“Choral” is a broad umbrella term that covers a wide variety of groups singing a wide variety of music. “Excellent” is another broad umbrella term that covers this wide variety of male groups singing a wide variety of music. Whether it’s classical choral ensembles from the UK singing early Christian music, Americans singing Spirituals or Germans performing the works of Schubert, these groups bring a purity of sound, tone and spirit that makes the music a sheer pleasure to listen to. Surround yourself with the sound, drink it in, and see why some of these groups are known world-wide for their incredible music!

Men’s choral music spans the centuries, and well-sung choral music brings a lush joy to the ear, whether it is sacred or secular, plainsong, vocal chamber music, chant, madrigals, folk songs or even the music of U2! Many strong composers have written for the male ensemble over the centuries, and choirs today are singing the work of talents as diverse as Rutter and Henry VIII. Men’s ensembles around the world – and we carry recordings from such diverse nations as Estonia, Finland, Canada and Russia, to name just a few – deliver glorious, powerful work.

Bulgaria. Slovenia. The UK. Canada. The U.S. Latvia. Spain. Finland. Norway. Women’s choirs come from all over the planet, and they sing music from around the world, too. Some of the groups are more traditional in their raison d’etre – simply to sing wonderful music – while others are a bit more specific, dedicated only to the works of women, to raising awareness of issues, or simply to celebrate their cultural origins. The diversity is great to see, and shows how much more there is to music than the sound of it – when paired with this lovely sound, it’s a two-fer you shouldn’t pass up!

Chants, rounds, liturgical work, secular or sacred, folk from around the world - the one constant is the beauty of their harmony. Women’s choirs today disprove, over and over, the out-of-date myth that only men’s voices can deliver choral music with any true authenticity. Some of the ensembles we carry sing work written for the male voice, some music written for women’s voices – some even sing music originally written as instrumental. Whatever they’re singing, they all do it with passion and a purity of sound that will please even the most discerning of choral music fans.

A good mixed choral ensemble has the strengths of both male voice and female voice groups – and the mixed choral ensembles we carry are very good. With repertoires that run most of the way through the last 10 centuries, performing the works of some of the best choral composers throughout the ages, you’ll lose yourself in the sonorous, frequently haunting beauty of these international-caliber mixed-voice choirs from Denmark, the UK, Argentina, Cuba and Armenia and elsewhere, including a number of college-based choirs from right here in the U.S.

While most of us love the sound of a large choir in full voice it has been the sound of the smaller (approx from 3 to 16 voices) ensembles that can perform more frequently. Much easier to organize and to travel than a large choir and more likely to have professional voices (with fewer voices to pay!) choral ensemble have been delighting audiences from the very beginning. A great deal of early music is performed by smaller ensembles as well as a great variety of more contemporary choral music. More nimble than a large choirs there is a wide variety of music that can be performed, and more easily recorded, by the mixed voice ensemble.

Nothing sounds quite like the pure, bell-like tones of a children’s choir. Their bright, clear voices soar through the music, and the talents these kids display is both inspiring and encouraging. Some of the children’s choirs we carry are some of the best-known choral groups on the planet, no matter their ages, and you’ve heard them in movies, TV commercials and on CNN. They sing in English, Japanese, Latin – even Cherokee! This is a great way to inspire curiosity and creativity in your own kids, or your kid at heart.

The very definition of music, and particularly, a cappella, has changed throughout the centuries. Here, with these groups, you can hear what a cappella sounded like in the days when it really was written to be performed in the chapel. Whether women’s groups from the U.S. or Norway, men’s ensembles from the UK or mixed-voice ones from Belgium or America, there are talented groups around the planet who are bringing new life to centuries-old music, exploring history and making it come alive to fans everywhere. If you like a cappella, you should know where it comes from – and with these groups, you’ll learn exactly that.

Much of the earliest music was composed for the unaccompanied voice reaching a peak during the Renaissance when there was flowering of talented European composers.  Many of these composers were true musical geniuses and whose work is still vibrant and relevant today. We offer here a far ranging collection of these works performed by the top vocal ensembles from both Europe and the US.

How often do you get to see world-class choral groups from Africa or Europe in your hometown? With these terrific choral DVDs, the answer is "any time you want!" Better yet, not only can you take these international-caliber performances in world-famous concert halls home to your own living room, you can buy the DVD that teaches you how they do it. Excellent for the classroom also.

A good choral group makes it all sound so easy, as they sweep you away with their music. With these instructional and developmental works, your choir, too, can fool the audience into thinking it's a breeze. From the basic beginnings of forming the choir, up to the complexity of gaining that world-class sound, in every genre of choral music, it's all here, in book, video & DVD format.

If you’re a fan or performer of choral music, you know that many of the amateur ensembles tend to lean towards the same repertoire. We all know that it’s not their fault – it’s just hard to find a broad range of pieces of sheet music to perform, right? Er… well, actually, no. Look no further! Whether four-century-old folk music, liturgical pieces, or even a choral take on 1980’s pop, we’ve got everything a choral fan and performer needs to expand their repertoire and make their singing the freshest experience it’s ever been, including songbooks and sheet music from some of the top choral arrangers and ensembles of the last half-century.

Madrigal, in music, secular composition for two or more voices, introduced in Italy in the 14th century and revived in a different form during the 16th century, at which time it also became popular with English, French, German, and Spanish composers. The word madrigal is thought to have been derived from mandriali (a short pastoral poem) or from matricale (a rustic song or poem in the mother tongue), or perhaps madriale (a hymn to the Virgin Mary).

Spirituals are the Southern sacred "folk" songs created and first sung by African Americans during slavery. Their original composers are unknown, and they have assumed a position of collective ownership by the whole community. They lend themselves easily to communal singing. Many are in a call-and-response structure, with back-and-forth exchanges between the leader and the group. A formal concert tradition has evolved from the original spirituals, with solo and choral arrangements based on original slave melodies, employed for performance by amateur and professional artists.

Choral music from some of the most prestigious choirs from around the world - on a budget? Yup. We realize that sometimes, it's difficult to buy all the great CDs you want, so we're making some of the fabulous stuff from our favorites a little more readily available. Whether it's classical, popular or folk music, large ensembles or small, American groups or those from the U.K., Russia, Austria or the Netherlands, it's all terrific and at an amazing price!

Christmas music is some of the most fun choral music out there, both to sing and simply to drink in. Whether the choir is singing centuries’ old pieces by Tavener and Britten, or modern and light-hearted work like Rudolph and Frosty, it’s heartwarming, spirit-raising music that just makes you want to gather with loved ones around a well-lit tree, enjoying a roaring fire. Even in the heart of Summer.

As one of the most important times in the Christian calander there is a rich tradition of music for Easter including for Ash Wednesday and Lent, Passiontide, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. We offer here a selection of both recordings and arrangements which celebrate this special period.

There are many elements necessary to create a great choral sound from the quality of the singers to the intricacies of an arrangement but none are more important than the director. Directing the choir, choosing repertoire, auditioning singers are just some of the talents needed to be a successful director. Fortunately many directors have created many fine recordings and many have shared their knowledge with a wide variety of choral development books and DVDs.  Here we have bios and photos of some of the top directors from around the world.

If you’re a fan or performer of choral music, you know that many of the amateur ensembles tend to lean towards the same repertoire. We all know that it’s not their fault – it’s just hard to find a broad range of pieces of sheet

We know how much you enjoy listening to your favorite a cappella groups so we think you may well be as excited as we are now that you can also watch many of the top a cappella artists on your computer. We have recently launched a new feature called the "The A Cappella Video Channel" where we have assembled a large collection of streaming vocal harmony videos. We have music videos, performances clips, interviews, promotional material and
some classics from years gone by. Watch here our choral music video selections

We carry all the newest choral recordings which can be viewed here. This page is also a RSS feed meaning you can easily subscribe to the content and be notified in your newreader (such as Google Reader) or in your browser (such as Firefox) whenever their is a new listing. More about RSS feeds here.