A must have for John Rutter fans
c larsen | 02/05/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Cambridge Singer's have an outstanding reputation for their choral music under the direction of John Rutter. This recording lives up to Collegium's standard of high quality recordings. Rutter's "Heavenly Aeroplane" is a kick! My 11 month old kid dances to it. "Who is Sylvia" is hauntingly beautiful."
A voice teacher and early music fan
George Peabody | Planet Earth | 02/05/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A HOMAGE TO THE SPIRITUAL, THE MADRIGAL AND THE AMERICAN SONG!
John Rutter states the following: "This album, which has an Anglo-America thread running through it, is a homage to three of my favorite musical traditions-the spiritual, the madrigal, and American song-and at the same time, a homage to two remarkable Englishmen,William Shakespeare and George Shearing."
'Feel the Spirit' is a cycle of seven spirituals arranged for mezzo-soprano soloist, choir and orchestra. It premiered in June 2001 in Carnegie Hall, New York. They are quite well-known in this country, but Rutter makes them seem fresh and new.
Rutter and Shearing were both born in London, and have similar music backgrounds. They got to know each other in America during the 1990's, when Shearing was becoming interested in choral music, at which time he wrote his second Shakespeare Song cycle, 'Songs and Sonnets'. Again the tunes chosen are quite familiar to most music lovers, and I personally find them very attractive to hear.
I have actually performed 'The heavenly aeroplance, several times with choirs; it's fun to sing and gets an enthusiastic audience reaction every time. It is actually an Ozark folk song from the Missouri mountains to which Rutter wrote his own tune.
The 'Lord of the Dance' is taken from an American Shaker song 'The Gift to be Simple', and was first popularized in Aaron Copland's 'Appalachian Spring'. And later used by the English hymn-writer Sydney Carter inspired by the traditional carol'Tomorrow shall be my dancing day'.
The 'Birthday Madrigals' is Rutter's musical tribute to George Shearing on his 75th birthday, written in 1995, and can only loosely be called madrigals.
Hoagy Carmilchael's 'Skylark' completes the album as one of the lovliest American songs from the golden age of American song.
This is a very easy to listen to disc; a good one to put on when all you want to hear is something comfortably familiar, but not boring! It is well-sung and skillfully put together.
"
Track Listings (22) - Disc #1