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A Deep but Dazzling Darkness qualifies as a Christmas release, but some of the pieces, as the title suggests, evoke the long nights of the solstice period as well. It's a standout among the year's holiday releases, with clean singing from the vocal group Apollo5 and an evocative program that has a few Christmas hits (Angels We Have Heard on High, in the original French, the Coventry Carol, and I Wonder as I Wander) but mostly consists of fresh material from traditional tunes and the Renaissance to recent years. The arrangements of the traditional pieces are highly varied and elegant, and there is a richness to the whole. The program concept is novel and evocative, and it allows for the inclusion of works like the lovely and rarer Past Three O'Clock, and for apposite contemporary pieces by a variety of contemporary composers like Toby Young, James Bassi, and Dobrinka Tabakova. Although they do not use the Swingle Singers-like vocal devices that have appeared on some of their other albums, the mixed-gender Apollo5 has a fresh, rather madrigalian sound that will enliven the season even for general listeners with only passing familiarity with vocal ensemble music. Those looking for an album of Christmas favorites might try elsewhere, but to the curious the album is highly recommended.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Dobrinka Tabakova, Composer - Apollo5, MainArtist - Copyright Control - Dobrinka Tabakova, MusicPublisher
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Jacob Handl, Composer - OUP, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
William BYRD, Composer - OUP, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Traditional, Composer - Apollo5, MainArtist - Fraser Wilson, MusicPublisher
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Traditional, Composer - Apollo5, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Traditional, Composer - Apollo5, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Traditional, Composer - OUP, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Traditional, Composer - OUP, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Traditional, Composer - Edition Peters, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
John Jacob Niles, Composer - OUP, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Toby Young, Composer - OUP, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Herbert Howells, Composer - OUP, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
OUP, MusicPublisher - James Bassi, Composer - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Toby Young, Composer - Apollo5, MainArtist - Copyright Control - Toby Young, MusicPublisher
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
William Walton, Composer - OUP, MusicPublisher - Apollo5, MainArtist
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
Album review
A Deep but Dazzling Darkness qualifies as a Christmas release, but some of the pieces, as the title suggests, evoke the long nights of the solstice period as well. It's a standout among the year's holiday releases, with clean singing from the vocal group Apollo5 and an evocative program that has a few Christmas hits (Angels We Have Heard on High, in the original French, the Coventry Carol, and I Wonder as I Wander) but mostly consists of fresh material from traditional tunes and the Renaissance to recent years. The arrangements of the traditional pieces are highly varied and elegant, and there is a richness to the whole. The program concept is novel and evocative, and it allows for the inclusion of works like the lovely and rarer Past Three O'Clock, and for apposite contemporary pieces by a variety of contemporary composers like Toby Young, James Bassi, and Dobrinka Tabakova. Although they do not use the Swingle Singers-like vocal devices that have appeared on some of their other albums, the mixed-gender Apollo5 has a fresh, rather madrigalian sound that will enliven the season even for general listeners with only passing familiarity with vocal ensemble music. Those looking for an album of Christmas favorites might try elsewhere, but to the curious the album is highly recommended.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:46:36
- Main artists: Apollo5
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: VOCES8 Records
- Genre: Classical
(C) 2021 VOCES8 Records (P) 2021 VOCES8 Records
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