Customer Reviews

To Drive the Dark Away

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4 star:		(1)
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This album is strange and wonderful. It is a recording of Christmas Revels sung by two very contrasting choirs, a Russian one and an African American one. There is occasionally a children's choir and some other ensembles joining the performance.

What I found most interesting and thrilling about it was that the two main choirs were not entirely "academic" in style but had a rather folklore wildness to them, and they sang sometimes individually and sometimes together juxtaposing their contrasting carols in a surprising mixture. The result (sometimes powerful, sometimes ethnic and wild) gives you a sense of celebration, spirituality, and a joining of cultures that is hard to describe, and all of it with a Christmas flavor on top. I warn you, there is occasional foot stamping, and howls, and some autochthonous instruments, all of which I found rather exciting. Many of the Carols are sung in Swedish or in Scandinavian languages, others in some African language I couldn't identify (but I loved it) and a few in English. I'm personally familiar with Swedish carols(some of them are hauntingly beautiful) because I once conducted a Santa Lucia Choir in the year 1995; so my love and curiosity for Scandinavian carols was the first thing that led me to this recording.

This CD is not for those who are looking for recordings of the same old traditional carols. It is rather a departure from that to a different Christmas realm, a far more spontaneous one. Don't take me wrong, I love Christmas recordings of the King's Singer, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and other more traditional choirs. But the originality of this album was rather refreshing.

Yet another Revels album that is just absolutely wonderful.If you like traditional music and proper folk, click, order or whatever...support these talented people. PS. Revels come to the UK asap.

One word of warning, at least about the CD version: it was clearly recorded in a large room, and it sounds like the recording equipment wasn't properly placed. This occasionally results in the performers sounding distant or ever-so-slightly muffled.

Definitely worth the purchase, especially if you love the Revels -- this recording has a lot going for it. Just be aware that, at least on some transfers, the recording is less than stellar.