A strongly classical repertoire delights on "Harmony"by Veggiechiliqueen

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November 26, 2009: On The Priests' sophomore CD, Fathers Martin and Eugene O'Hagan and Father David Delargy tackle another round of soul-stirring hymns and religious music, including How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace, the Lord's Prayer and Silent Night. The Lord's Prayer deserves special mention for the powerful a capella rendition; it's the only track not backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, thereby evoking the power and grace of early plainchant. The English-language version of Silent Night opens and closes with a tin whistle and is more traditionally paced than the uptempo version of "O Holy Night" from their debut. This Barnes and Noble exclusive features the bonus track "Astro del Ciel," or "Silent Night" in Italian. The fathers composed the music for "King of Kings" themselves. Nods to their Irish Catholic heritage come in the form of Gaelic Blessing by John Rutter and the lovely Irish Gaelic hymn Bi Iosa Im Chroise (Christ Be In My Heart).

The strongest tracks are those from the Baroque / Classical / Romantic repertoire, including Stozel (Bist du Bei Mir, frequently misattributed to Bach), Pergolesi (Stabat Mater), Vivaldi (Laudamus Te), Mozart (Ave Verum Corpus), Haydn's Te Deum and Mendelssohn (Lift Thine Eyes). This version of Pergolesi's divine Stabat Mater is a bit more uptempo than some of the other versions I own by Andreas Scholl, Cecilia Bartoli and Sara Mingardo, but no less haunting. Much as on their debut, the orchestral backing complements the priests' rich voices without overwhelming, allowing the vocals to shine.

Overall, "Harmony" has much more of a uniform feel than their debut; most noticeably, there are fewer foreign-language songs ("Priests" had two Spanish songs in addition to Latin and Irish Gaelic tracks) and only one Christmas song. The sixteen tracks really shine in the hands of producer Mike Hedges, Fathers Martin and Eugene O'Hagan and Father David Delargy, the Royal Philharmonic, the Brompton Oratory School and Coro. In Father Eugene's words, `I think, because over the last year we have been singing together so much, our voices blend better and our sound has matured. There's an even greater sense of synergy with the voices, and we're more confident too. Even as a professional singer, you never stop fine-tuning the instrument.' "Harmony" is a pure delight and a wonderful gift for those seeking a moment of peace and contemplation in their hectic lives.

I Also Recommend: The Priests, The Priests: In Concert at Armagh Cathedral.