Choralis’s first commercial CD, In Winter’s Arms: Seasonal Music by Bob Chilcott, has received praise from several professional reviewers. The recording, on the Signum Classics label, was released in Great Britain in August 2017 and in the United States in October 2017. Included on the CD are the first recording of Chilcott’s Gloria, commissioned and premiered by Choralis, and of his eight-movement work Wenceslas, telling the story of the benevolent monarch. Also included are Chilcott’s My Perfect Stranger, a new setting of the Christmas story, and his lovely carols Jesus, Springing and The Nine Gifts. In addition to Choralis, directed by Gretchen Kuhrmann, the recording features Associate Conductor Todd Fickley as organist, Baritone James Shaffran, and The Classical Brass Quintet, as well as other instrumentalists and soloists. Bob Chilcott personally served as editor for the recording.
Reviewer comments include:
“The Nine Gifts…brims with seasonal brio and bright ringing vocal lines supported by cossetting organ. … it’s difficult to imagine (My Perfect Stranger) being better sung than here by Choralis. Impeccably directed throughout by Choralis founder Gretchen Kuhrmann, the recorded sound is lustrous and perfectly balanced.” Michael Quinn (former deputy editor of Gramophone and Classic FM magazines), “Choralis and Bob Chilcott Celebrate Christmas in Exquisite Style”, Primephonic.com, December 21, 2017
“The performances, by Gretchen Kuhrmann’s Washington-based group Choralis, are excellent.” Graham Rickson, “Classical CDs Weekly: Christmas CDs, Part 2”, theartsdesk.com, December 16, 2017
“Gretchen Kuhrman and her accomplished choirs serve Bob Chilcott’s music very well and with no little commitment, as do the instrumentalists.” John Quinn, MusicWeb Insternational, Classical Music Reviews, November 2017
In Winter’s Arms is available for digital download or CD purchase on Amazon and iTunes. Excerpts of the recording can be heard here: https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_SIGCD512. To purchase the recording from Amazon, visit: https://smile.amazon.com/Winters-Arms-Seasonal-Music-Chilcott/dp/B0757T7X4T/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523032232&sr=8-1&keywords=In+Winters+Arms+Choralis&dpID=61btwU2U6iL&preST=_SX342_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
Choralis assembled with Bob Chilcott, James Shaffran, and The Classical Brass Quintet to record In Winter’s Arms, April 2017, Washington, DC