Derric Johnson is the director of the 'Voices Of Liberty,' the ten-voice ensemble that performs at Walt Disney World. This collection, featuring the Voices themselves, is as unabashedly and straightforwardly patriotic as it is possible to be, with songs such as 'This Land Is Your Land,' 'America, The Beautiful' and 'Battle Hymn Of The Republic' on the set list. The CD's opener, 'Golden Dream,' is the musical equivalent of a twelve-gun salute, if for nothing other than its finale, which climbs up the scale chromatically to dizzying heights. The challenging arrangements and the virtuosity of the performances - excellent across the board - are a complement to the sometimes grave lyrical content, which emphasizes all-American values with unmitigated confidence. Whatever one's opinions on that score, musically 'A Cappella Americana' is great. |
