Serenade – [TrackList below] The Turtle Creek Chorale/ Timothy Seelig, conductor – Reference Recordings

by | Nov 12, 2007 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

Serenade – [TrackList below] The Turtle Creek Chorale/ Timothy Seelig, conductor – Reference Recordings RR-110 (HDCD), 66:09 **1/2:

The Turtle Creek Chorale has enough albums out at this point for almost anyone to make an assessment as to whether they like this sort of choral group. In fact, with at least 35 recordings in the bins, all quite varied in concept, there is something for almost everyone. The choir itself ranges to over 200 male singers, so they have a lot to draw from when considering program ideas.

While I recognize the talent inherent in this group, and the vision of director Timothy Seelig, I cannot say that this is my favorite musical medium. I would not hesitate to purchase a ticket if they were in town, but listening to a CD of this type of ensemble is not high on my list. I am particularly nonplused at this recording, as the sameness of temperament does little to whet the appetite, and the music itself is not exactly the best I have heard this group record. The mood varies little, and I find the static feeling from the chosen numbers a little boring. I also detect some congestion in the sound—keeping this large a group under control is not the easiest thing for an engineer, as the male voices tend to flow into one another and lack a needed crispness and delineated definition, especially in this type of motionless music. Program-wise, I am not sure that this was the best concept for this chorale.

But this is the nature of this particular beast, and it goes without saying that the problems intrinsic to this type of recording and ensemble will either be accepted by a sympathetic listener, or not. If you are among Turtle Creek’s legion of fans, you will of course want this. Others new to the group might be better off sampling from one of their other offerings (like Postcards or Testament).

TrackList:

Helmuth: Everyone Sang
Jennings: Adiemus
Paulus: Loving-Kindness
Lauridsen: Dirait-on
Rutter: Choral Fanfare
Schubert: Serenade
Janacek: Laska Opravdiva
Paladihle: Psyche
Brahms: Abendstandchen
Caccini: Dona Nobis Pacem
Whitacre: Lux Aurumque
Eakin: Creator of the Universe
Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium
Morricone: Nella Fantasia
Helmuth: How Sweet the Moonlight
Charles: When I Have Sung My Sings To You

— Steven Ritter

  
 

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