Wake Ev'ry Breath - Music of William Billings [Live]

Editorial Reviews
American Record Guide, September/October, 1998
The performances are excellent . . . a combination of polish and spirit that Billings probably would have envied but rarely heard.

Wilfred Mellers, Musical Times, Summer, 1998
For those who don’t know this music, Appling’s CD would be a fine starting point.

Wake Ev'ry Breath - Music of William Billings [Live]

Wake Ev'ry Breath - Music of William Billings, Music, William Billings, William Appling, William Appling Orchestra, Choral, Choral Music, Classical, Classical Music, Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous Music, Orchestral & Symphonic

Average customer rating:

Exceptionally Good

Poor sound, poor recording

Simply beautiful

Extraordinary

A mediocre, amateur recording

Wake Ev'ry Breath - Music of William Billings

Manufacturer: New World Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Early American Choral Music, Vol. 1

Early American Choral Music, Vol. 2

Rivers of Delight (American Folk Hymns From the Sacred Harp Tradition)

Make A Joyful Noise: American Psalmody

Music of the American Revolution: The Birth of Liberty

ASIN: B0000063CH
Release Date: 1998-02-24

Tracks:

Wake Ev'ry Breath
Africa
Mourn, Mourn
New Boston - Hingham
I Am The Rose Of Sharon
Retrospect
Chester - America
Euroclydon
Chesterfield
Creation
Cobham
Jordan
As The Hart Panteth

Customer Reviews:

Exceptionally Good.......2003-09-22

I have not enjoyed a choral recording this much is a long time. Billings is such a fine composer and the performances here are wonderful. Unlike most recordings of this kind, it was not done in either a huge church or a studio but in a smaller, chapel-like setting, the kind of place I imagine people would have been singing Billing when he was writing. This gives it a wonderful quality. It's nice to know there is now another excellent Billings CD along with Paul Hillier's. I also read that this is a concert recording; this may give it a certain lack of "perfection" in terms of the singing always being "just so" and some extraneous sounds, but being live also gives the performances a real immediacy and presence.

Poor sound, poor recording.......2002-12-26

A bad, amateur recording. Although it is a live concert recording, it has bad sound quality. The chorus is also not very clean in its performance--tuning, it seems, is a problem as a rule rather than exception, not to mention extremely messy entrances and cutoffs. Billings has a lot of fun music, but this is one recording that should be avoided.

Simply beautiful.......2001-12-15

William Billings has always been so underrated, but this recording should help rectify that. Though it was released a few years ago I just discovered it and am thoroughly impressed by the repertoire, the recording and especially the beautiful performances. I can only imagine how gratified Billings himself would have been to hear this. And it was recorded on his 250th birthday!

Extraordinary.......2000-01-26

I have performed many of these works with professional and amateur groups, and this is simply the best Billings I have ever heard. It strikes the perfect balance between the raw energy and directness of this wonderful early American music and the skill and refinement of great choral singing. There are real adventures here as well, with several pieces, I believe, being given their premiere recording, like the unusual New Boston/Hingham and the simply beautiful Mourn, Mourn in Billings's final version. Appling is a tremendous conductor, and what is really remarkable is that this is a live performance. Most groups need many studio takes to do what this group did in one.

A mediocre, amateur recording.......1999-07-12

This recording is completely amateur in ev'ry way. Choral entrances tend to be sloppy, the choral blend is mediocre, and the singing is completely uninspired. The recording itself sounds like somebody happened to show up at the performance with a couple of microphones and a tape deck, so they thought: What the heck, let's stash the microphones, oh, how about over here, and make a recording.

For real excellence, try the one by Paul Hillier and company.

Music Review: