Reviewed by Paul Poulton

There has to be a certain amount of quality here, the conductor Paul Leddington is the principle conductor of BBC's Songs Of Praise, plus this two CD set is produced by Christopher Norton whose experience is extensive. The first six songs are sung with much gusto, slightly too much for my liking; a little more light and shade may have added a little more texture. By track seven "How Blessed Are You", things settle down and the delightful song is executed with the sensitivity you would imagine it's sung at Taize. The softness continues and "Son Of God" has a beautiful vocal soundscape on which to make its supplications. William Kethe's 16th century hymn "All People That On Earth Do Dwell", sung here polished and unhurriedly, has the sleevenotes attribute it to Taize!? There are a few words changed here and there but Taize was founded in 1940 by Brother Roger (who was very sadly killed in August 2005 aged 90), a monastic community in a small village in Burgundy, which has never advertised or marketed its style of worship; that's for others to do, and the Paul Leddington Singers do it well. There may be 25 songs here but they are kind of short as songs go; they move fairly effortlessly from one to the other. Flute, oboe, guitar, bassoon and organ offer some sparse and well played augmentation and counterpoint harmonies. The recording took place at a United Reformed Church in Coventry, so there is a natural reverb and ambience. Language has never been a barrier to Taize as they reach out to the world in their unassuming way; there is translation in the lyric sheet for the songs not in English, though it's not too hard to understand what they are singing about.

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