Singing the praises of those who sing
Charlotte Smith
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Two years ago it occurred to me that a very effective way to get the chattering classes (still more music lovers) chattering about the marvellous orchestras on show around the world today would be to publish a “top 20” list. So we surveyed leading international critics, the Concertgebouw won and the media seized upon the story. It continues to be reported monthly to this day.
Not everyone was happy. Some of the better orchestras who missed out on a top 20 spot felt aggrieved. But whenever a representative of one of them went on the radio to tell me how wonderful their players were, I was happy to agree and to point out that we wouldn’t have the opportunity to inform the millions of listeners of this fact without the spur of our list.
So here, belatedly, is the follow-up. Choirs are surely enjoying something of a golden age at the moment and I wanted to celebrate that. So we gathered again a panel of leading international critics and set out some ground rules. This time, given that choirs tend to travel less than orchestras, we asked them to concentrate primarily on the choirs’ recordings of recent years. Then, how exactly do you define a choir (they come in many shapes and sizes) without the risk of comparing apples and oranges? We eventually settled, for the purposes of the survey, on any vocal organisation that gives concerts in its own right or performs in works where the choir is in the limelight (the big Requiems, for instance, or Orff’s Carmina Burana). Finally, when the votes came in we discounted any choirs that had received only one nomination, to avoid any skewing of the list by big-scoring anomalies.
The results are fascinating, in one or two cases surprising. I will state here, unapologetically, that British choirs do very well and the leading American choral composer Eric Whitacre has penned a thought-provoking essay as to why that is. We’ve also included “essential recording” recommendations for the choirs, so prepare to be enthused, to rush to your favourite retailer and stock up on some magnificent music!
