Voices Of The Valley - Fron Male Voice Choir > Reviews > Voices of the Valley, Fron Male Voice Choir

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Excellent Choice of Songs
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This CD is excellent. I have always been a fan of Male Voice choirs (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 Voice Choirs 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 Of My Fathers
5) Danny Boy
6) Unchained Melody
7) You Raise Me Up
8) Shenandoah
9) You'll Never Walk Alone
10) All Through The Night
11) Last Rose Of Summer
12) World In Union
13) Rose

• Sailing was written by Gavin Sutherland and Rod Stewart recorded it for his 1975 album, Atlantic Crossing. It was a number 1 hit in the UK for about four weeks.
• Abide with Me is a popular Christian hymn that was composed by Henry Francis Lyte in 1847, although the lyrics of William Henry Monk's melody Eventide are usually sang.
• Jerusalem is a poem written by William Blake which is one of the most well-known hymns in the UK. The music however, was written by C. Hubert H. Parry in 1916.
• Land of my fathers (Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau) is the Welsh anthem. The words were written by Evan James and the song was composed by his son, James James.
• Danny Boy is a love song, sung by a woman to a man. It was written in 1910 by Frederick Weatherly and the tune was added in 1913.
• Unchained Melody was nearly the most recorded song of the 20th century, having over 500 different versions recorded. It was written by a William Stirrat in 1936.
• You Raise Me Up was written by Rolf Løvland and the lyrics were created by Brendan Graham. It has been recorded more than 125 times around the world in different languages. ONe particular artist was Daniel O'Donnell who recorded his version in 2003 and it was a hit throughout Ireland and the UK.
• Shenandoah is apparently an American folk song which dates back to the early 19th century. There is a possibility that it may originate from Virginia.
• You'll Never Walk Alone, originally written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for their greatly successfull 1945 musical, Carousel, the song is nowadays more recognised as the Liverpool Football Club anthem.
• All Through The Night (Ar Hyd y Nos) is a Traditional Welsh Folksong. The tune was first recorded in Edward Jones' Musical and Poetical Relics of the Welsh Bards in 1784. It is sung in Welsh on the CD.
• The Last Rose of Summer is a traditional Irish Folk Song that was a poem written by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) in 1805. It was sung in the twenty first century in a recording by Charlotte Church.
• World in Union is the song is originally from the Jupiter in the Planet suite (Holst). This song was also the official theme song of the Rugby World Cup 1999 in Wales.
• Rose featured in the film, The Rose (1979) and was written by Amanda McBroom. Bette Midler also used it and went to No.3 on the U.S. pop charts with her version.

My Top 5 Tracks on this CD:1. Jerusalem
2. Land of My Fathers
3. You Raise Me Up
4. Danny Boy
5. Abide With Me

• Jerusalem is my ultimate favourite track on this CD. It is beautiful and they sing it stylishly.
• Land of my Fathers is not on my list only because it is my anthem, it is such a strong and powerful song, sung with so much passion.
• You Raise Me Up is an awsome song, although the only other version I can think of is the one by Westlife. It was definately the right choice for this CD.
• Danny Boy is such a nice song I coudn't leave it out. Again, it well deserves a place on my Top 5 list.
• Abide with Me was my first ever solo (I play a brass instrument), played when I was only 6 years old, I have liked the song ever since.

I strongly advise anyone who has not yet bought this CD to purchase it. It will entertain you for hours even if it is not your usual style of music.

This CD can be bought on:

www.hmv.co.uk for £8.99 delivered
www.woolworths.co.uk for £9.97
www.4CheapCDs.com for £7.99 incl delivery
www.cdquest.com for £15.25
www.prestoclassical.co.uk for £13.99
www.cdzone.co.uk for £9.29
www.dvd.co.uk for £9.49
www.mdt.co.uk for £12.00
www.dvdsource.co.uk for £8.99 with FREE UK delivery
www.powerplaydirect.com for £10.99
www.edirectory.co.uk for £14.99
www.selectcheaper.com for £9.55
www.blahdvd.com for £8.99

THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!!!