Customer Reviews

Boys Requiem

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I do not know if he is the "treble of the century" as notes to another cd with Connor Burrowes suggests, but his singing on this cd (and on two other cds that I know of)is the best treble voice ("boy soprano"?)I have ever heard, and I have a number of cds with boy choirs and solos. The solo treble voice often has one or two of the following problems: it either lacks depth or sounds like a soprano voice (which is completely as it should be if it is a true soprano voice), but I believe the treble voice should be heard on its own terms. Burrowes' voice, however, has both astounding depth while still sounding like a true treble voice. For someone use to classical cds, the length of this cd is too short and the packaging has a "pop" character, but Burrowes' voice and its accompaniment are stunning. Both the other treble voices and the instruments are just right. The musical concept of the cd is excellent; sacred works are given a slightly non-standard setting, but still quite acceptable to this classical listener who loves sacred music while at the same time being accessible to non-classical listeners. Another small boy choir called "Libera" came out with a cd in England that had a similar concept: make sacred music and the treble voice more accessible. But it misses the right mix of excellence, a sense of the sacred, and popular appeal. The excellence of Burrowes and the Boys Air Choir makes the short timing of the cd all the more frustrating. Why could the listener not hear more of Burrowes and more of his choir? The Boys Air Choir is made up of a small number of boys from the best boy choirs in England and a boy is appointed choir master, as Connor Burrowes was for this one. The treble voice, of course, does not last long. I wish Burrowes and the Boys Air Choir every success. I hope Burrowes will stay involved with the treble voice even while he moves on to other musical realms, and I hope the Boys Air Choir will endure through a number of "generations" of the treble voice. This cd should be more widely known; it really should be some sort of chart topper.

There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to classical performances: First, the performance should mirror exactly what the composer intended, right down to expression, instrumentation, and vocal inflection. The second, that the music should entertain and bring fresh, new approaches to the Masters' music. Requiem falls into the second school of thought, and many of the arrangements are stunning. A case in point is Webber's Pie Jesu, with boy treble Connor Burrowes singing both treble parts with such precision and beauty that one can hardly quell the emotions, and the instrument arrangements quite different from what Webber wrote, adding a fresh perspective to a beautiful piece of music. If you enjoy the angelic sound of boys' voices as I do, then I highly recommend this CD and especially the angelic voice of this remarkable boy.

Ah, sadly this is a beautifully sung CD that was badly recorded.

The boys sang their parts quite beautifully but the engineer has perhaps got some ear problems to have made such an egregious and obvious mistake. One finds onseself having to ignore the awful tinny metallic overtones, and the breathy electronic "air" on the boys beautiful vocals. Listeners who love boys vocals for their purity and clarity will be sorely disappointed with this CD.

The music is simple and well done, and the boys are at their best, but the phoney "air effect" is quite disconcerting and with the tinnitis colorizations, possibly impossible to overlook. I wince when I hear it, but the great performances make up somewhat for the poor recording, so it's not a total loss. Hence the relatively high score of three stars that I give this particular recording.

A remastering with pure vocals would definitely warrant five stars, but I suspect the damage was done right on the master tapes. I hope to be made wrong on that point as this CD could truly be a masterpiece with some decent engineering.

Conner Burrows is now choir master for the prestigious Boys Air Choir, made up of eight top treble choristers from St. Paul's, Salisbury and Westminster Cathedrals. This choir was formed to be "the best quality boy's choir in the world". Conner is the feature soloist on this album recorded while he was a member of this choir and still had his pure treble voice. His has been called "the greatest treble voice in this century" by critics in Japan and his native England. Quoting from the fold-out in the album "Like crystal, shining in the sun, like tears falling from your eyes - the voice of this boy will make you believe that life is forever". His "Pie Jesu" - tracts number 2 and 7 are all this and more. If you love treble voices, you will love this album. And yes, it's okay to cry when you hear him.

Connor Burrowes who is the leader of Boys air choir sings most of these albums solo. He is the top soloist of the British choir which has received the worldwide highest evaluation. His song is pure. I feel the light of the sound it crystal glass touches his song lightly and suits, the water which a mountain stream is cold and became clear, and the prism which shines with a solar light.

Although released as a Boys Air Choir recording, this is rather misleading as Connor Burrows actually sings solo on this excellent choral offering.
Connor, a former chorister from St.Paul's Cathedral as were his younger singing siblings Edward and Patrick, was I feel in many way sadly overlooked as a suberb treble, by the deserving success of his fellow chorister at the time Anthony way.
Connor Burrows sharper, and perhaps slightly more powerful tones in evidence on this solo album, are well suited to the tracks chosen for this recording.
He sings Faure's Sanctus beautifully, to match any other version of it I've so far heard, and the scales he reaches in Lacrimosa have to be heard to be believed!
He's less well suited to singing the more gentle carols, Away In a Manger and In The Bleak Mid Winter, but overall a pleasing CD with a treble voice at its peak.

I didn't always care for the arrangement or treatment, but Connor's voice was enough to award 5 stars. I don't like tinkering with music to contemporize it, but, that aside, the singing was quite good. I'd have liked hearing more from the entire Air Choir instead of the choir serving primarily as back-up for Connor, who simply has an extarordinary voice and an exceptional talent to match it.

This CD highlights one boys voice mostly. He has an angelic voice and is very talented, but if you didn't know it was a boy singing, you might think it was a girl or even an adult.

I was hoping this CD would have more of a boyhood quality to it. Meaning, the singing would have lots of treble, but also an unmistakable boy sound. I was also hoping that I would hear more of the rest of the choir, rather than just the one boy.

It is a very peaceful CD though, and I do not regret buying it.

The insert in this CD is almost entirely in Japanese, which was somewhat of a disappointment to me. And Amazon lists 17 tracks for this CD, but the CD that I got (directly from Amazon, not through a dealer) had only 12 tracks. Tracks 13-17 shown on Amazon were not on the CD.
Despite these two problems, this CD is still very much worth having. This is truly beautiful music.

5 stars is all I can give? I loved this cd. The voices are awesome and the music scores are right on the money. How can they sing that high without straining something I'll never know but get this cd, you won't regret it.