Salaputia Brass is Gonna "Let it Swing" with new recording on Berlin Classics

 

Salaputia Brass is Gonna "Let it Swing" with new recording on Berlin Classics

Let It Swing - Christmas with Salaputia Brass Salaputia Brass

When the twelve “guys” (Latin: salaputia) of the brass ensemble Salaputia Brass set out to reinvent Christmas, you can look forward to the successful group's new album at Berlin Classics. It is titled “Let it swing – Christmas with Salaputia Brass” and is already the ensemble's fifth album. 

It features Christmas classics, reimagined in sophisticated arrangements and staged with jazzy lightness. Anyone who thinks they've heard everything there is to hear in “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” “Driving Home for Christmas,” or “Let it Snow” will be surprised here. Familiar melodies in a fresh guise!

https://www.berlin-classics-music.com/en/album/885470043753-let-it-swing-christmas-with-salaputia-brass/

Note: The above 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.

Marina Baranova release new Christmas Album "Star of Mendelssohn" on Berlin Classics

 

Marina Baranova release new Christmas Album "Star of Mendelssohn" on Berlin Classics

As winter approaches and the lights twinkle in the windows, a time of reflection and music begins for many. For Marina Baranova, born in Kharkiv and a resident of Germany for many years, Christmas is far more than just a festive occasion. It's a moment where cultures, traditions, and personal stories converge. With her new album, "The Star of Mendelssohn," she invites listeners to cross this bridge between worlds—and rediscover Mendelssohn.

Baranova, whose musical roots are diverse and vibrant, understood music as a universal language from an early age. 

Influenced by the Eastern European piano school and a home filled with Bach, Mozart, jazz, and blues, her childhood fostered the openness that characterizes her work today. Christmas was initially foreign to her — her Jewish heritage and Soviet upbringing meant she largely ignored the holiday for a long time. 

It was only through her children that Christmas became a personal experience for her: "For me, Christmas is a festival of love that possesses utopian potential. It is a time when people come together, empathy and understanding grow, and differences can be overcome," says Baranova.

The Star of Mendelssohn

1 "The Midwinter Night's Dream" Christmas Scherzo

2 Songs With Words: Greensleeves extended, Op. 19 No. 6

3 Songs With Words: Daughters of Zion extended, Op. 67 No. 2

4 Songs With Words: Auld Lang Syne extended, Op. 30 No. 1

5 Es wird ein Stern aus Jacob Aufgehn

6 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Improvisation in E Major 

7 Drinking Song, Op. 75 No. 3

8 Songs With Words: O come, All Ye Faithfull extended, Op. 19 No. 1

9 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

10 Auf Flügeln des Gesanges

11 From the Christmas Tree Suite: Carillon

12 From the Christmas Tree Suite: In dulci jubilo /The Sheperds at the Manger

13 The Sense of Cohesion

14 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Improvisation in F-Sharp Major

https://www.berlin-classics-music.com/en/album/885470044132-the-star-of-mendelssohn/ 

German Gents put out "Winter Wonderland" on Berlin Classics

 

Four extraordinary voices meet the magic of Christmas: the German Gents! This phenomenal vocal ensemble presents its festive repertoire — a masterful mix of traditional German and international Christmas songs, complemented by timeless classics in a cappella style. Their album Winter Wonderland combines all of this and will be released on November 21, 2025

With their unmistakable sound and perfect harmony, the four singers bring the most wonderful time of the year to life – sometimes contemplative, sometimes full of joie de vivre, with “Let it snow,” “Last Christmas,” “O Tannenbaum,” and other Christmas evergreens.

1 Let It Snw!

2 Winter Wonderland

3 Sleigh Ride

4 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

5 Last Christmas

6 Jingle Bells

7 O Tannenbaum

8 Leise rieselt der Schnee

9 Maria durch ein Dornwald ging

10 Feliz Navidad

11 Los Peces en el Río

12 Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht

https://www.berlin-classics-music.com/en/album/885470044217-winter-wonderland/ 

Steven Verhaerts & KultBlech Resdent put out Kommet Ihr Hirten / Come, Ye Shepherds on Berlin Classics

Steven Verhaerts & KultBlech Resdent put out Kommet Ihr Hirten / Come, Ye Shepherds on Berlin Classics

Steven Verhaert & KultBlech Dresden

The new album "Come, ye shepherds" by KULTBLECHDRESDEN, the brass ensemble of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra founded in 2018, is a guarantee for festive Christmas music.

The ensemble presents atmospheric Christmas songs such as "Joy to the world," "Engel auf den Feldern", "Amazing Grace" and "Silent Night" on the current recording.

With various medleys it goes on a musical world tour. "Weihnachten in Deutschland" is a compilation of well-known songs that are sure to be sung under Christmas trees nationwide in Germany. "Weihnachten in Europa" takes you further afield to the neighboring countries. "Hirten auf Reisen I" then spans a wider geographical arc with its Arabic sounds. And "Hirten auf Reisen II" even takes us to the far reaches of outer space. 

The men's team KULTBLECHDRESDEN plays masterfully under the direction of conductor Steven Verhaert and demonstrates a sense of humor with all its devotion to Christmas traditions.

The subtle arrangements by Hans-Reiner Schmidt and Markus Höller, made especially for KULTBLECHDRESDEN, give the well-known melodies a very special glow.

Hardly any instrumental group is as closely associated with the Advent season as the brass group. And so the fourteen highly motivated musicians, supported by two lively percussionists and an enthusiastic conductor, follow this time-honored tradition and provide the whole family with exceptional Christmas music!

https://www.berlin-classics-music.com/en/album/8854732153-kommet-ihr-hirten/                 

Berlin Classics puts out Vetra: My Norwegian Winter by Regnhild Hemsing

 

Berlin Classics puts out Vetra: My Norwegian Winter by Regnhild Hemsing

Label's description:

The Norwegian violinist Ragnhild Hemsing has always incorporated old, Norwegian traditions on her three previous albums for Berlin Classics. 

This is mainly due to the fact that she not only plays the modern violin, but also the traditional Hardanger fiddle. Already on her first album "Røta" (meaning roots) she played chamber music with the Hardanger fidde. The album was awarded the OPUS Klassik. On the album "Peer Gynt" she played a very original version of Grieg's drama music together with the Trondheim Soloists. And on her last album she presented violin concertos as well as Hardanger-concertos together with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Ragnhild Hemsing is thus not only an interpreter and representative of Norwegian musical tradition, but also preserves it and leads it into the modern age. In keeping with the pre-Christmas season, she dives deep into the musical tradition of her home region of Valdres on her new album "Vetra". 

Winter is the central theme in all her works. The word "Vetra" comes from the dialect spoken in Valdes and means winter. In addition, she has gathered a group of outstanding musicians around her, all of whom are also very familiar with Norwegian musical history. The album will be out on CD, VINYL, as well as on all streaming services.

Some folk melodies are old, very old indeed. In the past, melodies and especially church songs were only ever passed on from mouth to mouth. Much was lost, some was changed again and again. 

The Norwegian folk song tradition has a very long history and much has been preserved and handed down to this day. This is mainly thanks to the composer and scientist Ludvig Mathias Lindeman. He lived in Norway from 1812 to 1887 and travelled the various valleys and regions - always in search of myths and legends, melodies and verses. 

He published a twelve-volume collection of folk songs under the title "Ældre og nyere norske Fjeldmelodier". In 1884 Lindeman also came to the Valdres region and recorded 86 church songs and 83 other melodies there. In Norway, these folk melodies, songs and dances are called "slåtter". It is above all the traditions of her homeland that Ragnhild Hemsing has drawn on for her album "Vetra".

https://www.berlin-classics-music.com/en/album/88547376-vetra/

Berlin Classics issues Felix Klieser Christmas Album

 

Berlin Classics issues Felix Klieser Christmas Album

A Golden Christmas, Felix Klieser

Decorate the hall with boughs of holly.... Horn player Felix Klieser loves snow and the freezing cold, even if he doesn't get much of it at home in Hanover. Ever since he was a child, winter has been his favorite season of the year - and not just for climatic reasons: "Even today, I'm an absolute Christmas fan and can't imagine anything better than coming back from a walk in the snow to a warm house and slowly warming up again with a cup of hot chocolate. 

Little lights, trays full of cookies, a visit to the Christmas market - this time is definitely my highlight of the year!" says the horn player enthusiastically.

1. Deck the hall

2. Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder

3. Cantique de Noël

4. Carol of the bells

5. Veni, vani Emmanuel

6. He shall feed his flock

7. Großer Herr und starker König

8. Abendsegen

9. Pastorale sur la naissance

10. Das neugeborne Kindelein

11. Jesu komm' in meine Seele

12. Tochter Zion

13. Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging

14. Es kommt ein Schiff, geladen

15. Adeste fideles

16. Stille Nacht

Berlin Classics

https://www.berlin-classics-music.com/en/album/8854732283-a-golden-christmas/