A leading light in the world of youth choral music, the Rodolfus Choir is made up of choristers from ages 16-25 who are past and present participants of the Eton Choral Courses, begun by the choir’s director Ralph Allwood in 1980.
This new Christmas programme mixes the familiar with pieces not usually heard in carol services - such as Tomas Luisde Victoria’s stunning eight-part Avie Maria 9from an edition prepared by john Rutter), and more recent works like Chris Chivers’ Ecce Puer and Eric Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque. Such a programme is well-suited to a group with the versitility and enthusiasm of the Rodolfus choir.
"For smooth, refined, effortless and warmly communicative singing this Christmas, you probably need look no further than this disc of somewhat less than mainstream Christmas music from the ever-impressive Rodolfus Choir..."
Marc Rochester - International Record Review - December 2012
Performance **** Recording **** "The freshness of attack you get with younger voices is put to incisive use by conductor Ralph Allwood, whose Rodolfus singers are all products of the famous Eton choral courses. Parry’s Welcome, Yule! can seldom have had a more sheerly ebullient performance, but the choir also brings formidable precision of pitching and ensemble to quieter settings, such as Tavener’s The Lamb and Poulenc’s O Magnum Mysterium. Some of the emotional deepening which comes with vocal maturity is occasionally missing, but there are many qualities here that compensate."
Terry Blain - BBC Music magazine - Christmas 2012
