American Choral Classics / White, Alban Voices
Details
- Composer
- Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Charles Ives, Randall Thompson, Eric Whitacre, Tradit
- Artist
- Barbara Naylor, Peter Jaekel
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Divine Art
- Released
- Jun 09, 2023
- Catalog #
- DDX21106
- UPC
- 809730110627
About
A fantastic collection of American choral classics ranging from Thompson’s sublime Alleluia to the terrific choral arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy & Bess. Conductor Robin White’s excellent arrangement of the traditional Shenandoah balances the programme nicely along with Copeland’s "I bought me a cat". This is a surprising and entertaining collection. Alban Voices is a chamber-choir formed over 20 years ago by Robin White and his late wife, Freda, originally as a relief choir for services in St. Albans Abbey. It has always been an ad-hoc grouping, drawn together as and when required: many of the current members sing regularly in London’s top symphonic choirs. Among other appearances, it featured most notably in a pivotal episode of the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders in December 2003. More recently, the group’s recording of Robin’s original Christmas song, Light of the World, accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, has been well received, and was played on Scala Radio and Classic FM in the run-up to Christmas 2022.
Robin White trained at Imperial College, London and the Royal College of Music, studying conducting with Vernon Handley and orchestration with Bryan Kelly. He has conducted open-air, pop-classics concerts at National Trust and other venues across the south-west of England and the midlands. He has also worked with leading soloists such as John Lill, Christopher Warren-Green, Alexander Baillie and Emma Johnson in concerts in Bristol and the Channel Islands. His 1992 recording of Edwardian light music for Chandos Records was played extensively on Classic FM.
Tracklist 10 tracks
-
1 Alleluia 05:32
- Track
- 1
- Title
- Alleluia
- Duration
- 05:32
- Composer
- Randall Thompson
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
2 Agnus Dei, Op. 11 06:36
- Track
- 2
- Title
- Agnus Dei, Op. 11
- Duration
- 06:36
- Composer
- Samuel Barber
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
3 Lux Aurumque 04:01
- Track
- 3
- Title
- Lux Aurumque
- Duration
- 04:01
- Composer
- Eric Whitacre
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
4 Old American Songs I: IV. Simple Gifts 01:29
- Track
- 4
- Title
- Old American Songs I: IV. Simple Gifts
- Duration
- 01:29
- Composer
- Aaron Copland
- Performer
- Peter Jaekel
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
5 In the Beginning 16:18
- Track
- 5
- Title
- In the Beginning
- Duration
- 16:18
- Composer
- Aaron Copland
- Performer
- Barbara Naylor
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
6 Sure on this shining night, Op. 13, No. 3 (version for choir and piano) 02:17
- Track
- 6
- Title
- Sure on this shining night, Op. 13, No. 3 (version for choir and piano)
- Duration
- 02:17
- Composer
- Samuel Barber
- Performer
- Peter Jaekel
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
7 Psalm 67, "God be merciful unto us" 02:26
- Track
- 7
- Title
- Psalm 67, "God be merciful unto us"
- Duration
- 02:26
- Composer
- Charles Ives
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
8 Porgy and Bess, Act I: Summertime (arr. for choir) 02:34
- Track
- 8
- Title
- Porgy and Bess, Act I: Summertime (arr. for choir)
- Duration
- 02:34
- Composer
- George Gershwin
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
9 Shenandoah (arr. R. White for choir) 02:00
- Track
- 9
- Title
- Shenandoah (arr. R. White for choir)
- Duration
- 02:00
- Composer
- Traditional
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White
-
10 Old American Songs I: V. I Bought Me a Cat 02:27
- Track
- 10
- Title
- Old American Songs I: V. I Bought Me a Cat
- Duration
- 02:27
- Composer
- Aaron Copland
- Performer
- Peter Jaekel
- Ensemble
- Alban Voices
- Conductor
- Robin White