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Description
“Christmas Angelicus” features acclaimed children’s choir, Chorus
Angelicus, and adult chamber choir, Gaudeamus, in the presentation of
holiday choral works under the direction of Paul Halley. This album
is a beautiful evocation of the holiday season with traditional
carols, majestic hymns, and glorious descants by composer Paul Halley.
Recorded at The Mary Keane Chapel at Shaker Village, Enfield, NH and St.
Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, CT by Grammy-award winning engineer, Tom
Bates. This joyous celebration includes such traditional favorites as
The First Nowell and The Twelve Days of Christmas as well as
the more unusual Huron Carol and Torches. An outstanding
cover design in full color by Kerry Gavin Studios completes this
irresistible package.
Reviews
from The Absolute Sound
“This is my favorite Christmas record of the last several years, which I got too late to make last year’s list. This label is part of Pelagos, a kind of Paul Halley boutique that publishes sheet music as well as recordings. Halley is the former organist of St. John the Divine in New York and a key member of the Paul Winter Consort; this record features the children’s and adult choirs he now leads in the Berkshires. Christmas Angelicus includes such classic modern carols as John Joubert’s “Torches”, Elizabeth Poston’s “Jesus Christ The Apple Tree”, and Harold Darke’s “In The Bleak Midwinter”, as well as modern arrangements of traditional tunes. It is all nicely sung, aside from a slight tendency to stress downbeats more than a subtle English choir would allow, and splendidly recorded in appropriate spaces. What earns it a place in the Pantheon, though, are the descants Halley wrote for four carols, in particular the one for “The First Nowell”, which soars above not just the last chorus but the entire last stanza, fresh, audacious, and thrilling, lifting the familiar carol into realms of glory (to borrow a phrase from another carol).”
- Michael Alan Fox
from The American
Organist Magazine
“Christmas Angelicus features traditional carols in settings primarily by British composers of the 20th century. Several of the selections feature arrangements and descants by Paul Halley, and it is here that his background in jazz becomes apparent, as the warm and occasionally surprising harmonic progressions lend a fresh and contemporary air to some of the more familiar tunes. From the opening solo of “Once in royal David’s city” – performed processional style a la Kings College Choir, Cambridge – to the closing rendition of “Hark, the herald angels sing”, these lovingly performed and recorded treasures are likely to find a home near the top of just about anyone’s stack of holiday favorites.”
- Jennifer Kolmes
from The
Journal of the
Association of Anglican Musicians
"Diction and intonation are superb. The children and adults sing not only
with coherence but with an admirable freshness of sound. Paul Halley’s
descants and imaginative harmonizations are refreshing."
- Victor
Hill
CREDITS
Artists
Chorus Angelicus
& Gaudeamus
Directed by
Paul Halley
with guests Thomas Bogdan and Bruce Fifer
Paul Halley,
Organist
Elizabeth Allyn,
Recording Accompanist
Production
Produced by Tom Bates,
Paul Halley & Margaret Race
Margaret Race,
Executive Producer
Tom Bates,
Recording Engineer
Katherine Leigh,
Assistant Engineer
Choirs recorded at
The Mary Keane Chapel, Enfield, NH
Organ recorded at
St. Joseph Cathedral, Hartford, CT
Kerry
Gavin Design,
Art Design and Production
Margaret Race,
Creative Supervision
Choirs
Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus
© 1995 Paul Halley/Joyful
Noise Inc.
Paul Halley, Joyful Noise Inc. Artistic Director
Margaret Race, Joyful Noise Inc., Executive Director
All Rights Reserved
Made in USA
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