Search - Hilliard Ensemble :: Singing Club

Slightly baudy; mostly gleeful

atarigalen | Claremont, CA United States | 10/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was the first CD I ever purchased featuring the Hilliard Ensemble, and I continue to be amazed by their overall quality of work during the 1990s. "The Singing Club" (1992) is a collection of what are often called catches and glees. A catch is generally humorous or baudy, although great pains are usually taken to avoid being obvious. Double entendres abound in the first dozen pieces on this CD. The last six pieces are glees, which are tightly written songs that generally have a clear lead line (as opposed to the catch where hiding the punch line is part of the fun!) If you've ever heard a barbershop quartet sing "Sweet and Low", you probably have a good idea what a glee sounds like. Do keep in mind however, that the authors of most of these works died quite a few years before barbershop became popular. The Hilliard Ensemble, while better known for their early renaissance recordings, performs these pieces with beautiful tone and extreme precision, giving many of the works an overall sound (if you are not listening closely) similar to what you would expect of an extremely well done English madrigal.
If you have ever appreciated the distinct beauty of a men's classical group, "The Singing Club" will be well worth your money."