I Heard A Voice - The Music of the Golden Age

1	Alleluia, I heard a voice
2	When David heard (O my so
3	Most mighty and all-knowi
4	Hosanna To the Son of Dav
5	In Nomine No.1, for 4 vio
6	Hosanna to the son of Dav
7	O Lord, in thy wrath rebu
8	This Is the record of Joh
9	O clap your hands, anthem
10	In Nomine a 4, for viols,
11	O Praise the Lord All Ye
12	When David Heard That Abs
13	Fantasia, for 6 viols
14	Rejoice, rejoice and sing
15	O Sing Unto the Lord A Ne
I Heard A Voice - The Music of the Golden Age
1.	Alleluia, I heard a voice, anthem for 5 voices & organ 3:00
	Composed by Thomas Weelkes
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge and Oliver Brett
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
2.	When David heard (O my son Absalom), sacred madrigal in 2 sections for 6 voices 4:43
	Composed by Thomas Weelkes
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
3.	Most mighty and all-knowing Lord, consort song for 4 voices 4:37
	Composed by Thomas Weelkes
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Fretwork and David Allsopp
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
4.	Hosanna To the Son of David, anthem for 6 voices 2:03
	Composed by Thomas Weelkes
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge and Oliver Brett
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
5.	In Nomine No.1, for 4 viols 1:56
	Composed by Thomas Weelkes
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
6.	Hosanna to the son of David, anthem for 6 voices 3:09
	Composed by Orlando Gibbons
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge and Oliver Brett
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
7.	O Lord, in thy wrath rebuke me not, anthem for 6 voices 3:33
	Composed by Orlando Gibbons
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
8.	This Is the record of John, anthem for voices 4:08
	Composed by Orlando Gibbons
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Fretwork and John McMunn
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
9.	O clap your hands, anthem for 8 voices 5:42
	Composed by Orlando Gibbons
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge and Oliver Brett
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
10.	In Nomine a 4, for viols, MB26 2:51
	Composed by Orlando Gibbons
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
11.	O Praise the Lord All Ye Heathen 4:08
	Composed by Thomas Tomkins
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge and Peter Stevens
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
12.	When David Heard That Absalom Was Slain, for 5 voices 5:01
	Composed by Thomas Tomkins
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
13.	Fantasia, for 6 viols 4:32
	Composed by Thomas Tomkins
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
14.	Rejoice, rejoice and singe 6:50
	Composed by Thomas Tomkins
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge and Fretwork
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury
15.	O Sing Unto the Lord A New Song, for 7 voices & organ 3:42
	Composed by Thomas Tomkins
	Performed by Choir of King's College, Cambridge and Oliver Brett
	Conducted by Stephen Cleobury

All Music Guide

Times change even in conservative quarters, and so it is even in that bastion of English tradition, the King's College chapel in Cambridge, England. The all-male (men and boys) Choir of King's College, Cambridge, has been singing these English-language Anglican anthems for nearly 400 years, and the current director, British veteran Stephen Cleobury, has maintained its high quality, creating a lush sound that seems to proceed from a knowledge of the sonic nooks and crannies of the space where it is created. The group, by college statute, consists of 16 members, but sounds larger as the voices soar into the chapel's upper reaches and rebound -- never sounding muddy in Cleobury's hands. The "golden age" of the album's title was the flowering of musical and literary creativity under King James I, an era that produced the plays of Shakespeare and the flowering of the English madrigal. The anthems included here, mostly famous works, are a bit like sacred madrigals in their sensitivity to text; the new listener can sample the ebullient "O clap your hands" of Orlando Gibbons, track 9, for an idea of what this disc, and the music of this entire era, is all about. What's new in this recording is that the vocal pieces are lightly accompanied by instruments doubling the vocal lines -- they have mostly been sung a cappella in the past, but the judicious addition of instruments, as heard here, can clarify the texture rather than load it down, and these forces make a persuasive case for a less "pure" sound. The English historical-instrument ensemble Fretwork accompanies the singers and is heard in a few all-instrumental pieces, two of them examples of the "In nomine" polyphonic form attempted by English composers for the rest of the seventeenth century. A fine, basic performance that will serve buyers well in a general collection of Renaissance favorites. James Manheim

San Francisco Chronicle

These ornate and densely wrought pieces of counterpoint get lovely performances. Joshua Kosman

Newark Star-Ledger

The best possible introduction to this repertoire. Bradley Bambarger