A fantastic collection of American choral classics ranging from Thompson’s sublime Alleluia to the terrific choral arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess.
U.K. based conductor Robin White has put together this British interpretation of American Classics stemming from his own, excellent arrangement of the traditional Shenandoah. White’s arrangement balances the programme nicely along with Copeland’s I bought me a cat. This is a surprising and entertaining collection.
Alban Voices is a chamber choir formed over 20 years ago by Robin White and his late wife, Freda, originally as a choir for St. Albans Abbey. Current members sing regularly in London’s top symphonic choirs. Among other appearances, it featured most notably in a pivotal episode of the BBC TV soap opera EastEnders in December 2003. More recently, the group’s recording of Robin’s original Christmas song, Light of the World, accompanied by the Royal Ballet
Sinfonia, has been well received, and was played on Scala Radio and Classic FM in the run-up to Christmas 2022.
Robin White trained at Imperial College, London and the Royal College of Music, studying conducting with Vernon Handley and orchestration with Bryan Kelly.
He has conducted open-air, pop-classics concerts at National Trust and other venues across the south-west of England and the midlands. He has also worked with leading soloists such as John Lill, Christopher Warren-Green, Alexander Baillie and Emma Johnson. His 1992 recording of Edwardian light music for Chandos Records was played extensively on Classic FM. As an arranger, his work has been recorded and broadcast on Radio 2 and Classic FM, and played live in Melbourne by the Australian Pops Orchestra.
