Track Listing

1. Pie Jesu
2. Pie Jesu
3. Sanctus
4. Kyrie
5. Agnus Dei
6. Benedictus
7. Pie Jesu
8. Benedictus
9. Pie Jesu
10. Lacrimosa
11. In Paradisum
12. Agnus Dei (In a Dream)
13. Away in a Manger
14. Silent Night
15. Sussex Carol
16. Once in Royal David's City
17. In the Bleak Midwinter

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #230413 in Music
• Released on: 1997-08-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

"treble of the century"
I do not know if he is the "treble of the century" as notes to another cd with Connor Burrowes suggests, but his singing on this cd (and on two other cds that I know of)is the best treble voice ("boy soprano"?)I have ever heard, and I have a number of cds with boy choirs and solos. The solo treble voice often has one or two of the following problems: it either lacks depth or sounds like a soprano voice (which is completely as it should be if it is a true soprano voice), but I believe the treble voice should be heard on its own terms. Burrowes' voice, however, has both astounding depth while still sounding like a true treble voice. For someone use to classical cds, the length of this cd is too short and the packaging has a "pop" character, but Burrowes' voice and its accompaniment are stunning. Both the other treble voices and the instruments are just right. The musical concept of the cd is excellent; sacred works are given a slightly non-standard setting, but still quite acceptable to this classical listener who loves sacred music while at the same time being accessible to non-classical listeners. Another small boy choir called "Libera" came out with a cd in England that had a similar concept: make sacred music and the treble voice more accessible. But it misses the right mix of excellence, a sense of the sacred, and popular appeal. The excellence of Burrowes and the Boys Air Choir makes the short timing of the cd all the more frustrating. Why could the listener not hear more of Burrowes and more of his choir? The Boys Air Choir is made up of a small number of boys from the best boy choirs in England and a boy is appointed choir master, as Connor Burrowes was for this one. The treble voice, of course, does not last long. I wish Burrowes and the Boys Air Choir every success. I hope Burrowes will stay involved with the treble voice even while he moves on to other musical realms, and I hope the Boys Air Choir will endure through a number of "generations" of the treble voice. This cd should be more widely known; it really should be some sort of chart topper.

Boys Air Choir - Requiem: Not Your Typical Boys Choir Sound
There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to classical performances: First, the performance should mirror exactly what the composer intended, right down to expression, instrumentation, and vocal inflection. The second, that the music should entertain and bring fresh, new approaches to the Masters' music. Requiem falls into the second school of thought, and many of the arrangements are stunning. A case in point is Webber's Pie Jesu, with boy treble Connor Burrowes singing both treble parts with such precision and beauty that one can hardly quell the emotions, and the instrument arrangements quite different from what Webber wrote, adding a fresh perspective to a beautiful piece of music. If you enjoy the angelic sound of boys' voices as I do, then I highly recommend this CD and especially the angelic voice of this remarkable boy.

Requiem
Ah, sadly this is a beautifully sung CD that was badly recorded.

The boys sang their parts quite beautifully but the engineer has perhaps got some ear problems to have made such an egregious and obvious mistake. One finds onseself having to ignore the awful tinny metallic overtones, and the breathy electronic "air" on the boys beautiful vocals. Listeners who love boys vocals for their purity and clarity will be sorely disappointed with this CD.

The music is simple and well done, and the boys are at their best, but the phoney "air effect" is quite disconcerting and with the tinnitis colorizations, possibly impossible to overlook. I wince when I hear it, but the great performances make up somewhat for the poor recording, so it's not a total loss. Hence the relatively high score of three stars that I give this particular recording.

A remastering with pure vocals would definitely warrant five stars, but I suspect the damage was done right on the master tapes. I hope to be made wrong on that point as this CD could truly be a masterpiece with some decent engineering.