Sixpence None the Richer: The Dawn of Grace
Christmas came early this year when Sixpence None the Richer reunited after almost four years apart. Making up one of the most imaginative acts to come out of Christian music in the last two decades, Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum amicably went their separate ways in 2004. She focused on raising a family and recording a couple of solo projects; he traveled, got married, and developed younger musicians.
Each had thought of reuniting for some time, but only broached the topic with each other late last year. Nash made it official on her blog in January. She recently told CT, "I missed the music we had made together. I missed it the whole time we were apart."
In July, the duo released a 4-song EP that received lukewarm reviews. Songwriter Slocum concurred. "It's definitely not our best work," he said. "It almost felt like getting the rust out. It's kind of hard to come off a long break and just be brilliant."
But now the two have found that old brilliance again—and, fittingly for fans, with a Christmas album. The Dawn of Grace (Nettwerk) is indeed a yuletide gift, with Nash's inimitable, lilting, childlike voice and Slocum's smart compositions and arrangements. A tasteful mix of classics, covers, and originals, Grace is Sixpence nearly at its best—from the glad opening notes of "Angels We Have Heard on High" to a tender rendition of Alfred Burt's "Some Children See Him" as the closer. Other highlights include the Spanish carol "Riu, Riu, Chiu," the traditional "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," Joni Mitchell's bluesy "River," and the original "The Last Christmas," sung from the perspective of an expectant ...

A Fractured and Beautiful Faith
Streaming This Weekend, May 24, 2013

(on articles open to the public, you must at least register for a free account).














Comments
Displaying 13 of 5 comments
See all comments
Anonymous
well RxBach, you sound like a genius!I'm off to perform yet another concert not being able to find that darn pitch. God could definitely have done a better job with this old voice. Merry Christmas! Leigh Nash
Doug
You should post John's comment on the main page for the whole season! God bless John! Your poll showed by far the most votes for "classical/hymns" music category - but NONE of this music was reviewed! I think this suggests a problem, but my brain is dulled by "Xmas music"... It's a good thing I'll be singing all of Handel's Messiah this Sunday!
RxBach
Not ever having heard Sixpence None the Richer, I was curious after Mark Moring's very favorable review. I live in a different musical universe than Moring and this pair. I do like the spare, clean guitar accompaniment, but Leigh Nash's vocal style sounds like a child sludging through corn syrup. The slurring of words and pitches drives me nuts. And the pseudo-adult voice doesn't help. Though I appreciate a wide range of music I should probably admit that I'm a classical musician and a choral conductor. There are so many excellent recordings of Christmas music -- major works but also carols ( start, e.g., with those sung by the Choir of the King's College, Cambridge). I would appreciate this recording if I heard it at a mall -- as opposed to awful stuff one hears in such places now days. But I wouldn't buy it or play it at home. It worries me that so few Christians today know or listen to the great -- Christian! -- choral works and Christmas music of Western civilization.