SINGER PUR - SOS: SAVE OUR SONGS CD

$34.99

Other Details

Artist:
SINGER PUR
Title:
SOS: SAVE OUR SONGS
Genre:
CLASSICAL / CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS
SKU:
812864018417
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4 - 8 Business Days

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  • Description

    SKU/Barcode: 812864018417

    These 'German folksongs newly arranged,' according to the booklet notes, were partially inspired by the King's Singers' versions of English folk songs and partly by the desire to explore 'an enormous treasure chest of songs slumbering in the vaults of time, hidden by various forms of baggage, so to speak.' The (mostly) a cappella group Singer Pur is not quite in the King's Singers' league, but this collection of songs is likely to be enjoyable for those who enjoy comparable British releases. The fun is not in the similarities but in the differences. Singer Pur wants to perform these songs 'beyond cloying male choir excesses and even more so freed from any nationalistic baggage' (the German word translated as baggage here is Vorbelastung, previous impact or initial level of pollution), and indeed the arrangements include those by American and Finnish composers as well as by members of the group and other Germans. That's an intriguing procedure in itself, and it results in a strikingly diverse set of arrangements. Unlike the general run of a cappella recordings of any kind, Singer Pur ranges from sextets (curiously with a soprano as the only female singer) in typical Romantic style to settings that sound like Manhattan Transfer or even Take 6 in a few instances, along with delightfully light pieces close to the King's Singers style (try track 4, Zu Regensburg auf der Kirchtumspitz, for a general idea of these). This diversity of style matches a diversity of source material, with tunes that date back to the medieval era and forward to the nineteenth century, and there are some unusual correspondences of tune and arrangements. But the best reason for at least non-Germans to get to know this disc is the presence of some really charming pieces like Es und es, es und es (It and It, It and It, track 9), underlaid, as folk songs so often are, with dire stories. Texts are given in German and English.