Search - William Billings, William Appling Singers & Orchestra, conductor William Appling :: Wake Ev'ry Breath - Music of William Billings

Wake Ev'ry Breath - Music of William Billings
William Billings, William Appling Singers & Orchestra, conductor William Appling
Wake Ev'ry Breath - Music of William Billings
Genres: Special Interest, Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (13) - Disc #1


     
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CD Reviews

Extraordinary
01/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have performed many of these works with professional and amateur groups, and this is simply the best Billings I have ever heard. It strikes the perfect balance between the raw energy and directness of this wonderful early American music and the skill and refinement of great choral singing. There are real adventures here as well, with several pieces, I believe, being given their premiere recording, like the unusual New Boston/Hingham and the simply beautiful Mourn, Mourn in Billings's final version. Appling is a tremendous conductor, and what is really remarkable is that this is a live performance. Most groups need many studio takes to do what this group did in one."
Simply beautiful
12/14/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)

"William Billings has always been so underrated, but this recording should help rectify that. Though it was released a few years ago I just discovered it and am thoroughly impressed by the repertoire, the recording and especially the beautiful performances. I can only imagine how gratified Billings himself would have been to hear this. And it was recorded on his 250th birthday!"
Exceptionally Good
09/22/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have not enjoyed a choral recording this much is a long time. Billings is such a fine composer and the performances here are wonderful. Unlike most recordings of this kind, it was not done in either a huge church or a studio but in a smaller, chapel-like setting, the kind of place I imagine people would have been singing Billing when he was writing. This gives it a wonderful quality. It's nice to know there is now another excellent Billings CD along with Paul Hillier's. I also read that this is a concert recording; this may give it a certain lack of "perfection" in terms of the singing always being "just so" and some extraneous sounds, but being live also gives the performances a real immediacy and presence."