Anonymous 4 - 1865

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Rather disappointing

I was a little disappointed in this disc. Anonymous 4 are an outstandingly good ensemble and I was looking forward to hearing them bring their brilliance to these 19th Century songs which relate to the American Civil War and its aftermath. Sadly, I don't think it really works as a collection.

The performances are excellent in their way. Exquisitely sung and harmonized as one would expect from Anonymous 4 and with some songs sparsely but very well accompanied, there is a beautiful overall sound to the disc. However, the sound didn't seem to me to be always appropriate to the material which sometimes needed a bit more emotional oomph and perhaps even a little roughness. It also gets very samey after a while. I really am sorry to say this of a group of musicians whom I greatly admire and whose work I have enjoyed immensely, but I just get a bit bored after a while. There's not really enough variety to distinguish one song from another and, for example, while Abide With Me can reduce me to tears, here it just seemed to go on and on in an unvarying way which eventually took away much of its emotional power.

Others may respond differently, and certainly the quality of musicianship and the beauty of sound is remarkable, but for me this collection doesn't quite succeed and, to my surprise and disappointment, I can't really recommend it.