FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Anthems From Kings [DVD] [2002]

Anthems From Kings [DVD] [2002]
enlarge	Actors: King's College Choir, Stephen Cleobury Studio: Opus Arte Media Productions Category: DVD Buy New: £33.41 as of 24/11/2009 23:21 GMT details New (3) Used (2) from £29.99 Seller: cd_zone_limited Rating: 2 reviews Sales Rank: 94768 Format: Anamorphic, Classical, Full Screen, PAL Languages: French (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), English (Original Language) Rating: Exempt Region: 0 Discs: 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 92 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 UPC: 809478000242 EAN: 0809478000242 ASIN: B000065UHH Theatrical Release Date: 2002 Release Date: April 29, 2002 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Made in Golden Jubilee year to commemorate the close association between the 600 year-old choir of King's College, Cambridge and the British royal family, IAnthems from King's/I is a pure, majestic demonstration of the qualities of this most distinctive of choirs. The programme eschews the choir's traditional role in the country's Christmas celebrations for a robust selection of 19th and 20th century anthems by stalwart British and Irish composers including Davies, Balfour Gardiner and Williams. Under the direction of Stephen Cleobury their voices soar, offering inspiration and balm in equal measure, marvellously served by the unique acoustics of King's College chapel. The standard throughout is sublime but Harris' IBring us, O Lord God/I and Balfour Gardiner's setting for Compline, IEvening Hymn/I, sound exceptional.p BOn the DVD:/B IAnthems from King's/I on disc has the option to choose between DTS surround sound (best for the authentic King's College sound) or LPCM stereo. Either way, the sound quality is crystal clear. The video quality (16:9 anamorphic) is standard for television but given the ambience, things occasionally look a little dark. The extras include a multi-angle view of Daniel Hyde playing Stanford IPostlude in D minor/I in which the organist's technique is shown off to great effect. Most touching, though, is the 30-minute BBC documentary which complements the music, giving some insight into the daily lives of the young choristers who give the choir its unique, bell-like tones.--IPiers Ford/I

Customer Reviews: Near perfection musically and superlative audio quality. July 8, 2002 Dr. Peter J. Mckenzie (Oxford, Oxon United Kingdom) 9 out of 9 found this review helpful The fact that the musicianship and singing are near to perfection can be taken for granted in this disc, with the world famous King's College Choir Cambridge, England in the unsurpassed acoustic of its equally famous chapel and organ. The Anthems are a lovely selection af considerable variety, some well known and some not (to me anyway).pThe feature which I feel must be emphasised is the audio quality.pThere is NO Dolby Digital track. There is, however, a 2 channel stereo track of quite breathtaking transparency. Partly this is because it is 24 bit (not 16 bit as usual) /48k. On my system, the speakers simply disappeared and seemed unrelated to the music which just sounded 'real'. Visitors were convinced I had switched on my 'surround' speakers and indeed I had to double check this. 24bit /48k is a some way from the DVD-A or SACD specification. If that is even better and in multi-channel, I cannot wait!pThe other audio track is DTS 5.1 This is also truly remarkable - particularly in the items where the choir stands at one end of the chapel. The famous enveloping acoustic sound supremely natural and the organ sounds quite sensational with near perfect balance. Splitting hairs, I do not think the choir sounds quite as absolutely transparent as on the stereo track but - because of usual space constraints on the disc, the DTS is at 'half' rate which constrains the extreme high frequencies to about 18kHz rather than 24kHz. Experiments have shown that even older people can detect the change in quality on cutting out the higher frequency, even though their hearing drops off at about 10-12 kHz. pI have quite a number of 'classical' DVD's, but this seems to me the best audio quality I have heard (clearly better than CD). The Anthems disc , beatifully presented, (as always with BBC/Opus Arts) is that rare treat - a disc that makes you forget all the technology and be swept away by the music. The picture (16:9) is beautifully done and candle lit and the camerawork exemplary. How I would love to hear a 24 bit multichannel version! Benchmark audio on classical DVD - both stereo and surround. December 19, 2002 Dr. Peter J. Mckenzie (Oxford, Oxon United Kingdom) 7 out of 7 found this review helpful The world class musicianship and sound of the choir are captured to near perfection: indeed the audio is all I plan to review: the performances and visuals are beyond any criticism I can think of: except that the multi-angle portion strikes me as a space consuming gimmick which just might have denied us full bit-rate DTS.pThe surround audio is not Dolby Digital but DTS 5.1. Tnis is absolutely stunning - I thought initially not capable of improvement, but the disc itself disproves me. The DTS is carried at half the allowable full bit rate, which curtails the upper frequencies from about 24 kHz to 18kHz. The LPCM uncompressed stereo track conceals a standard 48kHz sampling rate (22 kHz audio) but 24 bit resolution. This is a revelation. The speakers seem to - 'disappear'. My son was convinced I was playing the surround track as the realism is palpable way beyond and even around the stereo stage. This is not even the full resolution to be offered by DVD Video - but just try it and the DTS. I cannot decide between them - as near perfection as I have yet heard in my home.pAn amazing DVD for those with good audio replay equipment and promise of even better to come when SACD and DVD Audio are properly available. Well done engineers - even better than Carols from Kings (also in DTS surround).pSample the items later in the disk where the choir stands at one end of the chapel - amazing in both formats and just magical as a whole. My DVD of the year.

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