful piece. Aside from that, the rest of the CD is neither good nor bad. Discerning listeners will hear the differences. The music of Rene Clausen is treated well in this recording, but not understood completely by choir or conductor. If you're looking for a recording of 'Water Night', unfortunately this is the only one on the mass market right now and sometimes beggars can't be choosers so buy at your own risk."

Not That Bad

a lover of choral music | 01/03/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although "Water Night" is not all that good, the rest of the CD is. Some of my favorites are "Let All the World," "Psalm 117," "Welsh Lullaby," and "J'entends le moulin." "Tema" is a piece I have performed with my high school choir. When done well, it can be quite effective. It's not a perfect CD, but it deserves more that one star!(For excellent recording of "Water Night," I suggest the Eric Whitacre sung by the BYU Singers: The Complete A Capella Works, which can be bought off of this site.)"