The divide 'twixt soft south and rugged north grows wider daily; so, at least, we are told, and so, having heard this recital, I can more readily believe. Down here, in a kind of choral anorexia, scholars and collegiate groups have slimmed and trimmed the sound down in ever more refined attenuation; up there, it seems, they ring it round, make their 36 voices sound more like 360, and set Leeds Parish Church a-resonating as though it were the Royal Albert Hall in full reverberant state of nature. Of course this is an opera chorus not a cathedral choir. Still, it does not immediately proclaim as much: for one thing, it sounds young, which opera-house choruses all too frequently do not, and for another, if its sopranos vibrate a little more freely than (say) a collection of Emma Kirkbys, they are rather firmer than most of their kind.
They also put their operatic experience to good use. For instance, the third Bruckner motet benefits greatly from their sense of the dramatic, especially in the magnificent ascension of ''super omne nomen'' in the climax. Brahms's Zigeunerlieder gain much from the strong attack, and Zadok the priest from the full-bodied resonant voices, well-practised too in the semiquaver runs. The keen enthusiasm permeates everything; they sound as though they enjoy singing, and probably do enjoy it all the more for this infusion of what, for an opera company's chorus, must be an unusual repertoire (they really convince us that they have the Seiber folk-songs as thoroughly 'in the system' as the Carmen chorus). They also provide some creditable soloists from the ranks. Rosemary Ashe bringing a particularly vivid personality to the second spiritual.
The technical challenge of such a recording on cassette is considerable; though the acoustic is much too reverberant for the Zigeunerlieder, there is a fine spaciousness and complete security of pitch. The packaging is attractive, with good texts and notes, and photographs of the Chorus looking as fresh and attractive as they sound. On cassette only.'