The Road Home – Review by RSCM (Church Music Quarterly)
“The first word I wrote when listening to this album of a cappella American music was ‘perfection’”
8th December 2020
The Road Home – Review by RSCM (Church Music Quarterly)
“The first word I wrote when listening to this album of a cappella American music was ‘perfection’”
8th December 2020
Listen or buy this album:
The first word I wrote when listening to this album of a cappella American music was ‘perfection’. Bright, clear diction, with a good vocal blend, effective dynamics and a pure sound – no vibrato! The close harmonies sound glorious and the dissonances are perfectly in tune. The top soprano notes float and soar effortlessly. This is a programme of discoveries from a range of American composers. Bern Herbolsheimer’s Seven Last Words is a beautiful yet intense setting of Jesus’ final words on the Cross. Gerre Hancock’s arrangement of Deep River is a beautiful and moving setting of this spiritual. The CD notes could be more insightful, and do not mention Stephen Paulus’s The Road Home – the work that gives the album its title.
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The first word I wrote when listening to this album of a cappella American music was ‘perfection’. Bright, clear diction, with a good vocal blend, effective dynamics and a pure sound – no vibrato! The close harmonies sound glorious and the dissonances are perfectly in tune. The top soprano notes float and soar effortlessly. This is a programme of discoveries from a range of American composers. Bern Herbolsheimer’s Seven Last Words is a beautiful yet intense setting of Jesus’ final words on the Cross. Gerre Hancock’s arrangement of Deep River is a beautiful and moving setting of this spiritual. The CD notes could be more insightful, and do not mention Stephen Paulus’s The Road Home – the work that gives the album its title.
