A Deep but Dazzling Darkness qualifies as a Christmas release, but some of the pieces, as the title suggests, evoke the long nights of the solstice period as well. It's a standout among the year's holiday releases, with clean singing from the vocal group
Apollo5 and an evocative program that has a few Christmas hits (Angels We Have Heard on High, in the original French, the Coventry Carol, and I Wonder as I Wander) but mostly consists of fresh material from traditional tunes and the Renaissance to recent years. The arrangements of the traditional pieces are highly varied and elegant, and there is a richness to the whole. The program concept is novel and evocative, and it allows for the inclusion of works like the lovely and rarer Past Three O'Clock and for apposite contemporary pieces by a variety of contemporary composers like
Toby Young,
James Bassi, and
Dobrinka Tabakova. Although they do not use the
Swingle Singers-like vocal devices that have appeared on some of their other albums, the mixed-gender
Apollo5 has a fresh, rather madrigalian sound that will enliven the season even for general listeners with only passing familiarity with vocal ensemble music. Those looking for an album of Christmas favorites might try elsewhere, but to the curious, the album is highly recommended. ~ James Manheim