librariankt's Full Review: Carols From the Yard / Somerville, Harvard Univers...
Every year, the weekend before the semester ends, the Harvard University Choir (led by Murray Forbes Somerville) and the Memorial Church present two Carols services. These identical services offer the standard lessons and carols for the Advent season as well as a few new offerings that audiences may not recognize. This CD was recorded live in December of 1994, and includes not only the carols as sung by the Choir, but also readings, blessings, and hymns sung by the choir and congregation.
It should be noted that the Reverend Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Minister in the Memorial Church Peter J Gomes was in fine form for these services, delivering his lessons and prayers with as much aplomb as he could muster. Gomes is well-known as a writer of Christian essays, including "The Good Book", and as a conservative preacher. I believe he gave the blessing at George HW Bush's inauguration.
The Choir, however, sounds wonderful. This choir is composed of approximately fifty students from Harvard University - both the college and the graduate schools - with mixed voices. The purity of sound does not approach the world-famous King's College Choir, and the volume is not close to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. However, this choir tackles music that most undergraduates would not dream of singing, and does it well.
Some of the tracks in particular should be highlighted. Track 9, "Personent Hodie" by Gustav Holst, is a standard hymn for this service. It is played with tubular chimes (which are unfortunately drowned out by the Fiske organ) and, in the final verse, accompanied by the choir members' jangling keys. The story goes that the zimbelstern stop on the organ malfunctioned one year (that is the function that produces the sound like the pealing of tiny bells), so the choir filled in by shaking their key rings. Once a tradition is started at Harvard it is hard to stop it!
Track 12, "Mary Had a Baby", is a traditional carol. In this performance by Awet "Mimi" Andemicael, it is given a sweet, smooth sound that I have not heard in other choirs. Andemicael resists the urge to slide off the top notes, which contributes to the ethereal nature of her performance. Following this carol with "Riu riu chiu", a rousing Spanish-language carol complete with drums, brings the service out of the lullaby mode and more into a dancing time.
Make sure that when Track 17, "Stille Nacht/Silent Night", comes on that you are able to stop and just listen. The Choir sings this carol in German while the congregation sings in English. On the second verse, two sopranos (standing in the balcony at the back of the church) sing a magical descant. On the last verse, the sopranos of the choir sing another descant on "Ah" that, to me, sounds like angels floating above the rest of the carol.
A caveat: Because some of the carols on this CD are sung a cappella and some are sung with the organ and/or other instruments, the volume level varies widely. Either sit close to your controls or accept that some songs will be too loud or too soft.
The major difference between this CD and others of Christmas carols is the inclusion of the lessons from Isaiah and Luke and the prayers. If you are looking for a CD of music only, this may not be the CD for you. However, if you like to hear the familiar words of Advent, this is a wonderful option.
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