Customer Reviews

Chanticleer - Out of This World

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a must have cd for any classical, choral,or jazz music fan. Chanticleer is world renowned for their abilty to branch out and do all kinds of different styles, and this cd shows off there incredible range and diveristy. This cd incompasses 20th Century classical, Rennisance, Romantic, Jazz, Spirital, and Folk music done with blend balance and style that each one of these genres calls for. It can take years for a group to do one off these genres well, let alone all. If you have never heard them this a a good cd to start with, and if you have heard them this is a great cd to add to your collection

If you like all-male (mainly) a cappella groups, this is the one for you. They sing everything from Byrd to Berlin....and all of it is marvelous. A real mix of classical, traditional, jazz and gospel throughout all of their works. This a group that just can't be beat.

The purpose of a sampler is to showcase a variety of one's best work, and Chanticleer certainly does that on this disc. The Gabrieli Magnificat captures the spirit of San Marco, Venice, and then jazz and pop numbers are hilarious! A lesser known treasure is "I have had singing". "Jesus met the woman at the well"...as my grandfather used to say, "If that don't light your fire, your wood's wet."

No matter what your musical tastes are, you will enjoy this CD. Chanticleer sings songs with such a beauty and clarity, it makes one want to take up singing. I highly recommend all of Chanticleer's material.

The last work on this recording, "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well, is worth many times the price of this CD. Joseph Jennings' performance on this one riveting and the group really takes off. The entire album is great, but this piece is an absolute knockout.

I stumbled across Chanticleer in late 2005, while running a search for chorale music -- the album I found being Gregorian Chants -- and instantly fell in love with this wonderful group. I had known about countertenors for some time previously, but, as I had not yet witnessed the sound, was stunned to find that Chanticleer was composed entirely of males.

Their sound is wonderful; rarely do I catch them slipping in their harmonies, a quality that I primarily associate with Russian Orthodox Choirs, which I don't find often enough within the US-of-A. But being a stickler isn't bad; it's this way that I found, and stuck with Chanti.

The selections of music on this CD are wide, ranging from American Folk -- Shenandoah -- to Strauss' "Drei Männerchöre," and back to Irving Berlin and beyond. My personal favorite is the rendition of Allen Shearer's musical adaptation of "Nude Descending a Staircase," featuring X. J. Kennedy's text.

As a final note: for lovers of a good bass in choral music, this is certainly a CD to consider, as are all Chanticleer works, thanks to Mr. Eric Alatorre, facial ornamentation and all. He's certainly a warm, rich anchor for the group's sometimes ethereal sound.

While I found this album to be not to my taste (I bought it based on a review by Orson Scott Card on his web-site), I do have to admit that the music is excellent. You can't hide flaws when singing a cappella, and there are none to be found here. Probably not something I'll end up keeping in my collection, but it was worth the experience.