Amazon.co.uk Review
The Choir of New College Oxford has been performing for more than 600 years.
Bluebird features five centuries' worth of choral music, from Taverner to Tavener, under Edward Higginbottom, the choir's musical director since 1976. This is the choir's first recording for Decca and although its standard of performance doesn't quite match up to those made for Erato, such as the bestselling
Agnus Dei, this is a fascinating and well-conceived collection of 20 sacred works. Composers including Monteverdi, Handel, Gounod, Grieg, Fauré, Rachmaninov, Rossini, Messiaen and Pärt are explored. But it is the English repertory which the choir most succeeds in bringing to life, notably John Rutter's heartwarming
What Sweeter Music, Edgar Bainton's rousing
And I saw a new Heaven, Charles Stanford's mesmerising
The Blue Bird and the glorious "Amen" from Gerald Finzi's
Lo, the full, final sacrifice. --
Rebecca Agnew