Music to Be Busy By

Whew! It's been a crazy month (and it ain't over yet)--hence the complete dearth of posts. I've been spending very little time at home and quite a bit of time in my car, where this CD has been living.

I'll be up front with you: I sing with the University of Utah Singers. You may think this fact makes me a little biased. (It probably does.) But I did not belong to the group when they recorded A Jubilant Song, so you have to believe me when I tell you that this CD is fantastic.

This entirely acappella CD was recorded shortly after the Singers won the grand prize in what amounts to the World Series of choral singing. (Nerd heaven!) They were at the top of their game, and if they sound a little vocally tired in a few tracks, we can hardly blame them---it was the very end of a month-long tour during which they sang around 40 pieces with pretty severe regularity. But these little hiccups are so rare that you probably won't even notice them as you revel in the absolutely gorgeous sounds on this album.

Since the music on this CD ranges from the incredibly difficult (like "Rytmus" and "Psalm 96") to the astoundingly beautiful (like "Pilgrims' Hymn") to folk songs and spirituals (Moses Hogan makes an appearance) to the super eclectic (like Asian folk music), I am not ashamed to use the cliche saying that there really is something for everyone here.

You can listen to samples at the link above, and purchase from that site as well. And a shameless plug for me: should you decide to buy that CD (or any of the other six currently available, or the new Christmas CD being released at the end of October, please mention my name. We're going on tour in the spring and I get $10 of every $15 sale deposited directly to my tour account. Hooray for fundraising!

I promise, though, even if I didn't get money off the sale, I'd recommend this album. It's really, really good. Now, if you'll pardon me, I think I have to go drive somewhere...