キャロルズ・フローム・ケンブリッジ・キングズ・カレッジ

伝統ある名門聖歌隊《ケンブリッジ・キングズ・カレッジ合唱団》による、美しきクリスマス・キャロルの贈り物。

500年以上という長い伝統を持つケンブリッジ・キングズ・カレッジ合唱団は、少年合唱による高音域(ボーイ・ソプラノ)と、成人による中低域(カウンターテナー、テノール、バス)という、男声のみのいわゆる英国国教会の伝統的聖歌隊スタイルによる合唱ということで、宗教音楽を筆頭に合唱音楽に求められる透明度の高い表現には最適な均一性が魅力ともなっています。この合唱団の長い歴史と録音の、清楚で荘厳なクリスマス・キャロルの世界の中から、代表的なクリスマス・キャロルを厳選したアルバムです。
ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン

The repertory of British Christmas releases, like Britain itself, is much more diverse than it used to be, and the marketplace is replete with holiday albums featuring contemporary compositions, pieces drawn from world cultures, and more. That, paradoxically, may have created an opening for Warner Classics 2022 release Carols from Kings College Cambridge, which is a reissue collection of old, perhaps "classic" recordings and a purely traditional outing, with almost all the carols well-known to anyone with the slightest acquaintance with the Christmas music of the Anglophone sphere. The album made classical best-seller lists in late 2022. The arrangements used are venerable, many dating back to the choirs 1960s director, David Willcocks, and even further, to John Stainer, and there are some chorus-brass-organ readings featuring the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, the group of choice in the 1960s and 70s. It is a classic sound, and that seems to be just what many listeners wanted. Sample one of the traditional carols, perhaps O Little Town of Bethlehem, to hear the texture of the choir in its golden years. The engineering was of the LP era; it certainly isnt state of the art today, but it is interesting to hear the grain of the space in solos and quieter pieces like Silent Night. For those planning a traditional Christmas, this may be just the ticket. ~ James Manheim