Audio CD review:
William Byrd, Gregorian Chant, Clemens non Papa (Jacob Clement), William Cornysh, Peter Maxwell Davies, Kenneth Leighton, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Robert Parsons, baritone Scott Dispensa, bass-baritone Craig Phillips - I Sing the Birth

William Byrd, Gregorian Chant, Clemens non Papa (Jacob Clement), William Cornysh, Peter Maxwell Davies, Kenneth Leighton, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Robert Parsons, baritone Scott Dispensa, bass-baritone Craig Phillips - I Sing the Birth

Band: William Byrd, Gregorian Chant, Clemens non Papa (Jacob Clement), William Cornysh, Peter Maxwell Davies, Kenneth Leighton, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Robert Parsons, baritone Scott Dispensa, bass-baritone Craig Phillips Title: I Sing the Birth Rating: Release Date: 02 October, 2007 Media: Audio CD Tracks:

Customer Reviews luxurious polyphony balanced with plainchant True, it's not Christmas as I write this, but that really doesn't matter--this music doesn't cover jingle bells and snowmen but many hundreds of years of sacred music from Perotin, Clemens non papa, Cornysh to Leighton and Andrew Smith, born in 1970. I'm not from NYC but heard these guys in New York a few weeks ago and bought their CD and have listened to it many times since. Smith's two pieces, by the way, make beautiful bookends for this CD. You can listen to single tracks of this, but I suggest listening to it as an album--it seems carefully laid out from beginning to end, and great liner notes explain how/why plainchant and polyphony tracks are interwoven and give an overview of composers' times and intentions. I like the three settings of "Lully, lulla"--Leighton, Coventry Carol, and 15th c. English carol. Never heard such a beautiful setting of "Away in a manger" (Normandy traditional) before, and the "The Feder of Heven" by Peter Maxwell Davies is goosebump-inducing (actually, most of the CD is!). I should add that I've not heard many of these pieces before and love discovering new--mostly old!--music. The individual voices are beautiful in timbre and expressiveness but together they are simply transcending (and a great antidote to rush hour traffic if you play it in your car!). I'm not a musician but a words-and-graphics person, but I do love music and have no reservations in giving this gorgeous CD 5 stars (excellent graphics and type choices, too--easy to read, useful translations). What's Christmas got to do with it? However, they labeled this, "Christmas Music". I couldn't agree more with the five-star rating given by the previous two reviewers. Well, I say: don't wait until Christmas! This CD of early polyphonic music is fabulous, any time, anywhere. The material happens to draw on the Christian tradition, but what stands out is the amazing artistry of the performance. This is a stunning debut; any one who appreciates polyphonic singing would want to own this exceptional CD. . A Beautiful Holiday cd. Amazing voices! Not only will I be playing this cd during the holidays, I will be giving them to friends and family as gifts. I couldn't be more impressed with this group or this beautiful cd. I can't wait until the next New York Polyphony cd!. . You can see a complete list of all William Byrd, Gregorian Chant, Clemens non Papa (Jacob Clement), William Cornysh, Peter Maxwell Davies, Kenneth Leighton, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Robert Parsons, baritone Scott Dispensa, bass-baritone Craig Phillips discography, or go back to the William Byrd, Gregorian Chant, Clemens non Papa (Jacob Clement), William Cornysh, Peter Maxwell Davies, Kenneth Leighton, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Robert Parsons, baritone Scott Dispensa, bass-baritone Craig Phillips tabs