Accord is a sextet specialising in a cappella arrangements of Christian vocal music across the ages. Their by-line reads "Beautiful Music - Creatively Arranged - Spiritually Focused" and this reviewer believes that all three boxes are indeed ticked. Showing my age here but to me Accord seem to be working the same music seam as The Swingle Singers did back in the '60s and '70s but my teenage daughter says it reminds her of Glee. (Mrs Reviewer unhelpfully remarked that Accord is the name of her trade union.) Accord (the vocal group) were formed in 2008 and have appeared at the Greenbelt festival in 2009 and 2010 and, at the time of writing, are booked for 2011. This CD is a sampler rather than a full album and is priced accordingly and allows the group to demonstrate the wide variety of sacred music in its repertoire, taking us from "Tu es Petrus" by Palestrina (1525-1594) to Matt Redman's "When The Music Fades". I particularly liked the two takes on Psalm 25: "To You, O Lord" by Graham Kendrick and "To Thee, O Lord" by Sergei Rachmaninov; both shine light upon the other and both help us to appreciate the Biblical text. The arrangements of the eight songs are all worth hearing and we are sure that many choir directors will listen with interest. The singing is good and any who have yet to experience a cappella worship will be in for a pleasant surprise. I hope to hear more from Accord in the future, both live and on disc.
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