Music Album Review: 'The Best of the King's Singers'

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(C) 2012 Signum Classics Records


On September 24, 2012, Britain's Signum Records released The Best of The King's Singers, a two-disc, 40-track compilation of a capella performances by the current iteration of The King's Singers (Patrick Dunachie, Timothy Wayne-Wright, Julian Gregory, Christopher Bruerton, Christopher Gabbitas, and Jonathan Howard).

As I wrote yesterday on my review of Gold, The King's Singers is a sextet of singers (two countertenors, one tenor, two baritones, and one bass) that performs choral compositions from various historical eras and genres without accompaniment. First formed by six choral students (five from King's College in Cambridge and one from Christ Church, Oxford) in 1968, several iterations of The King's Singers have performed in Great Britain, Europe, the U.S., and other countries throughout the world over the past half-century. Additionally, their recordings and concerts on DVD and other home media formats sell well, especially among classical music lovers and choral music buffs.

The Best of the King'Singers collects 40 selections from several recordings by the current version of The King's Singers, including Christmas (the group's first Signum album), Treason and Discord, Landscape & Time, Sacred Bridges, Gesualdo: Tenebrae Responses for Maundy Thursday, Royal Rhymes and Rounds, From the Heart, High Flight, Six from the Heart, Swimming Over London, and Simple Gifts. 

 As in Gold, The Best of The King's Singers selection straddles a wide range of musical genres. The mix includes sacred music, such as William Byrd's Civitas Sanctus Tui, secular choral music, including Bairstow's Music, When Soft Voices Die, Great American Songbook standards (Irving Berlin's Blue Skies), and pop classics by The Beatles and Billy Joel.



Of the latter, my favorite King's Singers rendition of a song by The Piano Man is She's Always a Woman, (see video above) a song that I first heard when I received Billy Joel's Greatest Hits, Volumes I & II: 1973-1985 as a birthday gift when I was a college student.  I also love the group's take on Joel's Good Night My Angel (Lullabye), a song that Joel wrote for Alexa Ray Joel, the singer-songwriter's daughter with ex-wife Christie Brinkley.



I first heard The King's Singers many years ago when my hometown of Miami (Florida) still had a classical music station. WTMI-FM (93.1 on the radio dial) is no more, but back in the 1990s, the station ended its morning show with The King Singers' signature song You Are the New Day, a
beautiful love song by John David and Peter Knight. This song is so joyful and bright that it seemed fitting to start one's day by listening to it.

I love choral music. I sang in two choral groups in my youth; once in the chorus at Tropical Elementary School, and again (for two and a half years) at South Miami High School. For me, hearing The King's Singers is a two-fold treat; I get to hear wonderful music from different eras and in different styles, plus I can remember my days as a singer in various high school ensembles, including my one semester's stint in the Men's Chorus when I was a sophomore.

The Best of The King's Singers is a good compilation album. Its 40 tracks give listeners two hours and 21 minutes worth of some of the world's best choral pieces across a wide array of genres and musical moods. And with the holiday season coming upon us, this 2-CD set makes a great gift for the music lover on your shopping list.

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