London Choral Sinfonia Entertains On Christmas Night
I opened my welcome notes to "O Holy Night" by proclaiming “The world surely does not need another album of Christmas music”, and so now feel especially bound to justify why we’re back doing it again.
"O Holy Night" (of which I remain extremely proud), is a carefully-chosen selection of many lesser-known carols, with five traditional ‘congregational’ carols (and their ubiquitous descants) interspersed.
There is a clear framework, with the listener being introduced to more unusual – mostly a capella – choral works, around which the big well-known carols act as signposts along the way. I’m pleased to say it remains extremely popular to this day.
On Christmas Night comes from a very different angle. This album is full of well-known Christmas titles and melodies, but nearly all in new and interesting arrangements. "Ding Dong! Merrily on High," "Silent Night," and :Away in a Manger" all appear as premiere recordings of new arrangements – and new imaginings – of these much-loved Christmas melodies.
Our collaboration with the composer Owain Park has been long and fruitful. As composer-in-residence, LCS has commissioned several orchestrations and arrangements from Owain over the years.
Many have become mainstays of our annual appearance at the Sinfonia Smith Square Christmas Festival, and are firm favourites of audiences and performers alike. I’m delighted many of these appear on this album: I hope his skilfull arrangements for chamber orchestra will not only give joy to the listener, but also more options to other groups at Christmas when full symphonic forces may not be available.
The Christmas Suite of Alec Rowley is a little gem and is always well-received by audiences, allowing the strings to take the spotlight in a conscious nod to the LCS orchestra, which did not feature on O Holy Night.
It wouldn’t be an LCS project without a couple of curveballs and something completely new. I’m delighted to say that LCS has commissioned the orchestration for Jim Clements’ symphonic-scaled Awake, Glad Heart!, a piece I first heard in its original version for choir and organ on my gap year. A suitably high-energy and rousing conclusion to the track list is provided by Iain Farrington’s toe-tapping Nova, nova.
The final nod goes to my desert island Christmas track, "O Holy Night." As the title track of the first LCS album, it appears there in a specially-commissioned, technicolour arrangement by Max Pappenheim. It is fitting, therefore, that Owain Park has orchestrated it for this album, to even greater technicolour splendour.
I hope there’s something timeless and yet fresh about everything on this disc, and I also hope it’s a recording people will enjoy coming back to each festive season. Who knows, maybe we’ll end up with as many streams as Taylor…
Michael Waldron
ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT
Percy Fletcher (1879-1932)
1. Ring Out, Wild Bells*
Orchestrated by Owain Park
Jim Clements (b.1983)
2. Awake, Glad Heart!*
Emma Bell, soprano
Traditional arr. Bob Chilcott (b.1955)
3. Silent Night*
Howard Blake (b.1938)
4. Walking in the Air
Malakai Bayoh, treble
Harold Darke (1888-1976)
5. In the Bleak Midwinter
Alec Rowley (1892-1958)
Christmas Suite
6. I Prelude
7. II Siciliana
8. III Minuet
9. IV Sarabande
10 V Bourrée
11. VI Fughetta
12. VII Finale
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
13. Christmas Day*
Martha McLorinan, mezzo-soprano
Jimmy Holliday, bass
Orchestrated by Owain Park
Traditional arr. Bob Chilcott (b.1955)
14. Away in a Manger*
Traditional arr. Max Pappenheim (b.1983)
15. O Holy Night*
Emma Bell, soprano
Orchestrated by Owain Park
Traditional arr. Mack Wilberg (b.1955)
16. Ding Dong! Merrily on High*
Orchestrated by Owain Park
Iain Farrington (b.1977)
17. Nova, nova*
London Choral Sinfonia
Michael Waldron
Emma Bell, soprano
Malakai Bayoh, treble
Martha McLorinan, mezzo-soprano
Jimmy Holliday, bass
*World Premiere Recording
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