R. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols 1/2

[rclikes2go]

Not christmas for me without this!

[gayoperadude63]

to me he sounds like a tenor

[coolwainy]

Yea why's the soloist so sharp?

[bmcondon]

@gavman93 Gavin. Ouch.

[jthameschoir]

What's with all these soloists that sound like they have frogs in their throats? And why so much vibrato? I guess its the audio, it makes me so irritated to hear his voice. But I love the choir and orchestra! Great job.

[65renaissanceman]

@jthameschoir Maybe they're just trying too hard, or just not good enough to carry it off properly. In my more frustrated moments as a bass singer in a choir I sometimes think that Vaughan Williams was only ever put on this earth to make life difficult for choirs - his stuff is NOT easy. I have fond memories of "The truth from above" though - in my former church we often used it as the processional hymn at Christmas carol services.

[tombaker1222]

@jthameschoir He's German, singing English and it's a very Germanic sounding voice too, so I wouldn't stereotype EVERY soloist with that.

[jthameschoir]

@tombaker1222 Who said I did it to EVERY soloist?

[Eurofrank1]

Wenigstens singt der Chor nicht schlecht!

[DavidMJordan]

Good performance! It's good that V-W's fantasia has preserved carols that would otherwise have been lost

[65renaissanceman]

@DavidMJordan RVW was in fact a prominent member of EFDSS - the English Folk Dance and Song Society - and did quite a lot for the preservation of English folk songs. He was also a contributing editor to "The English Hymnal" - still widely used in "catholic-style" Church of England churches. It's possibly difficult to underestimate his influence in several directions. BUT OMG - the Fantasia is NOT as easy as it sounds - as with so much of his music! I hate him sometimes...

[mesenteria]

Deo gratias!

[aliasjerome]

We're performing this piece this Christmas with the Grand Rapids Symphony in Michigan - also doing Monteverdi in the spring - such a beautiful piece! Sehr schön

[KITCHENOFDISTINCTION]

Wow too - what a beautiful performance. Thank you for posting this.

[aquaria85]

wow - das gefällt mir ja sogar noch viel besser als das hodie vom selben komponisten ...

[capellmeister]

What? Even though this Fantasia is beautiful, Hodie is a masterpiece.