Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

It's not often that I get a CD to review that can boast 28 tracks and over 71 min­utes' playing time, and scanning the track listing I spotted some familiar pieces from various cantatas and oratorios, including Handel's 'Messiah' and Maunders 'Olive! To Calvary'. Just the thing to enjoy on my long daily drive into the UCB studios. Unfortunately, my expectations were not fulfilled. Firstly, the playing time; great if it's filled with top quality singing and music; not so great if there are things (hat are sub-standard, for example, the opening track, labelled "Congregation", consisting of a very bored-sounding bunch of people intoning "I Love To Tell The Story". Also, the choir is rather ragged and the mix favours the men over the ladies. Secondly, the events of Holy Week aren't taken in a logical order; "On The Way To Jerusalem" from 'Olivet To Calvary' is fol­lowed by a piece about the Last Supper, with the piece after that being Jesus' return to Bethany on Palm Sunday evening! But worst of all, the production is very poor. Apart from the dodgy mix, there's a lot of hiss on the CO on many tracks, making it sound very amateurish indeed. As it stands, it's a big disap­pointment.

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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