Music Album Review: 'The King's Singers: Gold'

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Many years ago, my hometown of Miami (Florida) had a classical music station, WTMI-FM. Its location on the FM dial was 93.1, and although it did not have as many listeners as stations that played other formats (rock, adult contemporary pop, urban hip hop, oldies, country, or Spanish-language music), it had a loyal base of listeners.

I ought to know; from the first time that I tuned in in the early 1980s to December 31, 2001, the sad day when it signed off the air to become Party 93.1, I was a member of that loyal base of listeners.

In that two-decade span when I listened to South Florida's "classy and jazzy" radio station, I heard a wide array of compositions, composers, orchestras, and even some awesome solo acts that encompassed many musical genres. Most of the music I listened to was symphonic/instrumental, but every so often I'd come across singers such as Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, Audra McDonald, and, of course, Luciano Pavarotti (either as a soloist or as one of the Three Tenors).

I also remember hearing the British a capella group The King Singers for the first time on WTMI. The station played one of their songs, "You Are the New Day," as the end-of-shift theme for the morning drive-time show. I liked that song a lot for many reasons; it is a beautiful choral piece, and it reminded me of my time as a member of my high school's men's choir during my sophomore year.


WTMI is long gone, and classical music is not a genre that many radio markets support with any success, so it has been a long time since I heard the King's Singers perform. I don't know anyone in my circle of friends that is a fan, and, to be honest, I had almost forgotten they existed until I got the urge to look in YouTube for a video that featured "You Are the New Day."

Well, as a result of that search - which was, by the way, successful - I discovered that:

  • The King's Singers have been around - in different iterations - for 50 years
  • Signum Records has released quite a few albums that feature The King's Singers
  • For the group's 50th Anniversary, an all-new three-CD album, Gold, was released in November 2017
To mark their 50th anniversary, The King's Singers have made it their mission to celebrate great music above all else – an aim which has driven them throughout their history. Their newly recorded triple-disc album – GOLD – completely reflects this with 60 tracks divided across three albums, themed as Close Harmony, Spiritual, and Secular. What unites every track across these albums is the quality of the material. Whether ancient motets, brand new commissions or much-loved arrangements of close-harmony music from the last 50 years, The King's Singers have put together a selection of great music that reflects the extra-ordinary diversity of their repertoire.  - from Signum Records' product description for Gold. 

Released on November 3, 2017, Gold features 60 songs performed by Patrick Dunachie (countertenor), Timothy Wayne-Wright (countertenor), Julian Gregory (tenor), Christopher Bruerton (baritone), Christopher Gabbitas (baritone), and Jonathan Howard (bass). It isn't, as one might imagine, a compilation of tracks recorded for earlier albums by the current iteration of The King's Singers. Rather, it's a new recording created especially for the ensemble's Golden Anniversary. 


Gold is, as Signum Records' promotional copy says, a triple disc album, with a diverse mix of music that includes The Beatles' And I Love Her, the Paul Walker tribute song See You Again by Charlie Puth, Billy Joel's And So It Goes, the sentimental Anglo-Irish song Danny Boy, the traditional song Shenandoah (aka Oh, Shenandoah), the old madrigal The Prayer of King Henry VI, and Quand tu dors pres de moi, a French love song that "borrows" the haunting melody from the third movement of Brahms' Third Symphony.

This is the first album of a capella music in my modest collection of CDs, but as a fan of choral music, I must say it's definitely worth getting. The six voices of the King's Singers join together beautifully - and joyfully - to make music that is, quite simply, pure magic. The performances are pitch perfect, and the diversity in the repertoire means that Gold has a little bit of something to offer to everyone. From sacred music to covers of pop music classics, The King's Singers give listeners the gift that keeps on giving.

As Shakespeare once wrote, "If music be the food of love, play on!"

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