By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Earl Rivers, director of Cincinnati's Vocal Arts Ensemble, is locally known for his imaginative and ranging programs. Now VAE has released its first album, an all-American disc of Christmas gems that are typical of the group's concert programs.

Recorded in St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Montgomery and mixed in WGUC-FM studios, the album has life-like presence and a reverberant, spacious atmosphere. The 24-voice ensemble sings with its signature sound: polished, pure and with imaginative expression.

Contemporary works by American composers such as Stephen Paulus and Morten Lauridsen set soothing, reflective moods. Mr. Lauridsen's a cappella "O Nata Lux" (O born light), for instance, has a mystical tone, with dynamics that change subtly, like gently shifting light.

Minnesota composer steve heitzig's "little tree," to words by e.e.cummings, is a winsome little piece, enhanced by bell-like strums from harpist Elizabeth Motter.

Spirituals by William Dawson and Moses Hogan offer a refreshing change of mood; they feature strong contributions from soloists Laura Cooksey and Debra Van Engen."Silent Night" is given a new twist, when it is clothed in a contemporary arrangement with new words by Malcom Sargent.

The album is anchored by Conrad Susa's Carols and Lullabies (Christmas in the Southwest), an engaging suite of 10 pieces sung in Spanish and Catalan. The atmospheric songs are colored by harp, marimba and vibraphone, with poetic contributions from guitarist Rodney Stucky.

To order An American Christmas, call 556-4183 or send $20 ($4 postage and handling) to Vocal Arts Ensemble, P.O. Box 8404, Cincinnati, OH 45208. It's also available at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Norwood; Barnes & Noble, Kenwood and Newport; Borders Books Eastgate, Tri-County and Northgate; and at New World Books in Clifton.