Deep River
Classics Today
Artistic Quality: 10; Sound Quality: 10
David Vernier

If you like Spirituals sung by a male choir, you won't do much better than the performances on this excellent program by the Minneapolis/St. Paul-based professional chamber ensemble Cantus. Although there are only 12 voices here, their collective sound has a fullness and richness often lacking in larger groups. Inflection, phrasing, dynamics, and balance show the polished presentation exhibited only by singers who both possess that certain intuitive ensemble-sense and have made a significant investment of many hours of rehearsal time together. Further, the group's overall sound and expressive range make their music a delight to the ear and keep us interested even though there's a certain similarity to the harmony and style of many of these pieces.

Experienced choir singers certainly will know most or all of these arrangements, for they are among the most famous and revered in the repertoire. Among the highlights are Harry T. Burleigh's "Ezekiel saw de wheel," "Were you there?," "Deep River," and "My Lord, what a mornin'," Jester Hairston's "Poor man Lazrus" and "In dat great gittin' up mornin'," and William L. Dawson's "There is a Balm in Gilead," "Steal Away," and "Soon ah will be done." Several of the selections feature soloists--all of whom are excellent--but especially notable are Brian Arreola in "There is a Balm" and Albert Jordan in "Swing low, sweet chariot." Also worthy of special mention are the basses (the opening of "Swing low, sweet chariot" and "Steal Away" are especially impressive!)--rock-solid, rich-toned, and reliable, providing an ideal foundation for building beautiful harmony. And speaking of beautiful--you'll immediately notice how clear and natural and well-balanced are the voices, and how perfectly the ensemble fits the acoustic, giving the impression of nothing artificial intervening between the singers and our ears. [10/18/2003]