Friday 27 October 2017

Sistine Chapel Choir shines in new Christmas CD

The Sistine Screamers, as this choir had in recent decades (and not unfairly) been nicknamed, has been completely re-built and scarcely resembles its (recent) former self. It has now made a handful of recordings with the august Deutsche Grammophon, each release providing further evidence of this choir's total transformation from cacophonous rabble to an elegant, refined and homogeneous chorus angelorum, and it is well on the way to becoming a truly top-shelf liturgical choir (again), as one would expect of the pope's own choir! DoM, Monsignor Palombella explains, in the videos below, a bit about the choir's present day incarnation (for instance, the choir now employs professional men from around the globe, and the boys' singing schedule seems to be rigorous indeed). Added to which, the DoM seems to be in the habit of exploring the Vatican's musical archives for long forgotten manuscripts. How nice to see, also, that composers other than Palestrina (and Perosi) are now again given prominence by this choir. Wonderful indeed to hear. I'll certainly be hoping for this latest CD in my stocking!