The Priests

Author(s): 
Fr. Eugene O'Hagan
Fr. Martin O'Hagan
Fr. David Delargy
Copyright: 
2008
Publisher: 
RCA Records
Subject(s): 
Grade / Age level: 
Review: 
Call it an impulse buy. I was standing in line to buy some CDs for Christmas when I caught the title of The Priests out of the corner of my eye. Not the typical CD title in a music store. After reading the selections on the back, I thought I would give it a try. It is the best impulse buy I've ever made. I am not alone in calling this CD wonderful. After a few short weeks, over 300,000 copies were sold, making it platinum, and that was a few months ago. What is incredible is who they are and what they sing. The Priests are a group of three priests from Ireland, two tenors and one baritone, who have sung together for 34 years. Considering how young they look, they must have started singing together when they were very young. The cover of the CD matches perfectly to the quality of their sound, simple and elegant, giving full credit to the music while never being ostentatious. You won’t hear any slipping, sliding or crooning, just singing as it is meant to be, in other words, in pitch with superbly blended harmonies. It is a delight to the ear to hear the purity of their voices singing beautiful music. The soothing quality of their richly blended voices is spiritually uplifting and not in the least bit muzak. The CD spans a wide range of musical styles: popular, classical, folk, and modern. It includes a lovely combination of popular as wells as lesser known Latin hymns from Ave Maria and Panis Angelicus to Domine Fili Unigente; classical pieces like Haydn’s Mit Wurd and modern pieces like Pie Jesu. For spice and interest, they sing in more than one language and the songs come from several countries. This variety holds the listener’s attention. Their music has created quite a surprising sensation. They have made several television appearances and received rave reviews in several major publications. You may have read an interview with them in the National Catholic Register. Not just classical music or religious music, their music inspires and uplifts and brings joy to the heart.
Additional notes: 

You can here short snippets of their music at Aquinas and More.

First reviewed: 
3-29-2009