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The Ars Nova Singers are a cappella specialists, and that puts this nifty 40-voice ensemble squarely in my camp. I love a cappella music, and this semi-professional group delivers big time on the intensely lovely Midwinter: Carols in Concert. Although sparse instrumentation provides sweet support on a few numbers, for the most part, the Ars Nova Singers are weaving magical webs of vocal bliss without orchestration.

The haunting refrains wash over the listener, providing a gentle respite from the harsh realities of day-to-day life. Many Midwinter pieces are unfamiliar, but all are lovely and well-executed. This live concert recording is relatively clean, and the volume levels are a bit low (you can crank this baby all the way up without blowing out your system). The rich harmonies project spectacular tapestries of color--the contemplative tracks in more muted tones, and the joyful cuts in bright fireworks. The chorale tackles The Wassail Song with equal parts gusto and professionalism (not an easy trick to pull off), and shows subtle shadings rarely found in Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day (the closing round ending the selection is gorgeous).

If you enjoy classical choral music, you will admire the virtuosity of the Ars Nova Singers. Not starchy or stuffy, the group does intricate and sophisticated arrangements, yet is accessible to a broad holiday audience. Midwinter is not the gloomy time of year that it used to be. Thank you, Ars Nova Singers!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

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From the liner notes:

Ars Nova Singers

Thomas Morgan, Artistic Director

Produced by Thomas Edward Morgan and Prasanna Bishop.
Performance recordings by Glenn Short, Crystalline Acoustics, Jamestown, CO.
Edited and mastered at Akashic Recording Studio, Boulder, CO.

Guest Instrumentalists:
James Brody, oboe
Mary Harrison, viola
Tonya Jilling, harp



From the Website:

Specializing in a cappella music of the Renaissance and the 20th and 21st centuries, the Ars Nova Singers of Boulder, Colorado are presenting their 22nd concert season in 2007-2008. The semi-professional ensemble conducted by founding Artistic Director Thomas Edward Morgan is composed of 40 selectively auditioned choral musicians from the Denver/Boulder metropolitan region. In its history, the Ars Nova Singers has presented over 250 performances of more than 100 different concert programs.
The ensemble has received signi?cant national recognition: the Aaron Copland Fund for Music selected the Ars Nova Singers for funding in 2003 and 2004. The Performing Ensembles program of the Copland Fund supports organizations whose performances encourage and improve public knowledge and appreciation of serious contemporary American music. The ensemble has also been funded by the Chorus Program of National Endowment for the Arts.
The musical accomplishments of the ensemble range from performances of the complete Responsoria by the eccentric late Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo to the premiere of new works by many Colorado and other American composers. In September, 2002 the ensemble premiered a major new work, I Heard a Voice, composed by Thomas Edward Morgan and New York visual artist Lesley Dill. The project has subsequently been presented internationally: in June of 2003, the Ars Nova Singers performed the piece at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Ars Nova Singers

Midwinter: Carols in Concert

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Track List