Updated October 5, 2024 with reformatting.
Compiled by R. Rojas
Note: The following are not reviews but descriptions from the record label or artists. Edits to descriptions may have been made to condense the description or make grammatical corrections. Many descriptions are cut and pasted, so our apologies for formatting that we could not correct and make congruent with the rest of the post.
All the World Tonight Rejoices
Contemporary Christmas music
In
May 2021, the boys, girls, lay vicars and choral scholars of Truro Cathedral
Choir, under its director, Christopher Gray, embarked on recording a
full-length album – possibly the first UK cathedral choir to do so since
national lockdown began in 2020. The recording was made under social distancing
conditions, and Truro Cathedral Choir rose enthusiastically to the occasion,
their musicianship and creativity shining through while meeting the evolving
challenges of the pandemic.
Since
the first ‘Nine Lessons’ took place at Truro Cathedral on 24th December 1880,
the service has been an annual highlight, with people coming from far and wide
to experience the Christmas story told in words and music. The previous
director of music, Robert Sharpe, instigated the now-firmly-established
tradition that the choir premieres a newly-commissioned carol at this special
service each year. Over the years, this has included some of the UK’s most
gifted composers. There are several Truro commissions featured here, and seven
first recordings in a refreshingly-different collection of music for Christmas.
A Belfast Christmas. Artists: Matthew Owens, Belfast Cathedral Choir
Belfast Cathedral Choir, Gráinne Meyer (harp), Jack Wilson (organ), Matthew Owens (conductor & solo organ)
Choral
music has always played a significant and central role at Belfast Cathedral,
since its consecration in 1904. This strong choral tradition continues to this
day with the recently formed all-adult, fully professional vocal ensemble. This
‘new’ cathedral choir brings together some of the finest singers in Northern
Ireland who led the liturgy and worship of Belfast Cathedral and are featured
here in their debut album for Resonus Classics.
Featuring
a varied programme of seasonal carols from composers including Elizabeth
Poston, John Rutter and Philip Ledger, this album celebrates Christmas from
Northern Ireland’s national cathedral.
Credits
© 2021 Resonus Limited
David Briggs (organ), Robin
Barter (treble), John Bowen (treble), John Lambert (treble), Christopher Hughes
(treble), Simon Haynes (treble), Roy Robertson (treble), Graham Green (treble)
Choir of King's College Cambridge, Stephen
Cleobury
Label: Decca
Carol of the Bells
The Sixteen (Artist) Harry Christophers (Conductor)
The Sixteen contrasts traditional with contemporary
in this choral feast of festive music. Bob Chilcott's sumptuous "Advent
Antiphons" based on ancient plainsong melodies anticipate the coming of
Christmas and feature alongside Mykola Leontovich's much-loved "Carol of the
Bells," Richard Rodney Bennett’s stunning "Susanni" and Eric Whitacre’s shimmering "Lux aurumque." Interspersed with the beautiful simplicity of traditional carols,
this is a Christmas collection to savor.
Charpentier: A Christmas Oratorio
Les Arts Florissants (Artist), William Christie (Artist)
Label: Harmonia Mundi
A Christmas Journey
La Monnaie Children's and Youth Choirs; Benoît Giaux
Works
- trad.: Coventry Carol
- trad.: El Noi de la Mare
- trad.: La Marche des Rois
- trad.: Noël nouvelet
- anon.: Puer natus est nobis
- trad.: Tu scendi dalle stelle
- Gruber, F: Stille Nacht
- Holmès, A: Trois Anges Sont Venus ce Soir!
- Tormé: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Christmas Mass St Mark 1685
Cappella Marciana (Artist), Giovanni Legrenzi (Composer), Marco Gemmani (Conductor)
Concerto Classics presents an
exclusive recording project: Christmas Mass in St. Mark 1685 with music by
Giovanni Legrenzi masterfully performed by Cappella Marciana, the oldest and
most important liturgical choir in Italy, conducted by Maestro Marco Gemmani.
The Cappella Marciana includes the choir and instrumentalists of St. Marks
Basilica, Venice, Italy. It is one of the oldest musical institutions in the
world with a flourishing musical past and a tradition marked by great
composers. Musical activities in the Basilica have been documented since the
fourteenth century.
In our first ever Christmas
storytelling concert, Skylark again partners with master storyteller Sarah
Walker to offer a new musical interpretation of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.
Working from the original text abridged by Artistic Director Matthew Guard,
Composer Benedict Sheehan (our recent collaborator for Once Upon A Time)
has created a new concert-length story score that weaves familiar Christmas
carols into the fabric of the Dickens story. Bringing timeless carols of the
season together with the beloved characters of Charles Dickens promises to
create an unforgettable new version of a Christmas classic.
Buzz Brass (Artist), Various (Composer)
Buzz Brass inspired dreams with
this new opus, Christmas. The quintet takes the listener out of the familiar
with this majestic, elegant and refined arrangements to highlight the holiday
season. The male vocal quartet Quartom joins as guest artists in "Noël
canadien" and "The 12 days of Christmas." The ensemble's latest volume,
Inspirations, has been hailed as proof of their "testament to the
ensemble’s sensational embouchure" by the prestigious Gramophone magazine.
Since 2002, Buzz Brass quintet has been travelling all over the globe to
captivate classical music lovers. Whether its concerts consist of brass quintet
alone or together with guest musicians, the original artistic propositions it
presents leave nobody cold. With over 1,600 appearances to its credit, the
ensemble has reached more than 350,000 music lovers throughout North America,
Europe and China. The numerous awards and distinctions that Buzz Brass has
earned over the years (Opus, ADISQ, and Trille Or) attest to both the quality
and the relevance of its musical performances.
Christmas Bells: Organ Music from Belfast Cathedral, Michael Own
For this recording Organist Matthew Owens presents a diverse recital of some of the greatest Christmas music ever written for the instrument. Traditional tunes, whether Lutheran chorales, plainchant, French noëls, or medieval carols, have provided the inspiration for much Christmas organ music throughout the years, with much of this programme made up of pieces based on such tunes, from J.S. Bach’s Canonic variations on Vom Himmel hoch to Louis-Claude Daquin’s Noël Suisse.
This recital also draws on more contemporary sources and presents several world premiere recordings including Howard Skempton’s "Christmas Bells" and Gary Davison’s Seven Versets on Divinum Mysterium, both of which were written specially for this recording.
Credits© 2021 Resonus Limited
Christmas Best
Tabernacle Choir (Artist), Orchestra at Temple Square (Artist)
This commemorative Christmas album contains music from fifteen years of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square's beloved Christmas concerts-an annual tradition enjoyed by millions, both live on stage and through its holiday season broadcast on PBS stations, where it has been the top-rated Christmas program for more than a decade. This new Christmas album is a collection of the best of Christmas music by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. It is the first Choir Christmas album in 15 years to feature only music by the Choir and Orchestra. The repertoire is a mix of sacred and secular Christmas music with many recognizable Christmas favorites. Designed to serve as a soundtrack for the holidays, the album provides nearly a full hour of music to enrich every music library, invite the spirit of the season, and help everyone feel closer to the divine, especially at Christmas.
Label: Intellectual Reserve
Christmas Carols with The King's Singers
Composers: Thoinot Arbeau, Johann Sebastian Bach, Hector Berlioz, James Burton, Bob Chilcott, June Collin, Henry John Gauntlett, Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, Michael Head, Arthur Henry Mann, Gustaf Nordqvist, John Tavener, Tomas Luis de Victoria, Pierre Villette, David Willcocks, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
This brand-new Christmas album from The King’s Singers features 25 tracks covering everything from contemporary choral gems and folk songs through to well-loved carols. Dotted throughout the album are several of the most famous English church carols, which take The King’s Singers right back to their earliest singing days, and which also reflect the group’s heritage at King’s College, Cambridge. In Christmas Carols with The King’s Singers, the group bottle that frosty, moonlit, fireside Christmas wonder and pour it into their sound.
Signum US.
Christmas Dawn
Richard Blackford Manufacturer : Nimbus Records
Christmas Harp
Xavier de Maistre (Artist)
The sound of the harp, one of the oldest musical instruments in the world, has always been associated with that of other worlds and of heavenly spheres, long assuring it a place in the list of instruments that are used to perform Christmas music.
This explains why Xavier de Maistre has called his new solo album Christmas Harp and selected pieces from various areas of the repertory extending from large-scale orchestral works to famous Christmas carols all arranged for solo harp. Xavier recorded and arranged himself the famous “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy” from The Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840–93).
To be heard from The Nutcracker is also “The Waltz of the Flowers” in a harp transcription by the young Russian harpist and composer Alexander Boldachev. "Christmas Harp" features beautiful harp transcriptions and concert variations of the Christmas Carols "Jingle Bells," "Carol of the Bells," "O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree)," "Adeste fidelis," "We three Kings of Orient are," "It came upon the Midnight clear, Angels we have heard on High" and "O little Town of Bethlehem" as well as a transcription of the "Ave Maria" by Franz Schubert (1797–1828). Most of these arrangements and variations for harp are written by Carlos Salzedo (1885–1961), who was one of the leading composers for the harp and one of the best harpists of 20th century.
Besides the harp transcriptions of the famous Christmas songs by Salzedo, Xavier also recorded Salzedo's short fantasies based on Provençal, Catalan, Basque and Neapolitan Christmas carols. Particularly delightful is Salzedo's concert variations on the carol "O Tannenbaum," where he may be said to pull out all the stops in his desire to show how much music lies hidden in this number’s apparently simple twelve bars.
Christmas In Berlin, Vol. 3
Various Artists (Artist)
Christmas In Berlin Vol. 3, features all-time favorites such as "Ave Maria," "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht," "In dulci jubilo," and many more. Performed by Berlin's famous orchestras and choirs including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Berliner Barock Solisten, and Berliner Handel-Chor. Featuring acclaimed soloists Albrecht Mayer, and Rita Streich, and conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Fritz Lehmann, and Kurt Gaebel. CD w/ 12-page booklet included.
Manufacturer : Deutsche Grammophon
Original Release Date: 2021
Christmas Piano: Martin Stadtfeld
Sony Records
A Christmas Promenade
Christiane Karg (Artist)
In a follow-up to her acclaimed album of Mahler songs, Christiane Karg takes us on a Christmas tour, in the select company of fellow music makers.
Revisiting holiday memories through the eyes of a child, but with the benefit of her superb artistry as a lieder specialist, the German soprano shines a light on some enchanting rarities of German and French repertoire, along with examples of Spanish, Basque, and Scandinavian traditions.
A treasure trove of hidden gems.
A Christmas Symphony
Jim Brickman
Jim Brickman revolutionized the sound of solo piano with pop-style instrumentals and star-studded vocal collaborations. With four certified gold albums he's sold more than 7 million CDs. On this cinematic new holiday album, Jim realizes his dream of recording with a symphony orchestra. The album features vocal embellishment of Kellii O'Hara (Broadway) and John Ondrasik (Five For Fighting). Enjoy traditional favorites "O Holy Night" and "What Child Is This" alongside new instrumental originals.
Universal Music Group
Christmas with Bach
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (early music ensemble), Isabelle Faust (violin), Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor), Barbara Schlick (soprano), La Chapelle Royale (early music ensemble), Dorothee Mields (soprano), Ingeborg Danz (contralto), Kristian Bezuidenhout (early keyboard instruments), Antoine Tamestit...
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (early music ensemble), Isabelle Faust (violin), Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor), Barbara Schlick (soprano), La Chapelle Royale (early music ensemble), Dorothee Mields (soprano), Ingeborg Danz (contralto), Kristian Bezuidenhout (early keyboard instruments), Antoine Tamestit (viola), Klaus Häger, Dorothea Röschmann (soprano), Les Arts Florissants (early music ensemble), Mark Padmore (tenor), Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), Vasiljka Jezovšek, Ensemble Pygmalion (early music ensemble), Werner Güra (tenor), Christoph Prégardien (tenor), Xenia Löffler (oboe)
RIAS Kammerchor, Collegium Vocale Gent, René Jacobs, Bernhard Forck, Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie, Raphaël Picho
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Christmas Without Words
Camerata Tchaikovsky
Label: Orchid Classics
Colours of Christmas
Beate Strømme Fevang, Bragernes Church Youth Choir (Bragernes Kirkes Ungdomskor)
Colours of Christmas performed by the Bragernes Church Youth Choir (Bragernes Kirkes Ungdomskor) conducted by Beate Strømme Fevang is a new Christmas Album from LAWO Classics, just in time for the 2021 Holiday Season. It was recorded at the Bragernes Church in Drammen, Norway on April 27 and June 16, 2019 and May 2-3 and June 10, 2021. This recording has been made possible with support from Drammen Municipality and Eckbos Legat.
Beate Strømme Fevang says “Colours of Christmas” contains a collection of beautiful carols that arise out of the Christmas message of hope, anticipation, and joy. Together with the girls in the choir we have selected 15 carols that mean a lot to them and for which they have a special fondness.
More than half the music is Norwegian, written by composers Kim André Arnesen, Svein Møller, Tove Knutsen and Fredrik Sixten. The last-mentioned is Swedish but was formerly Director of Music of Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, where he also lives. Many of the carols have never been recorded, and in this process, we have had an exciting collaboration with several of the composers.
The tracks on the album vary between a cappella choir and choir with instrumental accompaniment. Working with the instrumentalists has been very inspiring and an enriching experience for the choir and has contributed to the growth and development of the young singers. The recordings have been made in the marvelous acoustic setting of Bragernes Church, which is the choir’s regular venue.
The recording of this Christmas album began in the spring of 2019 but stopped entirely due to COVID-19. The remaining tracks were recorded in the spring of 2021.
Colours of Christmas is exclusively available in Stereo DSD 512, DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64 and DXD at NativeDSD Music.
Colours of Christmas - NativeDSD Music
Christmas Carols through the Ages
Tanya Houghton, The Choir of The Magdalen College Oxford, Chamber Choir Ireland, ORA Singers, Ars Nova Copenhagen (early music ensemble), Boston Camerata (early music ensemble), Camila Parias, Deborah Rentz-Moore
Theatre of Voices, Choir of Clare College Cambridge, RIAS Kammerchor, Paul Hillier,...
Label: Harmonia Mundi
An Elizabethan Christmas: Byrd, Holborne, Gibbons, Peerson, Weelkes
Viol consort Fretwork and mezzo soprano Helen Charlston explore the more reflective and sombre Christmas celebrations of Elizabethan England, in a collection of works by William Byrd, Anthony Holborne, Orlando Gibbons and Martin Peerson.
With celebrations confined strictly to the 12 days from Christmas Eve to Epiphany, the preceding Advent was regarded as a time of religious introspection, with music composed to mark both fasting and feasting. Byrd’s consort songs for voice and 5 viols encompass this range, from the joyous Out of the Orient Crystal Skies – ending with an exuberant ‘Falantidingdido’, a word whose meaning is lost to history – to his Lullaby, a ‘song of sadnes and pietie’ that became one of Byrd’s most enduringly famous songs.
In 2021, Fretwork celebrates its 35th anniversary. In the past three and a half decades they have explored the core repertory of great English consort music, from Taverner to Purcell, and made classic recordings against which others are judged. In addition to this, Fretwork have become known as pioneers of contemporary music for viols, having commissioned over 40 new works.
Acclaimed for her musical interpretation, presence and “warmly distinctive tone” (The Telegraph), Helen Charlston is quickly cementing herself as a key performer in the next generation of British singers. Helen won first prize in the 2018 Handel Singing Competition and was a finalist in the Hurn Court Opera Competition, and the Grange Festival International Singing Competition.
Signum UK
Es gibt so wunderweisse nachte
A compilation of the most beautiful winter - and Christmas poems by Eduard Mörike, Joseph von Eichendorff, Theodor Fontane, Wilhelm Busch and others. This release with the wonderful texts and atmospheric zither music for Christmas, is certainly suitable to meet our hectic and often stressful Christmas season with a moment of peace and contemplation. As much as one perceives the zither mainly in folk music, one is even more surprised by the manifold possibilities of this instrument, which can be heard on the present recording. In its fine and atmospheric sound, the zither interweaves with the lyrics in an almost ideal way.
Excelsis: A Dark Noel
Various Artists
Remastered edition. 15,000+
sold on original CD edition.
Dark holiday tracks from all
your favorites. Spend the holidays in style this year. No more barking dogs or
Perry Como for you, uh-uh! While away the frigid hours until the important day
with strains of Black Tape For A Blue Girl's "Chanukkah, Oh
Chanukkah," Lycia's darkly sensual "We Three Kings," Love
Spirals Downwards' "Welcome Christmas" (from the Grinch Who Stole
Christmas), or Faith and the Muse's pagan madrigal "A Winter
Wassail." All graced by our lovely Dark Angel prepared to brighten many a
dark holiday night. Spend the season right, this year. Turn down the lights . .
. it's a dark noel!
The Fort Lauderdale
Sun-Sentinel, 1995: This coven of gothic artists does emphasize the night in
"Silent Night" and other seasonal songs on this intriguing set.
Eerie, trance-like reworkings of "O Come All Ye Faithful" and
"Carol of the Bells" seem to urge deep, Druid thought, not dread.
Consider this a good time to go commune with the gargoyle statuary at your
local cathedral.
The Boston Phoenix 1995:
"Various luminaries of goth, including Lycia, and This Ascension, cover
traditional holiday fare. Love Spirals Downward applies a Cocteau Twins-like
sound. Faith & the Muse lend their Renaissance rendition of "A Winter
Wassail." BlackTape's "Chanukkah O Chanukkah" brims with dark
gothic overtones. For balance, there are a few more-traditional
renditions" This is the perfect Xmas album to play for friends and family
to make the holiday just a wee bit weird."
HUH #16: "More the work of
monks than moshers, the emphasis on spacey, ethereal vocals makes this seem
like This Mortal Coil on an eggnog bender, and that's not a bad thing. The
prettiest of the lot, this is a beautiful collection of tracks for trimming the
tree or burning your own yule log."
CD in 6-panel digipak.
Remastered.
Track Listing:
· Manufacturer :
Projekt Records
Festive Trumpets for Christmas
Matthias Hofs (Artist), Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni
(Composer)
If there’s one thing that makes Christmas what it is, it’s
festive music and uplifting melodies: “Festive Trumpets for Christmas” is the
new Christmas album from Matthias Höfs, to be released by Berlin Classics on
November 5. On this new album, the trumpeter joins his brass ensemble and
organist Christian Schmitt in a wide-ranging program. The instruments of the
musicians ring out in triumphal tones, brilliantly nuanced, capturing the joy
and splendor of the Christmas festival. There are works by Albinoni, Handel,
Vivaldi, Morales and Scheidt, along with arrangements by Peter Lawrence,
Nikolaus Herman and Matthias Höfs himself. In this programme, Matthias Höfs
appears with a variety of ensemble formations, whether with trumpet quartet,
with horn, trombone and tuba, or with bassoon, harpsichord and organ – amply
portraying the differing characteristics of the instruments and their richness
of timbre. The sensitivity with which the musicians listen to one another, for
fine shading of the interpretation, creates an atmosphere of touching intimacy,
of concentration on the heart of the Christmas message: Unto us a child is
born. Höfs aims to convey the German tradition as such, both in sound and
style: “In the age of globalization, in which everything is geared to international
exchange, I should like to make my contribution to the preservation of this
typical sound and culture.” The program reflects his wish.
Original Release Date : 2021
Hanna Herfurtner (Artist), Carola Gunther (Artist), Mirko Ludwig (Artist), Fabian Strotmann (Artist), Peter Kooij (Artist), Georg Philipp Telemann (Composer), Michael Alexander Willens (Conductor)
CPO RECORDS
Gaudete: Carols & Organ Music Choir of Clifton
Cathedral; Ian Ball; Catherine Snelson; David Ogden
Heinrich Schutz: Historia Nativitatis Swv 435
Ensemble Polyharmonique
Forthcoming: Jan. 22
Label: CPO
Herrnhuter Weihnacht Moravian Christmas
Vocal Concert Dresden, Peter Kopp, Dresdner Instrumental-Concert
Peter Kopp and his Vocal Concert Dresden have long since made a name for themselves with their releases on disc of highly interesting and hitherto little regarded compilations and programmes.
Following works from the Dresden court and Venetian gems, the most recent release was Masonic music of the 18th century. The latest project, then, is the music of the Moravian Brethren. The Brotherhood’s historical merit and international significance, radiating out from a picturesque village in Saxony across the whole world, will be celebrated at its tercentenary next year; in the meantime, it is working on being acknowledged by UNESCO as part of the world’s Cultural Heritage together with the Moravian Brothers in Bethlehem (PA, US) and Gracehill (UK).
Persecuted in their homeland of Bohemia and Moravia, the early Reformation fellowship of “Bohemian Brethren” founded a settlement “unter des Herren Hut” (under the protection of the Lord) in 1722 on the estate of Count Zinzendorf in Upper Lusatia.
By so doing, they laid the foundation for a community of faith that flourishes to this day and for a movement that has grown into an international network. Very soon, other communities were being founded elsewhere: from London to Berlin, in Holland, Denmark, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, on Greenland and in the Caribbean.
The Brotherhood was from the start a singing community. “Singing sessions”, “sermons in song” and new compositions by the musicians of Herrnhut played an important part alongside a creative and undogmatic approach to congregational hymns.
For instance, instead of singing the consecutive verses of individual songs, they combined thematically related verses or even odd lines of different songs, which the congregation evidently knew more or less by heart.
“The Herrnhuters have Musicians on all Instruments among them, who may in part pass for Virtuosos, and one will not find Music as sound as this in many a Princely Chapel,” says a contemporary account.
Emigration and missions to North America by the Brethren have left a fascinating store of music there, and this is now regarded as one of the fundamental building-blocks of North American music history. In the 18th and early 19th century, one might encounter good music from Europe in the settlements of the Moravian community, which thus served as a musical bridge between Europe and the New World.
This link is noteworthy for the fact that even compositions written in remote regions were brought back to Germany and added to the local repertoire. This must have been absolutely unique to the Herrnhut movement in the 18th century.
The programme is the result of intensive research in the archives of the Moravian Brotherhood in Upper Lusatia and also overseas. Almost all works are world premiere recordings, which in some cases had to be reconstructed.
Peter Kopp, long-serving director of the Dresden Kreuzkirche choir, now Rector of the Lutheran College for Church Music in Halle (Saale), has therefore joined with the Vocal Concert Dresden, the Dresdner Instrumental-Concert and other guest musicians to give an unique insight into the Moravian music of the 18th and early 19th centuries and thus provide a fascinating illustration of a regional music tradition that went on to acquire international relevance.
Apart from its high repertoire value, this recording is notable for its presentation of festive Christmas music. Lovers of Baroque music for the Christmas season will be as enthusiastic as listeners who hope to enlarge their musical spectrum.
Label: Berlin Classics
https://www.berlin-classics-music.com/en/album/8854725933-herrnhuter-weihnacht/
Hodie Christus natus est
The Boston
Camerata / Anne Azema
Christmas in the Middle Ages
Drawing on a wide variety of sources, mingling liturgical
Latin with French, English, Italian and Iberian vernaculars, these magnificent
songs, hymns and processionals show the multitude of ways in which the birth of
Christ was celebrated in medieval times. The trio of female singers is
accompanied by harp, fiddle, bells and wind instruments: together they
touchingly evoke all the tenderness, hope and joy of medieval Christmas songs.
Dickinson, Timothy / Honeybourne, Duncan (Artist)
The Choir of King's College Cambridge (Artist), Daniel Hyde (Artist)
In the Bleak Midwinter reflects a Christmas that was unlike any other in recent history. Much of the music on this album was heard around the world as part of the 103rd Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, a service that has been broadcast live every year since 1930. But for Christmas Eve 2020, the continuation of this uniquely long-running tradition was not to be. A full service, with lessons, carols, organ voluntaries and prayers, had been recorded in an empty Chapel for use in the event that a live broadcast became impossible, and it was this that was called upon just days before Christmas Eve. For its millions of listeners, the broadcast meant the continuation of a Christmas tradition in a year when so many were without their friends and family, and without so much of what makes Christmas special. Music from Christmas Eve is supplemented on this album by a selection of specially recorded tracks. It marks not only a moment of light in a time of considerable darkness for so many, but the beginning of a new era for the Choir of King's College under the direction of Daniel Hyde, with this his first full album at King's since his appointment in 2019.
Label: King's College
In Dulci Jubilo: Michael Pretorius (1571-1621): Christmas Choir Book
1. A Pagan Savior.
2.In the sweet pleasure of
3. There is a voice to wake up.
4. The Star of Akatsuki no Shimaku.
5. My soul honors the Lord
6. Come to the high heaven.
7. One rose blooms
Southwest Germany Broadcast Vocal Ensemble
Marcus Creed (Director)
Recording March 4-5, 2020
SWR Funkstudio, Stuttgart, Germany
Composer Michael Pretorius, who lived in Germany, from the 16th to the 17th century. The musae sioniae Scion music from over 1000 collars and admiration songs he wrote "Musae sioniae Scion" is known for its development and spread of protestant admirations. In this album you choose the Christmas admiration from his vast collection and hear the southwest German broadcast vocal ensemble commanded by Marcus Creed. Most songs are written using two (bicinia) or three (tricinia) voices, so every piece of voice can be enjoyed with intricate opposite directions.
I sing of a Maiden: Five New Carols by John Rutter
John Roberts (oboe), Jonathan Brown (bass-baritone), Grace Davidson (soprano)
Cambridge Singers, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, JohnFiv Rutter
Label: Collegium
It Feels Like Christmas
Vitamin String Quartet (Artist)
This holiday season, Vitamin String Quartet-the group behind the Bridgerton soundtrack-is set to release It Feels Like Christmas. Featuring reimagined yuletide pop standards ["All I Want For Christmas" (Mariah Carey), "Santa Tell Me" (Ariana Grande), "Last Christmas" (Wham!), "Mistletoe" (Justin Bieber), and more], this collection is sure to become a treasured holiday favorite for years to come.
Label: Decca
It's Christmas! - Extended Version
Jonas Kaufman
An extended Christmas album from Jonas Kaufmann, one of the world's most acclaimed and celebrated tenors. As ever, Kaufmann shows his versatility across 49 songs from around the world, covering an impressive variety of languages and musical styles ranging from church hymns, swinging jazz band numbers, pop hits through to intimate folksongs accompanied by charming folksong ensemble.
Sony
Light for the World: Winder Meditation Mix
Juliette Pochin (keyboards), James Morgan (keyboards)
Poor Clares of Arundel
Label: Decca
Little Christmas
Little ChristmasSt. Florianer Sangerknaben (Artist), Traditional (Composer), n/a (Conductor)
Since 1071, the St. Florianer Sängerknaben (St. Florian Boys' Choir) has been one of the most traditional of the renowned boys' choirs in Europe, to which Anton Bruckner belonged at the time. For centuries, one of the core tasks of the choir has been to provide music for the church services at St. Florian's Abbey in Linz, but today the boys also give concerts all over the world, always with overwhelming success. The album with well-known, but also lesser-known international Christmas carols contains recordings with their long-time director Franz Farnberger, which were made between 1998 and 2021 and thus vividly document the consistently high level of this boys' choir.
Label: Ars Produktion
Malcom and Archie
A unique collection of Christmas songs from the UK and
Europe premiering the title track by the three-time Olivier award winning
composer, Michael Haslam and featuring many treble duet arrangements written
especially for
Myron and Archie.
Masters of this Hall, Choir of Exeter College Oxford: Carols Ancient and Modern
A Minstrel’s Christmas
English, German, Czech, French, Austrian Carols from many periods
“Opening vivaciously, this collection simulates a visiting village group with pleasing simplicity …Many highlights from Deller himself, on magical form here” (Penguin Guide)
Label: Alto
Noel
Ensemble Vocal Arts-Quebec, Matthias Maute
ATMA Classique is proud to collaborate with Ensemble vocal Arts-Quebec and Mecenat Musica on ART CHORAL, a unique and ambitious project surveying the history of choral singing over six centuries, from the Renaissance to the present day. Consisting of 11 volumes, the series will roll out over the next three years and will feature works by 50 composers from the 16th to the 21st centuries, as well as 11 webcast concerts and 120 videos.
The first ART CHORAL release is dedicated to Christmas. Traditional songs from France, England and Germany, such as Holy Night, Adeste Fideles, Joy to the world, or Es ist ein Ros entspruggen are paired with Francis Poulenc's Quatre Motets pour le temps de Noel.
Ensemble vocal Arts-Quebec is a professional choir whose mission is to present the great tradition of choral singing in Quebec, Canada, and abroad. Following almost 40 years of leadership by founder Yves Courville, in 2018 the choir appointed two-time JUNO Award winner Matthias Maute as its artistic director.
The Ensemble received the Opus Award for Musical Event of the Year in 2020. Matthias Maute has achieved international renown as a conductor, recorder and flute player, and composer. Mr. Maute is esteemed for his artistic direction of Ensemble Caprice, for whom he produces ingenious, fascinating programs.
An Oxford Christmas
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea (Artist),
Joshua Ryan (Artist), Ralph Vaughan Williams (Composer), William Vann (Conductor)
Albion Records
This recording focusses on arrangements made by Vaughan Williams for The Oxford Book of Carols (1928), coupled with two later carols published by OUP. Many of the tunes are far from well-known and deserve a new audience. We think 10 of the 22 tracks are first recordings but reserve the right to have overlooked one or two amidst the vast but very mixed heritage of recorded carols.
The preface to The Oxford Book of Carols tells us that: 'Variety in the method of singing is even more important than with hymns, and the verses should never be sung straight through all in the same way.' In this spirit the choir's director, William Vann, has prepared the carols for recording with a mixture of accompanied, unaccompanied and solo verses. Few of these carols are likely to have been undertaken by a congregation; this recording by a choir of distinguished professional singers presents the carols at their best, supported by the Henry Willis organ of St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead, in half of the carols.
As always, full texts are included, and detailed notes on the carols are preceded by an essay about The Oxford Book of Carols by Jeremy Summerly.
This is a companion album to ALBCD035 A Vaughan Williams Christmas, which proved outstandingly popular. We hope that this will provide every bit as much enjoyment.
Radiant Dawn
Elora Singers
Rheinberger: der Stern von Bethlehem Op. 164
Dilec Gecer, Michael Junge, Vogtland Philharmonie, Universitatschor Dresden, Stefan Fraas
Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger is one of those late Romantic composers who enjoyed extraordinary popularity during his lifetime, but whose works are largely forgotten today. In 1890 Rheinberger wrote one of his most personal and soulful works, the Christmas cantata Der Stern von Bethlehem for soloists, choir and orchestra, for which his wife, the then-published poet Franziska von Hoffnaass, had written the text.
The cantata premiered on December 24, 1892, at the Kreuzkirche in Dresden and soon became one of Rheinberger's best-known and most beautiful oratorical creations.
His nine Advent Motets were written in 1893, composed as a contribution to the traditional cultivation of the chants of the church service, which changed according to the church year.
These motets are assigned to the liturgy of the four Sundays of Advent and form a coherent cycle for the Advent season.
River
Seraphim & Cherubin Chorus
A labour of love through turbulent times, River bring us back together through music. Recorded through the fall of 2021, River is the Saraphim & Cherubim Chorus' sophomore album and follow up to the 2020 10th Anniversary Christmas on Record. Celebrate this year with River. Purchase at Seraphim & Cherubin's SHOP.
Romantic Christmas Music From Cologne Cathedral
Theresa Nelles (soprano), Winfried Bnig (piano)
Soprano Theresa Nelles and cathedral organist Winfried Bonig invite us to an atmospheric Christmas Eve in Cologne Cathedral. This new recording presents a varied programme of Romantic works from various countries: music for the feast that goes straight to the heart.
The great acoustics of Cologne Cathedral have been deliberately captured on this audiophile SACD.
Label: Aeolus
Sachsische Weihnacht
Praetorius / Guttler (Artist)
Unabridged
For connoisseurs of beautiful Christmas music, this is a
must-have for the collection. Sancta Nox: Christmas Matins from Bavaria by the
Seminarians of Saint Peter Wigratzbad brings you a taste of heaven for your
most deeply felt Christmas moments-presented by a group hailing from the
majestic Alps in Germany's Bavaria region. Be transported by the peaceful
sounds of Christmas Matins through Gregorian Chant and polyphonic gems. Also
included is an ethereal rendition of a multi-lingual Silent Night. Reminiscent
of the chanting monks of old, the choir of the Seminarians of Saint Peter
Wigratzbad recorded this music in the historic St. Magnus Abbey of Bad
Schussenried, built in the 12th century. 'Tis the season to expand your
playlist-enjoy this exquisite a capella Christmas repertoire!
The International Seminary of St. Peter in Wigratzbad, Germany, was the first seminary founded by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, its first house established canonically and the site of its General House. It is situated on the ancient frontier of Bavaria and Swabia, a short distance from Germany’s borders with neighbouring Austria and Switzerland. It is less than twenty kilometers from the renowned island city of Lindau on Lake Constance at the foot of the Alps.
Westminster Williamson Voices
Kevin Puts: Silent Night (opera in Two Acts, Libretto By
Mark Campbell)
Tomas Luis de Victoria: Missa Magnum Mysterium; Francisco De Penalo: Magnificat, Motets
Penalosa Ensemble
Forthcoming Jan. 2022
Label: CPO
The Spirit of the Season
A St. Olaf Christmas: Go Tell It on the Mountain 5
Caitriona O'Leary, Seth Lakeman, John Smith, Clara Sanabras & Stile Antico (Artist)
Strange Wonders, The Wexford Carols, Vol. II brings together folk, classical and traditional music luminaries to present Irelandâ''s greatest Christmas music.
Produced by Ethan Johns featuring vocals by Caitriona Oâ''Leary, Seth Lakeman, John Smith, Clara Sanabras & Stile Antico with Instrumentalists Alison Balsom, Olov Johansson, Simone Collavecchi & Others.
The Wexford Carols are Irelandâ''s greatest Christmas music and perhaps the most important body of Christmas carols in English yet to be introduced to the public. In 2014 Heresy Records released The Wexford Carols to international acclaim. The album reached #1 on both the Billboard and Amazon charts. The first Wexford Carols release focused on the well-known episodes of the Christmas story and took a stylistic approach that integrated Irish traditional music with Americana.
Strange Wonders, The Wexford Carols Vol. II, presents the highly anticipated follow up to the previous album. The new album features 11 carols from the Waddinge and Deveraux collections that focus on the spiritual and mystical aspects of the Christmas story and also some less-familiar aspects of this narrative including carols about the lives of saints whose feast days fall within the 12 days of Christmas (24th December â'' 6th January). These includes carols on St. Stephen, St. John, St. Sylvester and the Holy Innocents.
Producer Ethan Johns has adopted an intimate interpretation of these remarkable and moving carols that integrates early music, folk music and classical styles.
1. Ye Sons of Men
2. The Darkest Midnight in December -
3. This Great Mysterie (aka This Christmass Day you Pray Me Sing)
4. On Christmas Night All Christians Sing
5. The Night of the Nativity
6. St. Stephen had an Angel’s Face
7. On St. Stephen’s Day (aka This is St. Stephen's Day)
8. A Carol for St. John’s Day
9. Hail ye Flow’rs of Martyrs
10. This Feast of St. Sylvester
11. The Enniscorthy Christmas Carol
Vidimus Glriam Eius
Luceat Choir/James Fellows
A complete liturgical recording of the traditional service for Christmas, combining old and new Carols with Lessons read by members of the Oxford Vaccine Group.
Label: Willowhayne Records
Weihnachtslieder / Christmas Songs
Violoncello A Deux, Uta Schlichtig & Birgit Heinemann
Founded in New York City in 2005, AME has been a dynamic,
creative force in the American new music scene. With a world-class ensemble
made up of NYC's finest musicians, AME is "simply 'first-rate" (The
New York Times). AME has performed and premiered over 135 works by over 120
living American composers in venues ranging from Lincoln Center to Galapagos
Arts Space, and has "consistently demonstrated a flair for inventive
programming" (Steve Smith, Time Out New York). AME programs both cutting
edge and traditional works, presenting unique, engaging events that encourage
dialogue between artists and audiences. AME is committed to that connection:
over 90% of the composers whose works have been programmed by AME have attended
our concerts. Sold out crowds at Merkin Hall, Dimenna Center, the Rubin Museum,
The TimesCenter and many other venues are a winning testament to AME's
tremendous fan base and ever-expanding popularity.
In 2012-13 AME was the ensemble-in-residence at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, and AME tours and offers educational outreach programs. Recent collaborations include the
Dance Theater of Harlem and Talujon percussion ensemble.
CAPTCHA - I. duchenp fled
CAPTCHA - II. Henry falutch
CAPTCHA - III. youJusto nicely
CAPTCHA - IV. Voix gustroor
CAPTCHA - V. Secretary metadon
Winter Songs - I. Icicles Filled the Long Window
Winter Songs - II. Dark Day, Warm and Windy
Winter Songs - III. The Snow Man
Winter Songs - IV. Boy at The Window
Winter Songs - V. Old Story
Winter Songs - VI. Neither Snow
Eating Variations - 1. My Body, a Temple
Eating Variations - 2. The Hog
Eating Variations - 3. Even the Dyspeptic Must Eat
Eating Variations - 4. The Dietary Moralist
Eating Variations - 5. The Happy Medium
Thursday - 1. Introduction
Thursday - 2. 9:15 a.m.
Thursday - 3. 10:42 a.m.
Thursday - 4. 5:09 p.m.
Thursday - 5. 6:05 p.m.
Thursday - 6. 6:15 p.m.
Batter's Box - 1. Batting Practice
Batter's Box - 2. Catching
Batter's Box - 3. Rain Delay
Batter's Box - 4. At Bat
Batter's Box - 5. Postgame Interview
Winter Tales
Various Artists (Artist)
Wonderful blog! As with many instances throughout the last few years, now is the time to improvise and adapt new ways to celebrate festivals. While we may not be able to engage in person due to COVID, there’s no reason to let COVID-19 to stole our Christmas party! There are lots of virtual ways to celebrate Christmas with remote colleagues. We have Virtual Games for Christmas Party to add joy to your Xmas party 2021.
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