Gabriel Jackson: Felices ter et amplius
Judith Bingham: Ceaselessly weaving your name
Clare Maclean: That I did always love
Ēriks Ešenvalds: On friendship
Trad arr Jon Garrett: Drink to me only with thine eyes
Robert Walker: The Ale Songbook
Sasha Johnson Manning: It is not for kings, Lemuel
Slane (trad Irish) arr Orin Johnson: Maker of all things
Ēriks Ešenvalds: In the bleak midwinter
Jonathan Dove: The Kerry Christmas Carol
Melissa Dunphy: Suite Remembrance

This is the seventh recording by Regent Records featuring the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, a choir that is one of the largest commissioners of new choral music in the world. This latest recording brings together eleven new commissions, covering a wide range of composers and styles. In my opinion, the two selections by the Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds alone are worth the price of admission. A choral composer whose style is fresh and up to date, and yet seems to span centuries of tradition. For example, his version of In the bleak midwinter is just as beautiful and harmonically rich as the original version by Gustav Holst. And his On friendship is a highly touching tribute to a former member of the choir. In fact all of the songs on this CD make for fine additions to the choral music catalogue, and all showcase this choir's rich blend, dynamic range and ability to innovate, all captured in a realistically ambient audio recording.