London Jewish Male Choir 80 Years CD

In the realm of Jewish music, it's probably not male choruses that are thought of immediately. Nonetheless, they do exist and often carry some mix of traditional Jewish forms and more straightforward choral technique. Here, the London Jewish Male Choir is presented in a series of snapshots. The choir is comprised of a number of singers, with a loading of professional cantors at the core. What makes the album nice, though, is that instead of simply reprising some of the better songs over the 80 years of the chorus (minus a few during WWII), they showcase recordings of the chorus in its various stages. The album opens with five pieces from the current incarnation, using Steven Leas as the soloist of choice. A couple of tracks are then presented from 1928 (near the creation of the outfit), 1950 (soon after the re-formation after the war), and at some points every few years through the next couple of decades. One can actually hear the progression of the aesthetics favored as conductors and singers changed over the years, while the quality stays essentially the same. A nice album for devotees of male choruses, though fans of more traditional Jewish forms may wish to look elsewhere first. ~ Adam Greenberg

Arrangers: Emmanuel Fisher; Stephen Glass; Charles Heller; Martin White.

Personnel: David Hilton, Naftali Herstik, Steven Leas, M. Fisher (vocals); Jeremy Limb, Yvonne Behar (piano).

Recording information: Queen Elizabeth Hall; Royal Festival Hall, London, England.