Favourite Carols from King's

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TRADITIONAL
Favourite Carols from King's
Adam Banwell (treble) / The Choir of King's College Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury

[ King's College SACD / Hybrid SACD ]

Release Date: Saturday 15 November 2014

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With their annual Christmas broadcasts, the Choir of King's College, Cambridge has become a centrepiece of the yuletide tradition for families around the world.

For 2014, the choir is delighted to release the first collection of favourite carols on its own label, recorded in the magnificent acoustic of King's College Chapel on CD.

'Favourite Carols from King's' is a collection of the most popular carols featured in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols over the years. Highlights include 'Once in Royal David's City', with the opening verse sung by treble Adam Banwell, 'In the Bleak Midwinter', solo performed by bass Hugo Herman-Wilson and 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'. It provides at once a survey of the King's Christmas tradition and a snapshot of the choir as it is today.

The album is the acclaimed label's sixth release, joining other successfully received recordings such as the debut release 'Nine Lessons and Carols' which reached number 2 in the UK Specialist Classical Chart, 'Mozart Requiem Realisations' ****/**** from BBC Music Magazine, and 'Britten St Nicolas' which received 5 stars in the Financial Times.

The album's release will be accompanied by an extensive international press and marketing campaign. The Choir of King's College, Cambridge will perform Bach's 'Magnificat' at The Chapel, Cambridge, on the 12th November 2014, with the OAE,and again at the Barbican, London, on the 6th December 2014, conducted by Stephen Cleobury. On the 16th and 17th December the Choir and Stephen Cleobury will appear in Edinburgh's Usher Hall, performing Christmas music including Poulenc's 'Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noël'. The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is one of the world's foremost choirs and amongst the most widely heard. It owes its existence to King Henry VI, who envisaged the daily singing of services in his magnificent chapel. This remains the Choir's raison d'être, and is an important part of the lives of its 16 choristers, who are educated at King's College School, and the 14 choral scholars and two organ scholars, who study a variety of subjects in the College. The Choir has produced numerous professional singers including James Gilchrist, Christopher Purves and Gerald Finley.

"exactly what one would hope for...Throughout, the singing is immaculate and full of unexaggerated expression." International Record Review, December 2014

"The choir's glory remains its boy trebles, whose gleaming descants, vibrato-free production and tonal freshness are invariably the icing on the cake in these typically polished, debonair performances." BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2014 ****

"If you want a disc of well-loved carols and one which offers the 'imprimatur' of the King's College Choir then this disc will serve you well. The choir is on fine form, the three Organ Scholars between them provide expert accompaniments to many of the carols and the performances have been well recorded…a generous selection of mostly traditional seasonal fare…satisfyingly performed." MusicWeb International, 5th December 2014

"King's Choir is clearly in excellent shape." Sunday Times, 21st December 2014

"'The recordings are of outstanding musical quality…[Cleobury] cultivates an extremely differentiated dynamic design with nuanced pianissimo passages, colored tutti passages and vocal phrasing." klassik.com

Tracks:

1. Once in royal David s city
2. Ding!Dong! merrily on high
3. Herefordshire Carol
4. Adam lay ybounden
5. Sussex Carol
6. In dulci jubilo
7. Joy to the World
8. Gabriel's message
9. The holly and the Ivy
10. Hymn: O little town of Bethlehem
11. A spotless Rose
12. The shepherd s Carol
13. Angels from the realms of glory
14. Silent Night
15. Hymn: It came upon a midnight clear
16. In the bleak midwinter
17. I saw three ships
18. While shepherds watched their flocks
19. The three kings
20. Coventry Carol
21. God rest you merry, gentlemen
22. Away in a manger
23. All bells in paradise
24. Hark! the herald angels sing
25. O come, all ye faithful

Organ Restoration: Timelapse