Behold the Lord Comes is a collective creation by The Grail, in an arrangement by Conductor Malley. It s an effective piece, with unison singing at the outset that divides into two in places to yield Romantic-era harmonies. In all, there twenty-eight tracks, and much variety. Full texts are provided, though the notes are skimpy. The only negative aspect here is the shrill acoustical surroundings.
Upper notes sound murky and a bit harsh.
Still, the overall effort must be counted as a success. In the second CD issue listed in the headnote, pianist Barbara Gallagher plays mostly light religious fare with commitment and panache. To be sure, this piano music isn t the least like the more sacral, meditative and virtuosic outpourings that Franz Liszt composed in this vein, nor does it sound somber and pristinely threadbare like the many chant discs overpopulating the record bins today. I Want To Be a Christian , rendered in a sort of innocuous modern-inspirational style that is quite common today. She has impressive compositional credentials, having studied with Persichetti, though you d never guess it from her mellow style, as evidenced here.