Senesino, Jenny Lind, Callas, Fischer-Dieskau… While audiences through the
generations have been driven to heights of ecstatic frenzy by opera and vocal
soloists, there is something about ensemble singing that has failed to produce
such popular icons or to inspire anything like the same cult of hero-worship.

The very nature of the genre - its self-effacing focus on group blend rather
than individual limelight - might perhaps account for this, yet it’s an
argument that only a fool would try to sustain in the face of the global
phenomenon that is The King's Singers. With a flawless blend and a balance of
playful showmanship and sophisticated musicality that is, if anything, even more
impressive live than on their many award-winning disks, the 6-piece ensemble are
superstars to a man. (Or a counter-tenor, as the case may be…)

Returning to Oxford for the first time in over a decade, Thursday night's
concert was a celebration of the Romance du Soir, with music exploring those
perennially associated themes of love and the night. Wending its way from the
madrigals of Weelkes to the part-songs of Elgar and Sullivan via a healthy dose
of Saint-Saens (not to mention Jenks' 'Vegetable Compound' â€" but that's
another story), the concert was a whistle-stop tour through the highlights of
the group's latest CD.

Read More:-
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/concerts/sheldonian-kings-0609.shtml