When I say that my grandmother's maiden name was Davies, and that she was the last person in the family who had any understanding of the Welsh language, you will probably understand why I love Welsh choral music so much. Well, apart from the fact that Wales is truly the land of song, with the best history of choral music in the entire world., that is!
This CD (produced by EMI and Music for Pleasure) has a wide range of Welsh Male voiceChoirs from all over Wales. The competition between the different choirs and indeed the different parts of Wales are fiercely competitive. But the strong, intense rivalry is always friendly. Well, MOST of the time, that is!
The songs on this CD (I am ,of course, listening to it as I write this review!) are all perfectly sung and perfectly accompanied, as the producers have chosen the cream of Welsh ...
Advantages: Great Gospel singing Disadvantages: None
The London Community Gospel Choir is exactly what it says. A community gospel choir from London.
It is clear that the members of the choir are really into their gospel music as hey sing each song on the entire CD with verve, with joy, with love and with a whole lot of soul. Which, incidentally, is where soul music has its roots, in gospel singing.
There are some "gospel" choirs that just go through the motions and perform the songs in a mechanical way, as if they are singing them by rote. That is most definitely not the case with the members of the London Community Gospel Choir. You just have got to know that they mean every word and every note of what they are singing.
They are real Gospel singers (with a very definite capital G") in the old fashioned religious sense of that word. Indeed, the sleeve notes point out that ...
Advantages: Excellent Choice of Songs Disadvantages: None
This CD is excellent. I have always been a fan of Male Voicechoirs (not just because I'm welsh) because the overall harmony is gorgeous!! I saw this CD advertised recently on the TV and my parents bought it for me. I was not disappointed. There is an excellent selection on traditional welsh ballads with past pop hits etc. People often mistake Male VoiceChoirs as just a 'Welsh Thing' that they won't nessarily enjoy, I think they would be pleasently suprised if they bought it.
Being the age of 20, not many of the younger generation appreciate music different to hip-pop, punk-rock or rap but as I was brought up surrounded by jazz, classical, brass etc, I have a much wider taste, thankfully. This is a CD that I play quite often and enjoy every time.
The Tracks on this CD:
1) Sailing
2) Abide With Me
3) Jerusalem
4) Land ...
