Customer Reviews
Another Angellic Masterpiece - By: Jeff Carter, 27 Mar 2004 
The St Philips Boys Choir - better know these days as 'Libera' - have a unique sound. Inspired by the genius of Robert Prizeman, these seven to fourteen year olds have the ability to reduce the strongest of upper lips to jelly with a single chord. Play this CD & you will tap your foot, sing along or weep whenever they wish you to. As an example,in consecutive tracks, you will hear the most moving version of 'Abide With Me' followed immediately by the most stirring version of 'Jerusalem'. The use of a 'close-mike' with Liam's breathtaking voice makes Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Close Every Door' my favourite track but it's a close call. Each & every track is a masterpiece which leave the listener begging for more. Buy this CD & I guarantee that, like me, you will listen to little else for months!
Breathtakingly Beautiful - By: CJ, 02 Dec 2003 Some of these songs are just wonderful. I am an 18 year old guy, so choral music is not usually my thing, but this is an exception. The voice quality on this CD I cannot describe as anything other than breathtaking. You will not find better voices anywhere for sheer raw voice quality than this. I cannot praise these guys, & their conductor enough. The track "I vow to thee my country" is particularly good. Its a shame that Amazon doesn't have some samples of the songs online. Even if you think you don't really like this type of music this CD is still worth trying. For those that are fans of this genre anyway; it is truly phenominal!
Fabulous hymn renditions and Heavenly voices - By: Jesse Carnes, 08 Mar 2003 I found this CD, Angel Voices 2, if anything---even BETTER than its predecessor. Once more, Robert Prizeman indicates his intuitive sense of music theoryin some of the finest arrangements of hymns, classic fares, & patriotic charts that I have yet to come across. This is a fine montage, as it were, of 2 to 3 forms of vocal classics, & to make it better, the boysin this Treble ensemble perform even better thanin their first recording. They gave 110 per cent. The renditions of "Pie Jesu," "Amazing Grace, & "Abide With Me," are ALONE worth the price of this recording. I was stunned by the rich, ethereal PRESENCEin "Abide With Me." Heaven MUST be like that! Simply classicin performance, well-arranged charts by Robert Prizeman, & very well recorded. Again, microphone placement was nicely done, & presence was HIGH. This is simply a smashing recording--it's that good!
Wonderful boychoir music, with some modern touches - By: , 21 Oct 2000 I very much recommend this disc to those who enjoy the beautiful sounds of a superb boys' choir. It mixes the familiar with the not-so-familiar; modern with very old.
The recording appears to be very close-miked, with reverb added (perhaps too much). The voices are EXCELLENT!
Accompaniment is primarily by synthesizer, sounding mostly like church organ, with considerable use of deep base tones to balance the high treble voices, but also uses the sound of strings & even handbells. All of the synth work is done with subtlty.
Many of the songs are familiar hymns or carols. Standouts include "Amazing Grace" & "Abide With Me". There's a very good rendition of "You Are The New Day", a song popularized by the King's Singers a while back. A rolicking Gregorian chant (how's that for an oxymoron?) called "Gaudette" finishes things off, with accompaniment by deep drumbeats & tamborine. I've just ordered Volume 1 & have high hopes for it. By the way, if you are familiar with "Libera", a new-age-style disc, it's the same boys - from St Philips Churchin London.
