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I went over to iTunes today and saw that Chanticleer had a free download.
Over on the right, there was the usual "if you like this, then you'll like ..." which mentioned the King's Singers. And that led me to Cantabile.
In the early 80s, when I was living in London, there were several a capella groups. The Flying Pickets were my favorite. They were the only ones doing exclusively modern music, and there's also the fact that they were unabashedly political. Ken Gregson did microphone sound effects, and, to give you an idea of their kind of arrangement, his air raid sirens and explosions make "Walk Like a Man" into a commentary on the Falklands war. Sadly, the album that's from never made it to CD. The one that did make it to CD includes "Remember This" -- a lovely Latin-esque ditty that includes the upbeat line "Remember this: Requiems don't quite make up for the loss of a life."
The King's Singers never really did it for me, although they were the favorite group of several friends. I can recognize their artistry, but I've never been touched by it.
Which leads me to Cantabile. They were the smallest of the groups (Flying Pickets had six, Chanticleer has twelve) with only four men.
The opera singer Julia Migenes (then -Johnson) had a television series called Top Cs and Tiaras. Cantabile was the guest one evening. They were working in the West End in a musical called Blondel which was billed as "A musical for the '80s -- the 1180s" as a Chorus commenting on the action.
In the type of staged banter that's common on variety shows, one of them remarked they weren't allowed to sing their favorite song from Blondel because it was the love song which, as is inevitable, they then sang.
I fell in love. Their countertenor was stunning (vocally -- I can't remember what any of them looked like). They were in a living room set, sitting on sofas and the floor by firelight. It was so simple. I have never heard the song again, but I've longed for it like a lover.
Every time I check iTunes, I type in Cantabile and get a huge listing of classical music.
Today, I also got the group. The new album is all lullabies, and they're working with a pianist. The four songs I bought include one of Johnny Dankworth's (or Sir John as he is now) Shakespeare songs "Our Revels Now are Ended." It's gorgeous.
I still can't find a recording of Blondel. I sure as hell can't find Top Cs and Tiaras or Cantabile's rendition of the love song. But listening to those harmonies thrilled me.
Over on the right, there was the usual "if you like this, then you'll like ..." which mentioned the King's Singers. And that led me to Cantabile.
In the early 80s, when I was living in London, there were several a capella groups. The Flying Pickets were my favorite. They were the only ones doing exclusively modern music, and there's also the fact that they were unabashedly political. Ken Gregson did microphone sound effects, and, to give you an idea of their kind of arrangement, his air raid sirens and explosions make "Walk Like a Man" into a commentary on the Falklands war. Sadly, the album that's from never made it to CD. The one that did make it to CD includes "Remember This" -- a lovely Latin-esque ditty that includes the upbeat line "Remember this: Requiems don't quite make up for the loss of a life."
The King's Singers never really did it for me, although they were the favorite group of several friends. I can recognize their artistry, but I've never been touched by it.
Which leads me to Cantabile. They were the smallest of the groups (Flying Pickets had six, Chanticleer has twelve) with only four men.
The opera singer Julia Migenes (then -Johnson) had a television series called Top Cs and Tiaras. Cantabile was the guest one evening. They were working in the West End in a musical called Blondel which was billed as "A musical for the '80s -- the 1180s" as a Chorus commenting on the action.
In the type of staged banter that's common on variety shows, one of them remarked they weren't allowed to sing their favorite song from Blondel because it was the love song which, as is inevitable, they then sang.
I fell in love. Their countertenor was stunning (vocally -- I can't remember what any of them looked like). They were in a living room set, sitting on sofas and the floor by firelight. It was so simple. I have never heard the song again, but I've longed for it like a lover.
Every time I check iTunes, I type in Cantabile and get a huge listing of classical music.
Today, I also got the group. The new album is all lullabies, and they're working with a pianist. The four songs I bought include one of Johnny Dankworth's (or Sir John as he is now) Shakespeare songs "Our Revels Now are Ended." It's gorgeous.
I still can't find a recording of Blondel. I sure as hell can't find Top Cs and Tiaras or Cantabile's rendition of the love song. But listening to those harmonies thrilled me.
