December 20, 2005
Chanticleer
Chanticleer is a remarkable a capella chorus of twelve men — counter tenors to basses. They are named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Their Christmas recital from the acoustically exciting halls of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is being broadcast on public television this week. It came to our town last evening.
The setting was in front of a majestic Christmas tree as only the Met could conceive one. The program ranged from the arcane and obscure to southern gospel, most all of it inspired by and centered in the Nativity, every word and phrase, the epitome of clarity and much joy.
At the close of the recital, their greeting to us watching listeners was that we have a Happy Holiday. The irony of how far political correctness has gone these days was not lost on us.