Your Top 3 Choirs

[maartendas]

We all love choirs - otherwise we wouldn't be on this forum And ofcourse there's more to choirs than just Libera - so, what other choirs are your favorites and why?
(hint, hint - this topic is merely a cover-up to persuade viabuona to comment on his top 3 choirs )

I'll start:

1. Roden Boys Choir
The best intense sound, sensitive, clear, amazing focus and concentration while performing, excellent lower voices. Love the feel I get that they really trust their director and follow his command. Always an emotional experience to witness them.

2. Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge
Intense sound, deep and colourful, lush and strong, with lots of drama. Great in 'darker' repertoire - Tavener, Duruflé, Howells.

3. Choir of Westminster Abbey
Very precise and controlled sound. Great in traditional, refined repertoire like Elgar but able to pull many different strings (Mathias, Bach, Pärt were only three composers I heard them perform works of when I attended Evensong).

I know I left King's College out and I need to consult with myself whether they are in 3rd position and Westminster Abbey in 4th - but I've never heard King's live as opposed to Westminster Abbey which gives the Abbey an advantage...

[viabuona]

(hint, hint - this topic is merely a cover-up to persuade viabuona to comment on his top 3 choirs )

Thought that either you or Yorkie will bring up this topic

So here my favorites

1. Riga Dom Boys Choir
   Apart from the voice they conviced me with the precision and perfection (they start and stop to sing when they have to do it and both concerts in consecutives days was been that way), the large range of the songs and the courage for the unconventional (like a christian latin rapp)
2. Kings College
   The sound is amazing but - I know them only from CD and this is like a weather forecast: It could be that way. I'll see (hear) it in September when they are in Mulhouse
3. Westminster Cathedral
   The voices including the trebbles are extraordinarily and I like the songs which are focused a little bit more on the gregorian chant with antiphon and responsories (at least what I could here live but also on the CDs I own).

Behind this three you'll find 'St Paul's Cathedral' (they was on place three some days ago ) but I don't know how to handle this choir. I participated last December on the Christmas Carol and it was great, really great. But some months earlier on a Evensong - absolutely disastrous. Didn't remark that this is a choir.

Outside the rating is the Westminster Abbey Choir. I participated once but only at the boys choir. So the next time I need to hear the full choir and I think they could go up.

[Yorkie]

Sorry guys but Kings under Cleobury is not quite at the top of its game of late. Quite honestly the best choir in Cambridge is the number two on my list:

1) New College, Oxford. Don't think they have made a CD that I don't like. There is just something about their blend of voices that appeals to me.

2) St John's College, Cambridge - have to agree with Maarten. These guys are insanely good and consistently better than the 'other' choir in Cambridge at the moment, particularly in the quality of the men's voices. Love the evensong broadcasts over the web.

3) Hard this one. I was thinking about Tewksbury or Salisbury or Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford or St Paul's but in the end I think I agree with Viabuona. Westminster Cathedral it is, just because I like the slightly different style than the Anglican choirs and their Trebles are top class. They do have a tendency to sing some right old crap though - turgid late 19th & early 20th century pieces by second rate Anglo-Catholic composers. When they stick to the classics they are right up there with the best.

[maartendas]

Thanks viabuona

They do have a tendency to sing some right old crap though - turgid late 19th & early 20th century pieces by second rate Anglo-Catholic composers. When they stick to the classics they are right up there with the best.

What composers are you talking about? Hopefully not James MacMillan
I think their recordings of Tomas Luis de Victoria are the best.

Btw I heard your comment about King's under Cleobury before. I wonder what the future will hold for them.

[LuxVenit]

At times/topics like this I absolutely DESPISE being American. While I do recognize a few of the choirs you've listed, I haven't heard them enough to rank them like you guys have. You HAVE given me some YouTube searching to do though, so thanks for that.

It's too bad we don't have choirs like this in the US to choose from, that I'm aware of anyway. Oh I'm sure there are some out there, but nowhere near the quality of these, nor as well known or promoted, which is a shame.

[Yorkie]

At times/topics like this I absolutely DESPISE being American. While I do recognize a few of the choirs you've listed, I haven't heard them enough to rank them like you guys have. You HAVE given me some YouTube searching to do though, so thanks for that.

It's too bad we don't have choirs like this in the US to choose from, that I'm aware of anyway. Oh I'm sure there are some out there, but nowhere near the quality of these, nor as well known or promoted, which is a shame.

The thing about music, my American friend, is that it has no boundaries or nationality - if you love it then it belongs to you So, whilst these choirs may be based in Europe, if you love them like we do you can claim them as your own. Find the CD's, listen to the podcasts and watch them on YouTube- if you like choral music you have years of fun and discovery ahead of you

And you're wrong you know, there are some excellent choirs in The States. The one that leaps to mind is one that closely follows my favourite Anglican style:

St Thomas


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They are one of the best choirs in the world and should have been amongst those I considered for my list.

Having said all that you also have some heinous affronts to all that is music and Holy in the USA (I am thinking of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir here). Those very much belong to you and I'm not sharing responsibility for them buggers with you:lol:

[LuxVenit]

The thing about music, my American friend, is that it has no boundaries or nationality - if you love it then it belongs to you So, whilst these choirs may be based in Europe, if you love them like we do you can claim them as your own. Find the CD's, listen to the podcasts and watch them on YouTube- if you like choral music you have years of fun and discovery ahead of you

And you're wrong you know, there are some excellent choirs in The States. The one that leaps to mind is one that closely follows my favourite Anglican style:

St Thomas

They are one of the best choirs in the world and should have been amongst those I considered for my list.

Having said all that you also have some heinous affronts to all that is music and Holy in the USA (I am thinking of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir here). Those very much belong to you and I'm not sharing responsibility for them buggers with you:lol:

Agreed 100% and more about music having no boundary or nationality. That's what makes it absolutely beautiful and uniting, and so much more that luckily for you folks words can't come close to describing. I guess I was just saying that it seems like in Europe you have awesome choral traditions right in your own backyard, while here in America they're a bit more elusive (but not as elusive as I thought, as you've proven to me). I do admit that I am new to the whole choral music scene, so unless it's an obvious choir like King's College or St. Paul's Cathedral I really have no idea where to look to find such talented groups.

Anyway, sorry to drag this off topic, just wanted to try to keep up with the "big boys" here, hehe. Oh yeah, I'm not claiming responsibility for the MTC either...

[Yorkie]

Interesting video from the No. 1 (traditional) choir in the world

Oxford in Voice

[viabuona]

Interesting video from the No. 1 (traditional) choir in the world

The world doesn't end at englands coast

Here my answer (Kennedy Center)

[Yorkie]

Interesting video from the No. 1 (traditional) choir in the world

The world doesn't end at englands coast

True, but I'm not sure I can say the same for civilisation

Nice video

[Yorkie]

I missed this at the time, not sure how. But Just for you Viabuona an Easter service from your second favourite choir:


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[viabuona]

But Just for you Viabuona an Easter service from your second favourite choir

Thanks Yorkie, that lets me even more looking forward to the concert in August.

[Yorkie]

Fauré's Requiem - excellent. Lucky you

Maarten, I see they are in Rotterdam in September - is that far from you?

Better yet - they are performing with WSK in October

[maartendas]

Fauré's Requiem - excellent. Lucky you

Maarten, I see they are in Rotterdam in September - is that far from you?

Better yet - they are performing with WSK in October

I think that's Mozart's Requiem

Thanks for the heads up - I have their website in my bookmarks but never think of checking it Rotterdam is approx. an hour by train. I'll see if I can make it!

Btw I see Andreas Scholl will sing with them on November 14 - that's a golden bill right there. Countertenor Scholl is my favourite male singer, period.

[viabuona]

Fauré's Requiem - excellent. Lucky you

I think that's Mozart's Requiem

Hm, at least Mozart was the only composer of a Requiem which took it so seriously that he died before he finished the piece.

Off Topic

For those who are not so familiar with this kind of Music: A Requiem is a Mass for the repose of the soul of a deceased.