Our featured recording •
Wondrous Love CD

CHORUS ANGELICUS
and GAUDEAMUS
The Battell Brass

Directed by
Paul Halley

Choral works of Paul Halley
performed by his Connecticut choirs
with organ and brass accompaniment.  




Halley directs his "home team" in spirited performances of the popular suite Love Songs for Springtime, and the magnificent setting of the Appalachian hymn Wondrous Love. Also featured are several of Halley’s sacred compositions, from the intricate and rhythmic Christe Qui Lux Es to the lush and lyrical hymn-anthem Jesu, The Very Thought of Thee, and the majestic "What Stood Will Stand".

JN104 CD  $16.98


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If you're already at this page, you know that CD make great gifts... for yourself and for others. What gift is more affordably filled with pleasure and lasts and lasts? Like a book, you can keep opening it to enjoy anew. Why buy CDs instead of downloads? If it isn't obvious, give a glance at the article at the bottom of this page entitled, 'Why Buy CDs?' 

Fresh but tasteful arrangements invigorate this latest offering. Recording and performances are superb.'
- The Choral Journal


'Halley’s own arrangements are pleasingly inventive. It’s a well ordered programme ending gently with Watts’ Cradle Hymn after an exhilaratingly liberated Go, Tell It on the Mountain.'
- Gramophone Magazine


'...so clear, so tight an ensemble, sounding as one voice at times, and the quality of that sound almost as a resonating glass of water."
- The New York Times


'I am stunned silly by the beauty of Chorus Angelicus.  What an achievement!  The voices and the musicianship are nothing short of outstanding.'
- Music, Art, and Literature


'In the intense and sometimes overwhelmingly insular community of church musicians, Paul Halley smiles and hands us this delicious reminder that, hey, there is another world out there.'
- Pipedreams


'Playing music that is at once vibrant and intricately contrapuntal, Halley deploys the instruments with a symphonic sense of coloration.'
- Billboard Magazine


'Recording and performances are superb, with the sweet, transparent sound of Chorus Angelicus imparting something inimitable and irreplaceable: innocent wonder at the season.'
- The Choral Journal 


'For some of us, the most memorable moments in several classic Paul Winter Consort albums are those in which the rich and grounded voice of the great organ at St. John the Divine, in the hands of Paul Halley, begins to simmer at the periphery and then swell to a truly heart-warming grander impossible for any other instrument to achieve.'
- Pipedreams


'Halley's improvisations on the Cathedral's great organ dance, float, and sing as he carries us on a journey from dusk into the dawning of a new day. The album is at times joyous, at times meditative, but always uplifting and exciting.
- The Christian Herald


'Teamed up with gospel diva Theresa Thomason and a supporting cast that would do Cecil B. DeMille proud, Halley commands a unique medium remarkable for its fluidity and emotional power. The performances are superb.'
- The American Organist


'...an enriching experience regardless of your belief system; there is a universality in the musical expression that transcends denomination.'
- Rambles Magazine


'The ease with which the composer moves between styles as disparate as Gregorian chant and shape-note hymnody - all the while tying it together with his own unique sound - is most impressive.'
- The American Organist


'Halley is an immensely creative musician who gathers inspiration from wherever the wind blows. Never a manufacturer of illusions, Halley feels the true impact of what he creates because he understands the intrinsic relationship between music and life.'
- Sound Waves


'Perhaps it’s his clarity that’s most outstanding, or maybe because of his clarity he can accomplish so much more than ordinary mortals.'
- Kitchener/Waterloo Record


'An inspired testament to the keyboard maturity and compositional vision of one of today's most original musician.'
- The Huntsville News


'This is the music of warmth, serenity and great charm... Free-flowing, but thoughtful improvisations on lyrical, original theme.'
- The Ottawa Citizen


'Halley has a strong sense of melody and harmony, a boundless range of technique and an irresistibly affirmative point of view.'
- Pulse Magazine


'The vocals are sublime – ranging from the hauntingly ethereal to the “joyful noise” for which these groups are known!  It is easy to imagine oneself in heaven, or at least in the musician’s suburb of it!'
- AGO, Waterbury, CT


'There are a few pieces in which I literally could not be sure if the singing was a-capella or organ accompanied – I suspect the latter, but the registration and blending is so good that the organ, if present, becomes literally another voice in the chorus.  Now that’s Voix Humaine!'
- AGO, Waterbury, CT


 

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one beautiful song
SATB choir
piano & pipe organ

SATB Choir
pipe organ

SATB choirs
solo vocals
piano & pipe organ
jazz ensemble

solo vocals
SATB choir
guitars & banjos

SATB choir
a cappella

solo vocals
SATB choir
piano & pipe organ
rhythm section

SSA choir
piano & pipe organ

We no longer have physical inventory of this title and have no immediate plans to reprint the CD.

However, digital versions of the entire CD (or the four Paul Halley compositions individually) are available from CD Baby online at www.cdbaby.com

CLICK THE LINK BELOW: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chorusangelicus2

SSA choir
piano & pipe organ

SATB choir
pipe organ

SATB choir
piano & pipe organ
brass & timpani

Click on any CD image, title, or Catalogue No. for more information, reviews, track lists, credits, and sound clips as well as to activate the Shopping Cart feature for that particular CD.

Keyboard Recordings A-Z

pipe organ

piano & pipe organ

piano, pipe organ
& harpsichord

piano & pipe organ
with ensemble

jazz ensemble
with world percussion
& pipe organ

flutes
piano & pipe organ
with ensemble
 

narration
whale songs
piano & pipe organ
saxophone
percussion

Click on any CD image, title, or Catalogue No. for more information, reviews, track lists, credits, and sound clips as well as to activate the Shopping Cart feature for that particular CD.

Duet Recordings A-Z

cello
piano & pipe organ

solo vocals
piano
flutes, guitar, percussion

solo vocals
piano
oboe, guitar, percussion

Why buy CDs? (rather than downloads) Consider this.

The news surrounding the music industry these days might make you wonder if anyone is buying CDs any more. Major-label CD sales are down. Downloads are up. So the question is: As a music consumer, do you really need (or want) to buy CDs these days? Well, it may depend on the type of music you’re buying, or the artist you’re supporting. Consider these points:

1. No connectivity required. In many ways, CDs are easier than downloads. Take them home, pop ‘em in your car’s CD player, a boom box at a party… CD players are everywhere. There’s no web connectivity necessary, no searching around a website – just plug and play, and everyone can listen.

Digital downloads and transfers clearly offer a new kind of flexibility but CDs still represent the huge majority of sales in the music industry. The fact is, many people just don’t do downloads. Thinking of a gift for your grandmother? Even she knows how to use a CD.

2. CDs are permanent. (No crashing computers and lost data.) Music is virtually permanent on a CD. Hard drives crash and MP3 players die. But if you have a disc with content on it, your album is not lost. And of course, if you own a CD, you can legally and easily rip MP3s for storage or use with your favorite media player. You still have the disc as a backup and for use with your stereo, car, etc.

3. CDs tell a story. The artwork that comprises the CD package allows a full  illustration of the album’s artistic statement. A great looking CD and the specific choice of packaging say something about the artist, the music, and the hoped-for connection with you, the listening audience. Plus, you experience the track sequence, pacing, and breadth of the artist’s work, exactly as he or she intended. Singles certainly have their place and can spark interest, but albums are the only way for you to experience a thematic and sonic statement from the artist.

When you’re browsing through iTunes you may skim right over the artist’s name or song titles. But, given the opportunity, you might pick up the CD package based on the appeal of the artwork alone. CDs are a one-stop, self-contained collection that delivers music, graphics, artwork, lyrics, photos, and credits — all in a neat, compact package.

Plus, nothing beats having a CD that represent the completion of all that artistic effort, the months (or years) the artist spent composing, refining, rehearsing, recording, mixing, and mastering. Digital files are a great way to deliver tunes, but are a very detached and distant way to experience an artist’s creation.

4. CDs sound better than MP3s. Very simply, CDs sound better than MP3 downloads, because they’re not compressed like an MP3 file.

5. CDs make swell gifts. They’re reasonably priced, small and easy to wrap, cheap to mail (Media Mail!), and above all, an all-in-one gift of music, poetry, and art. Share the music YOU love with others in a gift package they’ll hang onto. (Sending a download as gift just isn’t quite the same.) 

6. CDs legitimize the artist and the music. Just as a business card is the most basic element to legitimize a business person, a CD is the most basic way to legitimize an artist. What major music artist doesn’t have a CD? Physical product, and in this case CDs, demonstrate that an artist is committed to his career, dedicated to his music, and you support that commitment by buying the complete CD package.  And, if a friend asks you what great tune that is you’re playing, you can just toss over the CD package!

7. CDs are a critical part of the independent artist’s revenue stream. When your favorite artists play a club or concert venue, the fee they receive from the concert producer is only part of the music revenue stream that supports the artist’s ongoing commitment to his music.  Any independent artist who tours knows that the majority of CDs they sell are sold from the stage or the merchandise table. When you purchase the artist’s CDs at a gig, you are helping to support and encourage that artist to continue to develop new, original material.  It’s like buying the work of an emerging painter.  Be a collector - support great art!

8. CDs are a great way to connect with the artist. Purchasing CDs, especially at a live concert, is a great opportunity to connect directly with the artist when, as a fan, you crave immediate gratification and a remembrance of the event.  The artist’s merchandise table is an invitation to you to have a direct and personal interaction with him, and artists always consider your interest in their music a great compliment.

Download cards are a new product that you can purchase, but you can't go out to your car and stick a download card in the player to give it a listen in between sets.  CDs are the best format for live sales; it’s an instant data transfer. And, while you’re at it, why not get the artist’s signature on the CD? (Try that with a download.)

Paraphrased from an article by Disc Makers with special thanks to Gene Foley (Foley Entertainment, Inc.), David Hooper (MusicMarketing.com), Martin Folkman (Music Resource Group), Jeri Goldstein (PerformingBiz.com) who contributed ideas.