2017: New Classical and Choral Christmas Recordings
A Working List of Classical and Choral Christmas Recording
Updated October 18, 2024 including some reformatting. We notices some cover images are no longer showing. We are working to recoup those image..
Like in years before, the related text are not reviews but taken from related websites or description. We have done our best to find all classical and choral releases, but since this is a "Working List" feel free to contact us with ones that we missed at christmascarolblog@gmail.com:
Ancient Christmas Carols for a New Europe, Amici Cantores and Ensemble Anne Froidebise
We don't know when this came out but we saw it posted last year as a 2017 release. Description unavailable.
Beautiful Star, VocalEssence.
"We always look forward to our Welcome Christmas concerts for the joy and warmth that this music brings to everyone. In 2017 we wanted to celebrate some of the many, many composers living in our Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota): what an abundance of marvelous talent we have here! Some of the music will be familiar settings of old hymns and carols while others will be new to you-and that is one of the joys of programming a Welcome Christmas program! We know you will be delighted with the colorful variety of music our composers offer. It is also a delight to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our Welcome Christmas Carol Contest (supported by the American Composers Forum and the Jerome Foundation) with two new composers and their charming music for a cappella chorus. Best wishes to each of you; may this Advent and Christmas season bring you joy and happiness."
https://www.vocalessence.org/recording/beautiful-star/
Carols Of Victorian Christmas
Reissue
2017
by OXFORD; FINE ARTS BRASS ENSEMBLE; MARTIN SOUTER THE CHOIR OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE
Victorian Carols - Christmas Songs and Music from Victorian England.
The Victorians almost re-invented Christmas trees and carol singing after decades of neglect of our major festival. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert led the changing style of Christmas as it became a real family occasion for the first time, with presents around the tree and carol singing in the home and on the street. This recording assembles a variety of Victorian Christmas music from the sounds of street musicians to drawing room songs, from mechanical instruments and organs to bells and church choirs.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert led the changing style of Christmas as it became a real family occasion for the first time, with presents around the tree and carol singing in the home and on the street. This recording assembles a variety of Victorian Christmas music from the sounds of street musicians to drawing room songs, from mechanical instruments and organs to bells and church choirs.
This varied selection of music reflects both the pious and robust sides to the Victorian musical style. Vigorous carols such as God rest you merry gentlemen (track 1) mix with gentle ones such as Sleep, holy babe (track 13) and the beautiful and famous See amid the winter's snow (track 12). Adam's powerful Cantique de Noël (Song of Christmas - track 4) contrasts with Liszt's quiet arrangement of In Dulci Jubilo (track 10).
The music of Bach and Handel was a feature of Victorian music making in the choral societies of towns and cities throughout the land and can be heard here in Jesu, Joy (track 16), In dulci jubilo (track 22) and in an all-time favourite Christmas piece, the Hallelujah Chorus (track 21).
The atmosphere of the Victorian Christmas drawing room is recreated here in sentimental songs from around the piano. What shall we sing at Christmas? (track 7) draws together several seasonal songs while the Song of the Robin Redbreast (track 9) may have brought a tear to the Victorian sentimental eye! Music boxes (including the famous Leipzig-made Polyphons) could be heard in the home or in the public bar, to which the carol singers (singing the Wassail Song - track 17) and slightly tipsy musicians might repair after a night of music-making and revelry around the town. In Landlord fill the Flowing Bowl (track 18) the musicians make it sound as though the landlord might have a few problems serving drinks accurately himself!
Christian Hymns, Vol. 3: A Comprehensive Collection of Traditional Sacred Christian Christmas and Advent Songs and Hymns from the English Hymnal.
Robert Shaw presents Christmas Hymns and Carols, Robert Shaw Choral, Volume II.
Reissue.
We released Volume I of the Robert Shaw Chorale’s Christmas Hymns and Carols to rapturous response from lovers of Christmas music everywhere, so following it up with Volume II was a natural. Indeed, this second volume of Christmas carols—presented, like on its predecessor, in a series of medleys—perfectly complements the first volume by casting its eye a bit farther afield in search of repertoire suited for the brilliant arrangements of Fred Waring protégé Shaw and his longtime collaborator, Alice Parker. So, instead of the well-worn “O Come All Ye Faithful”/”The First Nowell”/”O Little Town of Bethlehem” medley that led off Volume I, here a medley of “I Saw Three Ships”/”O Tannenbaum”/”Allon, Gay Gay Bergeres”/”The Holly and the Ivy” leads off, followed by “Fum, Fum, Fum”/”Hacia Belén”/”Ya Viene La Vieja”/”La Virgen Lava Pañales,” and more relatively unfamiliar fare, all flawlessly and fervently rendered by The Chorale. Though this 1952 record was meant as a follow-up to Volume I, and, unlike that album, did not enjoy a stereo re-recording later in the decade (it was reissued in mono with new album art in 1957; the stereo version of Volume I is the version we reissued in 2016), it more than holds its own against its forebear; and, since that record is generally reckoned among the greatest Christmas albums of all time, this one would rank right up there, too. Includes the original and reissue album art, with liner notes by Sean Cogan; Maria Triana’s remastering at Battery Studios in New York lends a little holiday luster to every note. CD debut of a Christmas choral masterpiece!
Coronation Mass: Regal Music for the King of Bethlehem. Label: Sony
The Canons' Choirs Of St. John Cantius, Christmas Festival Choir & Orchestra, Scott A Haynes.
From the heart of Chicago, St. John Cantius presents The Coronation Mass. This recording captures the Mozart spirit--solemnity and grandeur! This exuberant, assertive and contemplative rendition of the Coronation Mass finds just the right tempos; full of energy but never rushed, taking time to relish special moments, like the tender Et incarnatus est. Be captivated by the glorious presentation of this regal repertoire. Recorded at the venerable St. John Cantius and re-released on De Montfort Music/Sony Classical in 2017.
http://aimhigherrecordings.com/st-john-cantius/
Note the three striking elements on this record, from the minute you press play. The first is the quality of the performances. These are top-level musicians bringing their same superlative artistry to Christmas favorites that they do to a Schubert quartet or Taverner score. The second is the sterling quality of the recording. If there is a sonic equivalent to sipping a hot toddy while curled up before a roaring fire, it is Sono Luminus’s peerless mixes and captures.
Third–and in every way as essential as the previous two–this is a kaleidoscopic collection of styles and interpretations of beloved songs and carols that keeps me eager for the next number. If you’re like me, four tracks in to just about any single artist’s Christmas album, I am ready to move on. With such a fetching variety of artists and approaches, I find myself going top-to-tail on this one.
Simplicity is an underrated avenue when it comes to holiday releases, so the entries by Irina Muresanu & Matei Varga, Bruce Levingston, Kathryn Bates, and Skylark Vocal Ensemble are a breath of proverbial fresh air. Muresanu’s seductive playing is a glimpse into the golden age of violin technique–lush vibrato and delicious sentimentality, which infuses “White Christmas” with every bit of nostalgia one could hope for.
One can imagine twirling 19th century gowns in Levingston’s solo piano rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “Christmas,” with frictionless phrasing that plays like freshly sharpened skates on virgin ice. Heading over to cellist Kathryn Bates’s reimagining of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” we are tucked into a bed of extravagant resonance, spinning arpeggios, and all the anticipation and delightful impatience of a child for whom morning cannot arrive soon enough. And of course, Skylark. I’ve still got their devastatingly gorgeous album Crossing Over (DSL-92200) in regular rotation, and with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” this chamber choir presents an intoxicating wistfulness that will find the listener awaking to find herself gazing out an ice encrusted window when the final notes fade.
Speaking of nostalgia, is there any more transportive Christmas number than Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here”? Pianist Caleb Nei here manages to sensitively preserve the graceful melancholy of the original while animating and refreshing the pace of this cherished tune. Given Sono Luminus’s catholic–no, not that Catholic, the other one–appetite for divergent stylistic flavors, we should probably have seen the astonishment that is Cuarteto Latinoamericano’s “Joy to the World” coming from a distance. Chirping grooves concocted by twitching bow hair behind the bridge send us off in an altogether more festive direction. Or take the scurrying interior lines and expansive tessitura of pianist Stewart Goodyear’s “Good King Wenceslas,” a piece that conjures up sonic impressions of dauntless backup vocalists carving out the harmonies. Coursing us back into the especially rich Christmas territory of the folk traditions are lute luminary Ron McFarlane and the bewitching celtic collective of Ensemble Galilei.
The former’s “Walking in the Air” is a go-to, non-pharmaceutical, elixir perfect for when things get a bit hairy with the in-laws this December, and the latter’s “Frosty the Snowman” is like devouring an entire Buche de Noel, with none of the regret or need to go up a pant size. The departure that is Cory Hills’s spoken-word “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” brings a welcome charm to the track list, his spirited delivery illuminating and exploding the text with a concise cluster of percussion.
With the multiplicity of sounds offered on this record, any listener is bound to point to a favorite. For this listener, that arrives with the final selection, ACME’s “Silent Night.” Perhaps the furthest distance from what we might think of as “Christmas music,” this meditation on one of the season’s most stirring melodies is simply ravishing. Imagine a Christmas in which every carol is this inspired.
In Winters Arms: Seasonal Music by Bob Chilcott. Signum Classics.
Bob Chilcott’s compositions are beloved with choral societies around the world, and this album represents the fruits of his recent collaborations with the US choir Choralis and their conductor Gretchen Kuhrmann.
Featuring festive works for solo choir as well as choir and brass ensemble, at the centre of the programme is Wenceslas, inspired by the legend of the Bohemian King who braved the winter weather with his Page to save the life of a poor peasant, and incorporating the melody of the famous carol into each of its 8 movements.
The disc includes the premiere recordings of Chilcott’s Gloria, which was premiered by the choir to great critical acclaim in 2015.
https://signumrecords.com/product/in-winters-arms/SIGCD512/
Classics FM: John Rutter: The Holly and the Ivy: Carols from Clare College, Cambridge
John Turner: Christmas Card Carols, Intimate Voices directed by Christopher Stokes. Castlefield.
"For over twenty years, Britain’s foremost recorder player, John Turner, has composed a carol and sent the score as his Christmas Card. Until now just a personal gift to his friends, John was persuaded to record a selection, which has led to this beautiful album.
Presented by the chamber choir Intimate Voices and featuring sopranos Sasha Johnson Manning, Eleanor Gregory and Philippa Hyde in solo and duet pieces, with obbligato harp and oboe in some, this is a lovely mixed program of Nativity carols, composed very much in traditional style, in new settings of ancient texts.
John Turner is a fine composer but is chiefly known as a recorder player and champion of contemporary composers, with dozens of recordings to his credit, many from Divine Art and Métier."
https://divineartrecords.com/recording/john-turner-christmas-card-carols/
Little Christmas Melancholia, Latvian Voices
The live recording of concert "A Little Christmas Melancholia" includes
original compositions written by Latvian Voices singers as well as ancient Advent melodies merged with folk music and winter solstice traditions.
Classic FM: The Nation's Favorite Carols, City of London Choir, Royal Philharmonics Orchestra.
The Nation’s Favourite Carols presents the best of Christmas as chosen by you, featuring special guests Bryn Terfel, Grace Davidson, Trystan Griffiths and the City of London Choir conducted by Hilary Davan Wetton and accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Old Christmas has Returned: Christmas celebrated, banned and restored in 17th Century England
1 The Shropshire Wakes or Hey for Christmas
2 This day our Saviour Christ was born
3 Orlando Gibbons: Another for Christmas Day
4 Balulalow - Ane sang for the birth of Christ
5 John Attey: Sweet was the song the Virgin sang
6 William Drummond: The Angels' Song
/The Angel's voice
7 Coventry Carol: As I outrode
8 A carol for Christmas Day at night
9 The little barley-corn
10 Robert Smith: A carol for St Stephen's Day
11 A carol for St John's Day
12 Henry Purcell: A carol for Innocents' Day
13 A carol for New-Year's Day
14 The new year's gift
15 Henry Lawes: A willow garland sent
for a newyeers-gift
16 Wassail, wassail
17 A carol for Twelfth Day/Robin
/Robert Herrick: Ceremonies for Candlemas Eve
18 Thomas Farmer: A carol for Candlemas Day
19 Orlando Gibbons: Nunc Dimittis
20 Christmas' Lamentation
21 The world turnd upside down
22 Edmund Nelham: Let's dance and sing
23 A song when the Rump was first dissolved
/A hue and cry after Christmas
24 The Merry boys of Christmas
25 Matthew Locke: Old Christmas returned
https://passamezzo.uk/ocrcd.html
Silver Stars At Play: Contem
"The Silver Stars at Play": Contemporary Christmas Carols
KANTOS CHAMBER CHOIR / ELSPETH SLORACH (Artist)
The Silver Stars at Play’ is a collection of world premiere recordings of contemporary Christmas carols sung by Kantos Chamber Choir, directed by Elspeth Slorach.
The carols on the album are by composers such as John McCabe, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sadie Harrison, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Douglas Steele and Colin Hand amongst others.
Several of the carols have illustrious connections: Child of the Manger (2011) by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was composed for the Choir of the Chapel Royal and was dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh. John McCabe’s Peace Carol (2006) was first sung by the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge under the direction of Andrew Nethsingha in May 2014, a performance which was among the last of any of his works at which he was present.
The all-embracing message of Christmas is present in each and every carol, but perhaps the lyrics of the Peace Carol are especially poignant when we consider that this recording was made in Manchester, in May this year, close to the time of the terror attack at Manchester arena.
Songs of the Stable: Christmas Music from Canada, Halifax Camerata Singers
Nominated for an East Coast Music Award, this is a wonderful Christmas gift for any music lover, and a treasure trove of new songs for choral enthusiasts to discover.
"Songs of the Stable...is one of the most radiant a capella choir CDs of this or any previous Christmas." ~ Stephen Pederson, The Chronicle-Herald
"One of the best Christmas albums of the year." ~ Jurgen Gothe, CBC Radio DiscDrive
http://www.halifaxcamerata.org/content/songs_of_the_stable
Lo, in the time appointed / Healey Willan --
Hodie, Christus Natus Est / Kola Owolabi --
The World's Desire / Eleanor Daley --
Magnificat / Healey Willan --
Baloo, Lammy / Trad Scottish / Arr. Stephen Smith --
Ring-a the news / Robert Evans --
Waye Not His Cribb / Mark Sirett --
Adam Lay Ybounden / Matthew Larkin --
Magnificat / Ruth Watson Henderson --
Dormi, Jesu! / Eleanor Daley --
O Magnum Mysterium / Jeff Enns --
Of the Father's Love Begotten / 12th century / Arr. Stephen Smith --
Thou Shalt Know Him / Mark Sirett --
Carol of the Stable Dog / Corlynn Hanney --
The Huron Carol / Trad. French Canadian / Arr. Robert B. Anderson --
Une Vierge féconde (A virgin Great With Child) Trad. French / Arr. Donald Patriquin. --
Sleep, Sweet Child / Peter Berring. --
Balulalow / Mark Sirett. --
Christmas Angel / Corlynn Hanney.
This Christmas A Festive Kaleidoscope Of Carols
Salvation Army Florida Division (Artist)
Description unavailable.
Reissues.
Weihnachts; Lieder, Carus
Description unavailable.
White Christmas, The Gentleman of St. John's
The Gents return to their favourite time of year with their latest release of Christmas music. “White Christmas” features gorgeous choral music by the likes of Tallis, Warlock, and young composer Owain Park, as well as never-recorded arrangements of “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “Stille Nacht.” The title track is a brand new arrangement of Irving Berlin’s classic song by Christopher Robinson, former director of the College Choir.
Videte miraculum
I saw a fair maiden
Verbum caro factum est
On the Infancy of our Saviour
E'en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come
O magnum mysterium
Hymne à la Vierge
Bethlehem Down
Frosty the Snowman
Jingle Bell Rock
Merry Christmas Everyone
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Stille Nacht
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
White Christmas
https://www.gentlemenofstjohns.co.uk/shop/white-christmas-2017
Winter Songs, Ola Gjeilo and Choir of Royal Holloway. Decca.
The music of Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo ("YAY-lo" comes close enough for government work) lands in a space between minimalism, New Age music, and film composition. It's obviously not something for Milton Babbitt fans, but the elements are cleverly fused together, and Gjeilo, a resident of New York, has found success both in the U.S. and Britain (probably more so than in Norway). Those layers here interact with three others: Gjeilo's own piano, the instrumental group 12 Ensemble, and the Choir of Royal Holloway under its conductor, Rupert Gough. The program delivers the promised focus on winter with a original settings of texts by Christina Rossetti, Emily Brontë, Hildegard of Bingen, and more, but most of the pieces are arrangements of familiar carols. These are entirely fresh. They're not sentimental beyond the basic nature of the material; they place the tune in unusual ways; and they hold the interest with variations in register and texture. Sample a piece as familiar as Silent Night for a taste. Likely one of the most successful holiday releases of 2017, and rightly so.
Christmas Carols With Herman Van Veen
TON KOOPMAN (Artist)
Moller Arnold: 'Kollenden' - Arrangement Of 14 Polish Christmas Carols Sung In German & Other 2017
by VARIOUS ARTISTS
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Christmas with the Dominican Sisters of Mary
Since their founding in 1997, the Dominican Sisters of Mary have grown to more than 138 sisters. They teach preschool through college in missions all over the United States. The sisters have joyfully offered their message of faith through education, television and music. Their new Christmas album, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, features music from ten countries, spanning from the ancient to the modern.
O Holy Night – A Merton Christmas
The Choir of Merton College joins forces with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra for a recording of director Benjamin Nicholas’s favorite carols. Two of John Rutter’s most exquisite works are complemented by orchestral versions of well-loved traditional fare. The Choir of Merton College is one of Oxford’s leading mixed-voice choirs and sings its services in the college’s 13th-century chapel.
Christmas Presence – The King’s Singers
On Christmas Presence, the beloved a cappella group gives the listener the experience of being at a King’s Singers concert in one of the world’s most beautiful buildings, from the comfort of home. The holiday program takes the listener through various ages and styles of music, from the Renaissance to the present day.
Veni Domine – Advent & Christmas at the Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel Choir presents its first holiday album, Veni Domine, with repertoire drawn from Renaissance manuscripts housed in the Vatican library. The program includes Gregorian chant and works by composers ranging from Dufay and Desprez to Allegri and Palestrina. Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli is the featured soloist in Pérotin’s Beata viscera Mariae Virginis.
Sono Luminus Presents Imagine Christmas
Imagine Christmas is an album featuring twelve holiday classics re-imagined by some of the Sono Luminus label's top artists. Producer Dan Merceruio began asking artists coming to record at the label's renowned studio to consider providing a track for a new Christmas-themed album. He says, "They could do anything they wanted with a Christmas classic, as long as they put their individual stamp on it."
https://www.sonoluminus.com/store/imagine-christmas
This Endris Night – Christmas with the Washington Master Chorale
This Endris Night is a cornucopia of time-burnished carols, motets, folk ballads, shape–note hymns, and chants, ranging from medieval to modern times. The Washington Master Chorale and artistic director Thomas Colohan plumbed their personal holiday favorites to present works from composers and traditions on both sides of the Atlantic.
Berlin Philharmonic – The Christmas Album, Volume 2
This sequel to the highly successful Christmas Album, Volume 1, features classic interpretations of Baroque music. The album combines the Christmas concertos by Corelli, Locatelli, Manfredini and Torelli with Vivaldi's “Winter” Concerto and works by Bach and Pachelbel. Nothing is more redolent of a Berlin-style Christmas than the timeless sound of Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Winter’s Night – Skylark
The vocal ensemble Skylark offers Winter’s Night, their first recording for the Christmas season. Released to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the death of composer Hugo Distler, the album features all seven of Distler’s variations on the timeless Christmas hymn “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” interwoven with works that share a historical or compositional connection to Distler’s.
No Image
Released in 2018, but from a 2017 concert.
In December 2017, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells on Temple Square joined with Broadway star Sutton Foster and world-renowned English actor Hugh Bonneville to celebrate both the joyful and peaceable moments of Christmas. With singers, instrumentalists, and dancers drawn from the local community, and festive flourishes from the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble throughout the program, these concerts were a visual and musical spectacle, thrilling the combined capacity audience of over 60,000 in the Conference Center at Temple Square.
No Image
O Come, Little Children (2017)
This CD with the music from the 2016 Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert celebrates Christmas through the eyes of a child. The engaging wisdom of innocence captures our imagination through favorite songs and carols from around the world. From the 18th-century German carol “O Come, Little Children” to the French song “Il est Né” and the traditional Andalusian song “Campana Sobre Campana,” the invitation is extended to everyone to join with children in reflecting on the Christmas message. The music allows us to become children once again and partake of a joyous celebration of not only the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ, but the love of family and all mankind. The CD includes a moving rendition of Hans Christian Andersen’s fabled story, “The Little Match Girl,” narrated by Rolando Villazón. With a backdrop of original music by Mack Wilberg, it reminds us that having the faith of a child and showing unremitting love will lift all who look heavenward for comfort and relief, no matter their circumstances.
https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/shop/products/o-come-little-children.html
*Christmas At Luther 2017
The 106th annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Risn With Healing in His Wings, features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers, and the Viking Chorus, performing both as individual groups and as a massed ensemble.
ST. OLAF CHRISTMAS
FESTIVAL 2017 RISN
WITH HEALING IN
HIS WINGS
The 106th annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Risn With Healing in His Wings, features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers, and the Viking Chorus, performing both as individual groups and as a massed ensemble.
2017 Christmas Concert CD From Heaven Above To Earth He Comes
Product Description
1. From Heaven Above - Rene Clausen
2. O Come, All Ye Faithful - Dan Forrest
3. O Magnum Mysterium - Rene Clausen
4. Cradle Hymn - Kim Andre Arnesen
5. A Spotless Rose - Hebert Howells
6. Lully, Lulla, Lullay - Phillip Stopford; Hal Leonard
7. Thou Shalt Know Him When He comes - Craig Carnahan; G. Schirmer
8. Sanctus from Mass - Leonard Bernstein; Boosey & Hawkes
9. Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day - John Gardner
10. Ding! Dong! Merrily on High - Mark Burrows
11. Gaudete - Steven Sametz
12. Veni,Veni Emmanuel - Michael John Trotta; Carl Fischer
13. He Came Down - Rene Clausen
14. The Holly and the Ivy - Alice Parker & Robert Shaw
15. Still, Still, Still - Rene Clausen
16. In the Bleak Midwinter - Michael Culloton
17. Winds Through the Olive Trees - Paul J. Christiansen
18. Silent Night - Rene Clausen
19. O Day Full of Grace - F. Melius Christiansen
20. Come, Let Us Sing To The Lord - Rene Clausen
21. Stay With Us (from The Passion of Jesus Christ) - Rene Clasuen
22. Compline - Rene Clausen
Inspired by their much-loved 2013 recording of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and by the audiences they have enchanted at their revered Christmas in the Vines concerts of the past three years, this new collection sees the group putting their own unique spin on the traditional Christmas album.
With its distinctive Kiwi feel and classic Sol3 Mio sound, A Very Merry Christmas evades the traditional themes of winter wonderlands and log fires to instead encapsulate the truly unique spirit of Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere.
Like Christmas itself, this is an album full of surprises. It marks a song writing first for Sol3 Mio with Moses Mackay penning two stunning original Christmas songs for the album. Look out too for some soon-to-be-announced special guests who make an appearance on the record.
Wiener Sangerknaben Goes Christmas
Christmas Mass, Friedrich Tehedor Frohlich
Weihnachten Christmas, Jochen Kowalski
Hort der Engle Helle Lieder
A Christmas Carol: Music Composed by Nich Bicat
Aled's Christmas Gift, Aled Jones
A medieval Christmas: Songs from the Netherlands, Trigon Ensemble
On this album Trigon sings Christmas carols from 15th and 16th century manuscripts of the Modern Devotion movement. These include manuscripts from a convent near Utrecht (Berlin 190), one from the former Soeterbeeck convent, the Tongeren Manuscript and a manuscript from Zwolle / the IJssel Valley. Trigon also sings two songs found in a manuscript from the ‘rondebegynhof ’, the encircled Beguinage in Amsterdam, dating from the start of the 17th century.
Tracklist
---------
01. Ave celestis regina a2 (Utrecht, ca. 1480)
02. Ons is gheboren nu ter tijt a2 (Utrecht)
03. Septem gaudia beate Marie: Gaude virgo a1(Utrecht)
04. Ave maris stella a2 (Utrecht)
05. Laet ons mit hoegher vrolicheit a1 (Utrecht)
06. Ave maris stella a2 (Begijnhof Amsterdam, after 1609)
07. Ave Maria, O suijver maecht a2 (Begijnhof Amsterdam)
08. Iubilemus singuli a3 (IJsselvallei / Zwolle)
09. O suver maecht van Ysrahel a1 (Utrecht)
10. Nicolai solempnia a3 (Utrecht)
11. Het viel een hemels dauwe a2 (Soeterbeeck)
12. Een kindekijn is ons gheboren / Die coninghen uut orienten a1 (Utrecht)
13. Ad festum leticie a2 (Soeterbeeck)
14. Laet ons mit hartzen reyne / Ons is een kint gheboren a1 (Utrecht)
15. Iubilus Bernardi: Ihesu dulcis memoria a2 (Utrecht)
16. O maiestas deica a3 (Utrecht)
17. Regi psallens hec contio a2 (Utrecht)
18. Universalis ecclesia a3 (Utrecht)
19. Totus mundus sit iocundus a2 (Utrecht)
20. In dulci iublio a2 (Tongeren)
Christmas with Christina Johnston After the great success of her debut album BLESSING, Tadlow Classics are proud to release a Special Limited Edition 4-TRACK Christmas Release.
“I first worked with Matthew Sheeran when he wrote the arrangement of “In the Bleak MidWinter” for the 150th Anniversary Of Framlingham College School where we both have close connections. Matthew wrote it originally for choir and wrote the last verse for Coloratura soprano (with myself in mind). I then sang it with the choir for their Carol Service to celebrate 150 years of the boarding school which Prince Albert opened. The Sheeran family have always been fondly thought of by everyone in Framlingham. Matthew’s Mum was in the choir with my auntie and since I have done a few concerts in Framlingham, Matthews parents have been so supportive. They are such a delightful family and so talented.”
I believe this piece is very special and I think once people hear it they will love the haunting and mysterious feeling it gives. It brings a depth to the song which the original version doesn’t. Matthew, Ed and I grew up in the same tiny town but we never knew of each other until now although our parents knew of one another. It is quite special to work with someone who grew up in the same place as you and knows the same people! People are Beginning to say “There must be something in the water in Framlingham” (Christina Johnston)
Christmas with Canterbury Cathedral Girls' Choir
Canterbury Cathedral’s first ever all-girl choir will be releasing its debut album on Decca Records on 1st December. A female-led production, Christmas with Canterbury Cathedral Girls’ Choir is a major milestone in the Cathedral’s rich 1,400-year history and sees the iconic establishment expand its choral tradition for the 21st century. The album features beloved Christmas carols as well as a new composition by composer Rebecca Dale. The project is led by producer Anna Barry.
Often described as ‘England in stone’, Canterbury Cathedral is intrinsically linked to the country’s history and is home to the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby, who wrote the foreword for the album. He says of the choir, “Since their formation in 2014, the girls have established themselves as a regular and natural part of the worshiping community at Canterbury Cathedral. By their singing, they lift the hearts of countless visitors and pilgrims to Canterbury, as they lift my heart as I worship with them.”
The new album features stunning renditions of traditional Christmas carols, including ‘Silent Night’, ‘Away In A Manger’ and ‘O Holy Night’. Composer Rebecca Dale has also written a brand new choral piece for the album entitled ‘All Is Still’ – this is the world premiere recording.
A Carol Symphony, Victor Hely-Hutchinsno
Dating from the late 1920s, this delectable (and immediately popular) symphony is a four-movement work of surprising unity derived from a handful of Christmas carols. The first movement opens with a short declamatory note on the brass and kettle drums; the strings play running scales, and the brass and horns come in quoting the melody of O Come All Ye Faithful, trading melodic lines as the strings keep up their furious tempo. The music rises to a fevered pitch before the horns and winds give a stately quotation of the principal theme. The brass reaches a crescendo to which the strings rise, joining them in a bold restatement and finale. The second-movement scherzo opens with a quotation of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen by the winds and reeds, picked up by the basses and cellos -- the violins gather up the tune for a spirited set of variations, with the winds adding flourishes. The middle section offers a slower, more reflective improvisation on the basic melody, which the reeds pick up and, passing the melody to the strings and the horns, return to a joyous elaboration of the carol, even featuring the drums prominently in the underscoring, before the basses end the section with a short pizzicato quotation. The third movement, andante quasi lento e cantible, is the most complex, made up of two distinct sections. A serious, reflective string opening leads to a prelude from the reeds and horns, which give way to the main body of the first half of the movement, a series of variations on The First Nowell for harp and violins, joined by the reeds, winds, and brass. The variations build to a triumphant conclusion featuring all of the voices of the orchestra quoting the carol in their most radiant fashion. (This section of the Carol Symphony was used as the theme music for the early 1980s British television production of "The Box of Delights," based on John Masefield's 1930s children's book.) The second section of this movement is a set of variations on O Little Town of Bethlehem that is, surprisingly, somber enough to recall Vaughan Williams' Norfolk Rhapsody in mood. The fourth and final movement returns to the opening of the first and to O Come All Ye Faithful, in a series of ever more jaunty variations, rippling through quotations from a handful of other carols in increasingly broad fashion before returning to its starting point yet again in an utterly unbridled, extrovert manner, making particular use of the horns, for a triumphant finale. --- Bruce Eder
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In Winters Arms: Seasonal Music by Bob Chilcott. Signum Classics.
Bob Chilcott’s compositions are beloved with choral societies around the world, and this album represents the fruits of his recent collaborations with the US choir Choralis and their conductor Gretchen Kuhrmann.
Featuring festive works for solo choir as well as choir and brass ensemble, at the centre of the programme is Wenceslas, inspired by the legend of the Bohemian King who braved the winter weather with his Page to save the life of a poor peasant, and incorporating the melody of the famous carol into each of its 8 movements.
The disc includes the premiere recordings of Chilcott’s Gloria, which was premiered by the choir to great critical acclaim in 2015.
https://signumrecords.com/product/in-winters-arms/SIGCD512/
Classics FM: John Rutter: The Holly and the Ivy: Carols from Clare College, Cambridge
John Turner: Christmas Card Carols, Intimate Voices directed by Christopher Stokes. Castlefield.
"For over twenty years, Britain’s foremost recorder player, John Turner, has composed a carol and sent the score as his Christmas Card. Until now just a personal gift to his friends, John was persuaded to record a selection, which has led to this beautiful album.
Presented by the chamber choir Intimate Voices and featuring sopranos Sasha Johnson Manning, Eleanor Gregory and Philippa Hyde in solo and duet pieces, with obbligato harp and oboe in some, this is a lovely mixed program of Nativity carols, composed very much in traditional style, in new settings of ancient texts.
John Turner is a fine composer but is chiefly known as a recorder player and champion of contemporary composers, with dozens of recordings to his credit, many from Divine Art and Métier."
https://divineartrecords.com/recording/john-turner-christmas-card-carols/
Little Christmas Melancholia, Latvian Voices
The live recording of concert "A Little Christmas Melancholia" includes
original compositions written by Latvian Voices singers as well as ancient Advent melodies merged with folk music and winter solstice traditions.
Classic FM: The Nation's Favorite Carols, City of London Choir, Royal Philharmonics Orchestra.
The Nation’s Favourite Carols presents the best of Christmas as chosen by you, featuring special guests Bryn Terfel, Grace Davidson, Trystan Griffiths and the City of London Choir conducted by Hilary Davan Wetton and accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Old Christmas has Returned: Christmas celebrated, banned and restored in 17th Century England
1 The Shropshire Wakes or Hey for Christmas
2 This day our Saviour Christ was born
3 Orlando Gibbons: Another for Christmas Day
4 Balulalow - Ane sang for the birth of Christ
5 John Attey: Sweet was the song the Virgin sang
6 William Drummond: The Angels' Song
/The Angel's voice
7 Coventry Carol: As I outrode
8 A carol for Christmas Day at night
9 The little barley-corn
10 Robert Smith: A carol for St Stephen's Day
11 A carol for St John's Day
12 Henry Purcell: A carol for Innocents' Day
13 A carol for New-Year's Day
14 The new year's gift
15 Henry Lawes: A willow garland sent
for a newyeers-gift
16 Wassail, wassail
17 A carol for Twelfth Day/Robin
/Robert Herrick: Ceremonies for Candlemas Eve
18 Thomas Farmer: A carol for Candlemas Day
19 Orlando Gibbons: Nunc Dimittis
20 Christmas' Lamentation
21 The world turnd upside down
22 Edmund Nelham: Let's dance and sing
23 A song when the Rump was first dissolved
/A hue and cry after Christmas
24 The Merry boys of Christmas
25 Matthew Locke: Old Christmas returned
https://passamezzo.uk/ocrcd.html
"The Silver Stars at Play": Contemporary Christmas Carols
KANTOS CHAMBER CHOIR / ELSPETH SLORACH (Artist)
The Silver Stars at Play’ is a collection of world premiere recordings of contemporary Christmas carols sung by Kantos Chamber Choir, directed by Elspeth Slorach.
The carols on the album are by composers such as John McCabe, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Sadie Harrison, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Douglas Steele and Colin Hand amongst others.
Several of the carols have illustrious connections: Child of the Manger (2011) by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies was composed for the Choir of the Chapel Royal and was dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh. John McCabe’s Peace Carol (2006) was first sung by the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge under the direction of Andrew Nethsingha in May 2014, a performance which was among the last of any of his works at which he was present.
The all-embracing message of Christmas is present in each and every carol, but perhaps the lyrics of the Peace Carol are especially poignant when we consider that this recording was made in Manchester, in May this year, close to the time of the terror attack at Manchester arena.
Songs of the Stable: Christmas Music from Canada, Halifax Camerata Singers
Nominated for an East Coast Music Award, this is a wonderful Christmas gift for any music lover, and a treasure trove of new songs for choral enthusiasts to discover.
"Songs of the Stable...is one of the most radiant a capella choir CDs of this or any previous Christmas." ~ Stephen Pederson, The Chronicle-Herald
"One of the best Christmas albums of the year." ~ Jurgen Gothe, CBC Radio DiscDrive
http://www.halifaxcamerata.org/content/songs_of_the_stable
Lo, in the time appointed / Healey Willan --
Hodie, Christus Natus Est / Kola Owolabi --
The World's Desire / Eleanor Daley --
Magnificat / Healey Willan --
Baloo, Lammy / Trad Scottish / Arr. Stephen Smith --
Ring-a the news / Robert Evans --
Waye Not His Cribb / Mark Sirett --
Adam Lay Ybounden / Matthew Larkin --
Magnificat / Ruth Watson Henderson --
Dormi, Jesu! / Eleanor Daley --
O Magnum Mysterium / Jeff Enns --
Of the Father's Love Begotten / 12th century / Arr. Stephen Smith --
Thou Shalt Know Him / Mark Sirett --
Carol of the Stable Dog / Corlynn Hanney --
The Huron Carol / Trad. French Canadian / Arr. Robert B. Anderson --
Une Vierge féconde (A virgin Great With Child) Trad. French / Arr. Donald Patriquin. --
Sleep, Sweet Child / Peter Berring. --
Balulalow / Mark Sirett. --
Christmas Angel / Corlynn Hanney.
This Christmas A Festive Kaleidoscope Of Carols
Salvation Army Florida Division (Artist)
Description unavailable.
Reissues.
Weihnachts; Lieder, Carus
Description unavailable.
White Christmas, The Gentleman of St. John's
The Gents return to their favourite time of year with their latest release of Christmas music. “White Christmas” features gorgeous choral music by the likes of Tallis, Warlock, and young composer Owain Park, as well as never-recorded arrangements of “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “Stille Nacht.” The title track is a brand new arrangement of Irving Berlin’s classic song by Christopher Robinson, former director of the College Choir.
Videte miraculum
I saw a fair maiden
Verbum caro factum est
On the Infancy of our Saviour
E'en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come
O magnum mysterium
Hymne à la Vierge
Bethlehem Down
Frosty the Snowman
Jingle Bell Rock
Merry Christmas Everyone
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Stille Nacht
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
White Christmas
https://www.gentlemenofstjohns.co.uk/shop/white-christmas-2017
Winter Songs, Ola Gjeilo and Choir of Royal Holloway. Decca.
The music of Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo ("YAY-lo" comes close enough for government work) lands in a space between minimalism, New Age music, and film composition. It's obviously not something for Milton Babbitt fans, but the elements are cleverly fused together, and Gjeilo, a resident of New York, has found success both in the U.S. and Britain (probably more so than in Norway). Those layers here interact with three others: Gjeilo's own piano, the instrumental group 12 Ensemble, and the Choir of Royal Holloway under its conductor, Rupert Gough. The program delivers the promised focus on winter with a original settings of texts by Christina Rossetti, Emily Brontë, Hildegard of Bingen, and more, but most of the pieces are arrangements of familiar carols. These are entirely fresh. They're not sentimental beyond the basic nature of the material; they place the tune in unusual ways; and they hold the interest with variations in register and texture. Sample a piece as familiar as Silent Night for a taste. Likely one of the most successful holiday releases of 2017, and rightly so.
TON KOOPMAN (Artist)
Moller Arnold: 'Kollenden' - Arrangement Of 14 Polish Christmas Carols Sung In German & Other 2017
by VARIOUS ARTISTS
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Christmas with the Dominican Sisters of Mary
Since their founding in 1997, the Dominican Sisters of Mary have grown to more than 138 sisters. They teach preschool through college in missions all over the United States. The sisters have joyfully offered their message of faith through education, television and music. Their new Christmas album, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, features music from ten countries, spanning from the ancient to the modern.
O Holy Night – A Merton Christmas
The Choir of Merton College joins forces with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra for a recording of director Benjamin Nicholas’s favorite carols. Two of John Rutter’s most exquisite works are complemented by orchestral versions of well-loved traditional fare. The Choir of Merton College is one of Oxford’s leading mixed-voice choirs and sings its services in the college’s 13th-century chapel.
Christmas Presence – The King’s Singers
On Christmas Presence, the beloved a cappella group gives the listener the experience of being at a King’s Singers concert in one of the world’s most beautiful buildings, from the comfort of home. The holiday program takes the listener through various ages and styles of music, from the Renaissance to the present day.
Veni Domine – Advent & Christmas at the Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel Choir presents its first holiday album, Veni Domine, with repertoire drawn from Renaissance manuscripts housed in the Vatican library. The program includes Gregorian chant and works by composers ranging from Dufay and Desprez to Allegri and Palestrina. Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli is the featured soloist in Pérotin’s Beata viscera Mariae Virginis.
Sono Luminus Presents Imagine Christmas
Imagine Christmas is an album featuring twelve holiday classics re-imagined by some of the Sono Luminus label's top artists. Producer Dan Merceruio began asking artists coming to record at the label's renowned studio to consider providing a track for a new Christmas-themed album. He says, "They could do anything they wanted with a Christmas classic, as long as they put their individual stamp on it."
https://www.sonoluminus.com/store/imagine-christmas
This Endris Night – Christmas with the Washington Master Chorale
This Endris Night is a cornucopia of time-burnished carols, motets, folk ballads, shape–note hymns, and chants, ranging from medieval to modern times. The Washington Master Chorale and artistic director Thomas Colohan plumbed their personal holiday favorites to present works from composers and traditions on both sides of the Atlantic.
Berlin Philharmonic – The Christmas Album, Volume 2
This sequel to the highly successful Christmas Album, Volume 1, features classic interpretations of Baroque music. The album combines the Christmas concertos by Corelli, Locatelli, Manfredini and Torelli with Vivaldi's “Winter” Concerto and works by Bach and Pachelbel. Nothing is more redolent of a Berlin-style Christmas than the timeless sound of Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Winter’s Night – Skylark
The vocal ensemble Skylark offers Winter’s Night, their first recording for the Christmas season. Released to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the death of composer Hugo Distler, the album features all seven of Distler’s variations on the timeless Christmas hymn “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” interwoven with works that share a historical or compositional connection to Distler’s.
No Image
Released in 2018, but from a 2017 concert.
In December 2017, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells on Temple Square joined with Broadway star Sutton Foster and world-renowned English actor Hugh Bonneville to celebrate both the joyful and peaceable moments of Christmas. With singers, instrumentalists, and dancers drawn from the local community, and festive flourishes from the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble throughout the program, these concerts were a visual and musical spectacle, thrilling the combined capacity audience of over 60,000 in the Conference Center at Temple Square.
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O Come, Little Children (2017)
This CD with the music from the 2016 Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert celebrates Christmas through the eyes of a child. The engaging wisdom of innocence captures our imagination through favorite songs and carols from around the world. From the 18th-century German carol “O Come, Little Children” to the French song “Il est Né” and the traditional Andalusian song “Campana Sobre Campana,” the invitation is extended to everyone to join with children in reflecting on the Christmas message. The music allows us to become children once again and partake of a joyous celebration of not only the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ, but the love of family and all mankind. The CD includes a moving rendition of Hans Christian Andersen’s fabled story, “The Little Match Girl,” narrated by Rolando Villazón. With a backdrop of original music by Mack Wilberg, it reminds us that having the faith of a child and showing unremitting love will lift all who look heavenward for comfort and relief, no matter their circumstances.
https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/shop/products/o-come-little-children.html
*Christmas At Luther 2017
The 106th annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Risn With Healing in His Wings, features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers, and the Viking Chorus, performing both as individual groups and as a massed ensemble.
ST. OLAF CHRISTMAS
FESTIVAL 2017 RISN
WITH HEALING IN
HIS WINGS
The 106th annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Risn With Healing in His Wings, features the St. Olaf Choir, the St. Olaf Orchestra, the St. Olaf Cantorei, the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, the Manitou Singers, and the Viking Chorus, performing both as individual groups and as a massed ensemble.
2017 Christmas Concert CD From Heaven Above To Earth He Comes
Product Description
1. From Heaven Above - Rene Clausen
2. O Come, All Ye Faithful - Dan Forrest
3. O Magnum Mysterium - Rene Clausen
4. Cradle Hymn - Kim Andre Arnesen
5. A Spotless Rose - Hebert Howells
6. Lully, Lulla, Lullay - Phillip Stopford; Hal Leonard
7. Thou Shalt Know Him When He comes - Craig Carnahan; G. Schirmer
8. Sanctus from Mass - Leonard Bernstein; Boosey & Hawkes
9. Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day - John Gardner
10. Ding! Dong! Merrily on High - Mark Burrows
11. Gaudete - Steven Sametz
12. Veni,Veni Emmanuel - Michael John Trotta; Carl Fischer
13. He Came Down - Rene Clausen
14. The Holly and the Ivy - Alice Parker & Robert Shaw
15. Still, Still, Still - Rene Clausen
16. In the Bleak Midwinter - Michael Culloton
17. Winds Through the Olive Trees - Paul J. Christiansen
18. Silent Night - Rene Clausen
19. O Day Full of Grace - F. Melius Christiansen
20. Come, Let Us Sing To The Lord - Rene Clausen
21. Stay With Us (from The Passion of Jesus Christ) - Rene Clasuen
22. Compline - Rene Clausen
Inspired by their much-loved 2013 recording of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and by the audiences they have enchanted at their revered Christmas in the Vines concerts of the past three years, this new collection sees the group putting their own unique spin on the traditional Christmas album.With its distinctive Kiwi feel and classic Sol3 Mio sound, A Very Merry Christmas evades the traditional themes of winter wonderlands and log fires to instead encapsulate the truly unique spirit of Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere.
Like Christmas itself, this is an album full of surprises. It marks a song writing first for Sol3 Mio with Moses Mackay penning two stunning original Christmas songs for the album. Look out too for some soon-to-be-announced special guests who make an appearance on the record.
Christmas Mass, Friedrich Tehedor Frohlich
On this album Trigon sings Christmas carols from 15th and 16th century manuscripts of the Modern Devotion movement. These include manuscripts from a convent near Utrecht (Berlin 190), one from the former Soeterbeeck convent, the Tongeren Manuscript and a manuscript from Zwolle / the IJssel Valley. Trigon also sings two songs found in a manuscript from the ‘rondebegynhof ’, the encircled Beguinage in Amsterdam, dating from the start of the 17th century.
Tracklist
---------
01. Ave celestis regina a2 (Utrecht, ca. 1480)
02. Ons is gheboren nu ter tijt a2 (Utrecht)
03. Septem gaudia beate Marie: Gaude virgo a1(Utrecht)
04. Ave maris stella a2 (Utrecht)
05. Laet ons mit hoegher vrolicheit a1 (Utrecht)
06. Ave maris stella a2 (Begijnhof Amsterdam, after 1609)
07. Ave Maria, O suijver maecht a2 (Begijnhof Amsterdam)
08. Iubilemus singuli a3 (IJsselvallei / Zwolle)
09. O suver maecht van Ysrahel a1 (Utrecht)
10. Nicolai solempnia a3 (Utrecht)
11. Het viel een hemels dauwe a2 (Soeterbeeck)
12. Een kindekijn is ons gheboren / Die coninghen uut orienten a1 (Utrecht)
13. Ad festum leticie a2 (Soeterbeeck)
14. Laet ons mit hartzen reyne / Ons is een kint gheboren a1 (Utrecht)
15. Iubilus Bernardi: Ihesu dulcis memoria a2 (Utrecht)
16. O maiestas deica a3 (Utrecht)
17. Regi psallens hec contio a2 (Utrecht)
18. Universalis ecclesia a3 (Utrecht)
19. Totus mundus sit iocundus a2 (Utrecht)
20. In dulci iublio a2 (Tongeren)
Christmas with Christina Johnston After the great success of her debut album BLESSING, Tadlow Classics are proud to release a Special Limited Edition 4-TRACK Christmas Release.
“I first worked with Matthew Sheeran when he wrote the arrangement of “In the Bleak MidWinter” for the 150th Anniversary Of Framlingham College School where we both have close connections. Matthew wrote it originally for choir and wrote the last verse for Coloratura soprano (with myself in mind). I then sang it with the choir for their Carol Service to celebrate 150 years of the boarding school which Prince Albert opened. The Sheeran family have always been fondly thought of by everyone in Framlingham. Matthew’s Mum was in the choir with my auntie and since I have done a few concerts in Framlingham, Matthews parents have been so supportive. They are such a delightful family and so talented.”
I believe this piece is very special and I think once people hear it they will love the haunting and mysterious feeling it gives. It brings a depth to the song which the original version doesn’t. Matthew, Ed and I grew up in the same tiny town but we never knew of each other until now although our parents knew of one another. It is quite special to work with someone who grew up in the same place as you and knows the same people! People are Beginning to say “There must be something in the water in Framlingham” (Christina Johnston)
Canterbury Cathedral’s first ever all-girl choir will be releasing its debut album on Decca Records on 1st December. A female-led production, Christmas with Canterbury Cathedral Girls’ Choir is a major milestone in the Cathedral’s rich 1,400-year history and sees the iconic establishment expand its choral tradition for the 21st century. The album features beloved Christmas carols as well as a new composition by composer Rebecca Dale. The project is led by producer Anna Barry.
Often described as ‘England in stone’, Canterbury Cathedral is intrinsically linked to the country’s history and is home to the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby, who wrote the foreword for the album. He says of the choir, “Since their formation in 2014, the girls have established themselves as a regular and natural part of the worshiping community at Canterbury Cathedral. By their singing, they lift the hearts of countless visitors and pilgrims to Canterbury, as they lift my heart as I worship with them.”
The new album features stunning renditions of traditional Christmas carols, including ‘Silent Night’, ‘Away In A Manger’ and ‘O Holy Night’. Composer Rebecca Dale has also written a brand new choral piece for the album entitled ‘All Is Still’ – this is the world premiere recording.
A Carol Symphony, Victor Hely-HutchinsnoDating from the late 1920s, this delectable (and immediately popular) symphony is a four-movement work of surprising unity derived from a handful of Christmas carols. The first movement opens with a short declamatory note on the brass and kettle drums; the strings play running scales, and the brass and horns come in quoting the melody of O Come All Ye Faithful, trading melodic lines as the strings keep up their furious tempo. The music rises to a fevered pitch before the horns and winds give a stately quotation of the principal theme. The brass reaches a crescendo to which the strings rise, joining them in a bold restatement and finale. The second-movement scherzo opens with a quotation of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen by the winds and reeds, picked up by the basses and cellos -- the violins gather up the tune for a spirited set of variations, with the winds adding flourishes. The middle section offers a slower, more reflective improvisation on the basic melody, which the reeds pick up and, passing the melody to the strings and the horns, return to a joyous elaboration of the carol, even featuring the drums prominently in the underscoring, before the basses end the section with a short pizzicato quotation. The third movement, andante quasi lento e cantible, is the most complex, made up of two distinct sections. A serious, reflective string opening leads to a prelude from the reeds and horns, which give way to the main body of the first half of the movement, a series of variations on The First Nowell for harp and violins, joined by the reeds, winds, and brass. The variations build to a triumphant conclusion featuring all of the voices of the orchestra quoting the carol in their most radiant fashion. (This section of the Carol Symphony was used as the theme music for the early 1980s British television production of "The Box of Delights," based on John Masefield's 1930s children's book.) The second section of this movement is a set of variations on O Little Town of Bethlehem that is, surprisingly, somber enough to recall Vaughan Williams' Norfolk Rhapsody in mood. The fourth and final movement returns to the opening of the first and to O Come All Ye Faithful, in a series of ever more jaunty variations, rippling through quotations from a handful of other carols in increasingly broad fashion before returning to its starting point yet again in an utterly unbridled, extrovert manner, making particular use of the horns, for a triumphant finale. --- Bruce Eder
DISCLAIMER: Owner of photo or photos above is unknown. Infringement is not intentional and photo is used for educational purposes only with in the Fair Use clause of Section 107 of the Copyright Act. We will be obliged any take down request under the DMCA .
