Search - Light's Glittering Morn, Various :: Lights Glittering

Glorious sound in a glorious space

R. Anthony Lee | Lafayette CO | 10/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I have had a long personal relationship with both Washington National Cathedral and John Fenstermaker, the conductor of this disc, it would be difficult for me to find anything critical to say about it. The sound brings back memories, but that's another story. The balance of forces - an immense organ, a very large choir (two combined, actually), and a brass band - is superb for a recording in a space notoriously difficult to get a balanced sound in. I was particularly interested in the addition of the brass band to things like Finzi's "God is gone up," which (as far as I know) was not originally scored to include it. It's a big, glorious sound in a big, glorious space, but also has some more contemplative moments (e.g. Palestrina's "Sicut cervus" and Tallis's "If ye love me" ) and the unusual treat of about 45 seconds of carillon music (I'd have liked more!) at the beginning. Consider this CD an ESSENTIAL addition to the library of any fan of Anglican church music at its best."