Posted with kind permission if TubaDiva and the SDMB administration.
As the four of you who know who I am are aware, I’m a professional singer and music teacher. On of my “jobs” is as a bass in the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, a “professional” a cappella choir (everyone is paid: a whopping $75 a concert. I don’t do it for the money).
The Chamber Chorus is well regarded, both in the area and abroad. Of the Chorus’s 11 CDs, the last three have been released internationally, and have received quite a lot of praise (well, not the new one).
Our latest CD was released this past weekend. It is a collection of a cappella works by the English composer Granville Bantock, a rather neglected contemporary of Vaughan Williams and good friend of Elgar. It is typical Edwardian music, wit lush harmonies and dramatic sensibilities.
Although I’m clearly biased, I think the CD is quite good. I was actually a little dubious about the rep; I enjoy Bantock, but wasn’t sure that an entire CD of his music could really stand on its own. I think it worked out better than I had expected.
The CD is available through the SLCC website if you’re in North America or through Regent Records if you’re in the UK. I assume Regent ships worldwide, but I don’t know for sure.
The other CDs I’ve been involved in are “St. Louis Commissions”, consisting of pieces that the choir has commissioned in the last ten years or so, with music by Ned Rorem, Clare Maclean, Judith Bingham, and Sasha Johnson Manning. It is also available either at the SLCC site or Regent. The other is called “Songs of the Soul” and pairs settings of the poetry of St. John of the Cross with motets by Tomas Luis de Victoria. It is available through the SLCC website or at Guild Records.
If any fans of a cappella choral music are interested and decide to buy a CD, I would love to hear your feedback.