Reviewed by Simeon Wood

A rare treat indeed to find so many distinguished personalities leading us through all 150 of the Psalms in full on this 4-CD collection. Amongst those who lend vocal verity are Sir Cliff Richard, Julia McKenzie, Bernard Cribbins, Wendy Craig and Don Maclean. All this set to a selection of classical music. A well engineered recording if only from the fact that the underscoring rarely challenge or distracts the ear from the text. The music itself has little time alone though and so denies the listener space in which to contemplate the sentiments expressed by the psalmist. The choice of music, ranging from Bach to Barber, is on the safe side with works by Vivaldi, Handel and Motzart featuring several times. Had there been a willingness to include a more inventive repertoire I think that the relevant messages from the psalmists would have been further enhanced.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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