CD Cover | Major Len Ballantine Review| Songster Leader Derek Ward Review
RETRO is in ... and for good reason! Way back when they used to build things to last, it was a time of quality, craftsmanship and commitment ... and it was what we expected when we heard the Birmingham Citadel Songsters. Remember that sound, those compelling interpretations? 'Golden Years' captures some of the best.
The play-list includes personal favourites of Songster Leader Fred Crowhurst, whose twenty-eight year legacy includes many fine recordings. It is an eclectic collection, ranging from simple a cappella treatments of winsome folk melodies to densely-complexioned choral classics. 'Golden Years' provides a valuable anthology of our deep choral heritage as Salvationists.
Where did he get all that music? Fred always could spot a nugget and would take pains to stop and pan for gold. Other lesser prospectors might have cried ‘jaunty music hall ditty', and thrown the thing aside ... but not Fred. This was his gift; spotting the unexpected, then extracting the remarkable out of the merely mortal.
'Golden Years' contains a delightful commentary by Fred himself, which puts an historical perspective on his choices. He admits his inspiration comes from words and from melodies. Indeed, hardly a single phrase is allowed to lay barren. Every idea of text and musical shape is massaged into meaning by Fred’s seasoned intuition and solid faith. The result is an unusually present tense performance where message and meaning are always held in plain view. This was also his gift.
Birmingham Citadel now embraces a bold new ministry fitted to the needs of its present context. This recording, in fact, will generate funds for the refurbishment of the old corps. Let it not be said that Birmingham’s Golden Years are all behind. Rather, let there be a healthy retrospective, without sentiment and without prejudice. Let the next generation build on the strong shoulders of those who have done it well. After all, gold is wrought from the fires of refinement. And no group has demonstrated this more aptly through the years than the songsters at Birmingham Cit.
Congratulations ... and long may your ministry continue.
Major
Len Ballantine
Secretary for Music and Gospel Arts
Canada and Bermuda Territory
CD Cover | Major Len Ballantine Review| Songster Leader Derek Ward Review