Monday, December 9, 2024

Barokk Boreal released "Juletide" on Grappa

 


Barokk Boreal released "Juletide" on Grappa

Barokk Boreal brings to light hidden and forgotten Christmas treasures by 17th-century poets from all around Norway. The album “JULETIDE” features a fascinating collection of wonderful and miraculous Christmas songs about winter, angels, stars, Christmas night, moonlight, the stable, the manger, fishing under the sun, and peace on earth.

The songwriters included on the album are Iver Brinch, Ingeborg Grytten, Samuel Bruun, Johan Brunsmand, Samuel Bugge, Oluff Lind, Peder Offvid, Petter Dass, and Dorothe Engelbretsdatter—small and great giants of their time, who saw their songs printed and shared with the world.

For each song, there’s often something like “To be sung as: A small child so joyfully.” These poets wrote lyrics to melodies they knew by heart and assumed the reader would as well. Barokk Boreal has sought and found these melodies—both in folk tradition and in written sources from the 1600s—uncovering the same melodic material from two different sources.

In true Barokk Boreal style, each Christmas song is presented as a musical tableau, weaving together the folk performance traditions with written sources from the 1600s. Both sources are rich in variations, and Barokk Boreal embraces this diversity, treating each “child” in each melody family as equally original and equally valuable. Cathrine sings from the written Baroque sources, Øyonn from folk traditions, while Vegar and Ulrik play across both traditions.

This time, the producer is early music veteran Rolf Lislevand.

“Christmas music and Christmas songs are among the most beautiful things we have. ‘Here and now’ and times gone by, woven together. Old, unknown songs, and new variations on familiar ones.”

Cathrine Jane Bothner-By shares: “Since we began Christmas concerts in 2015, new Norwegian Christmas and New Year’s songs from the 1600s have constantly come to light. We knew we’d encounter truly wonderful Christmas texts and melodies in this material. Yet it’s still like finding gold every time. Then comes the exciting task of arranging them, following the moods, finding different ways to use the four of us in Barokk Boreal, and trying to bring out the beauty and richness of it all.

We’re so glad to have completed this recording, so more people can enjoy this treasure. Here you’ll find atmosphere and storytelling, wonder, subtle humor, and a hope for peace on earth.”

1 Engelbretsdatters Julesang 02:48
2 Oluff Linds Nyttarsgave 03:09
3 Samuel Bruuns Juleode 03:38
4 Petter Dass Juleevangelie I 03:23
5 Petter Dass Juleevangelie II 05:07
6 Iver Brinchs Julevise 02:24
7 Offvids Trekongerssang 04:03
8 Brunsmands Julenattsang 03:39
9 Samuel Bugges Vinterrim 03:46
10 Ingeborg Gryttens Juledikt 03:11

https://grappa.no/en/albums/simax-classics/juletide-julesanger-av-norske-1600-tallsdiktere/

Saturday, December 7, 2024

"A child has been born to us" Released on Christophorus by Kammerchor der Christuskirche Karlsruhe

 

"A child has been born to us" Released on Christophorus by Kammerchor der Christuskirche Karlsruhe

Johann Kuhnau (1670-1722), Bach's eternal 'predecessor' as Leipzig's Thomaskantor, has only been rediscovered in recent years and his true greatness has not yet been truly recognized.

He was highly respected by his contemporaries, however, and not just as a musician: he had a doctorate, worked as a lawyer, wrote satirical novels - a polymath... His musical oeuvre must have been extensive, much of it is lost.

It is therefore all the more pleasing that his magnificent Christmas cantata "Frohlocket, ihr Volker, und jauchzet, ihr Heiden" ['Rejoice, ye nations, and shout for joy, ye heathen'] has been preserved. It opens the programme on this CD and, with its instrumentation and duration of over 25 minutes, surpasses many a great cantata by his famous successor.

The quality of his work is also evident in his second cantata "Uns ist ein Kind geboren" ['A child has been born to us']: it was long regarded as a work by Johann Sebastian Bach!

Peter Gortner with the chamber choir of the Christuskirche Karlsruhe and the orchestra L'arpa festante complements these two Kuhnau cantatas with well-known movements by Michael Praetorius and Johannes Eccard to create a festive Christmas CD.

1. Johann Kuhnau: Frohlocket, ihr Volker, und jauchzet, ihr Heiden (Weihnachskantate) I. Chor: Frohlocket, ihr Volker, und jauchzet, ihr Heiden
2. II. Recitativo (Tenor): Halleluja, der Heiden Trost ist nunmehr da
3. III. Aria (Tenor): Kleines Kind und grober Held
4. IV. Recitativo (Alto): Wie danken wir dir doch vor diese unverdiente Gnade
5. V. Aria da Ciaconno (Alto): Willkommen, mein Leben, willkommen, mein Licht
6. VI. Chor: O Freuden Wort, mein Freund ist mein
7. Michael Praetorius: Der Morgenstern ist aufgedrungen
8. Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern
9. Johannes Eccard: Ubers Gebirg Maria geht (Motette)
10. Michael Praetorius: Resonet in laudibus (instrumental)
11. Johannes Eccard: Ubers Gebirg Maria geht (instrumental)
12. Johann Kuhnau: Uns ist ein Kind geboren (Weihnachtskantate) I. Sonata
13. II. Chor: Uns ist ein Kind geboren
14. III. Aria (Bass): Dein Geburtstag ist erschienen
15. IV. Chor: Ich will den Namen Gottes loben
16. V. Aria (Tenor): Jesu, dir sei Dank gesungen
17. VI. Recitativo (Alto): Immanuel, so wirst du dir gefallen lassen
18. VII. Aria (Alto): Jesu, dir sei Preis gesungen
19. VIII. Choral: Alleluja
20. Michael Praetorius: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Proper Music

https://propermusic.com/products/soloistskammerchorderchristuskirchekarlsruhelarpafestantepetergortner-unsisteinkindgeborenweihnachtskantaten

Friday, December 6, 2024

Duo Giovivo issues "Joyfully!" Album

 


Duo Giovivo  issues "Joyfully!" Album

Euphonist and alphornist Fabian Bloch and multi-instrumentalist Muriel Zeiter put impressively originally arranged Christmas classics here as well as the world premiere of a commissioned work by Daniel Hall on the gift table. The repertoire ranges from traditional sages to classics such as the Petersburg sleigh ride to legendary numbers from Three Nuts for Cinderella.

1 Drei Nüsse für Aschenbrödel
2 Petersburger Schlittenfahrt, Op. 57
3 Joy To The World
4 Cantique de Noel
5 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
6 O Tannenbaum
7 Deck The Halls
8 No. 52: Mariä Wiegenlied
9 Good King Wenceslas
10 Ihr Kinderlein kommet
11 Jingle Bells
12 Lullaby for Jael (after Brahms' Intermezzo and Wiegenlied)
13 Der Winter
14 Apricity
15 Amazing Grace
16 Adeste fideles
17 Ave Maria, D. 839
18 Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, H. 145

‎ Genuin (Note 1 Musikvertrieb)


Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Violinist Daniel Hope issues Christmas Single

 

Violinist Daniel Hope issues Christmas Single

Following his album Christmas with Hope from 2020, violinist Daniel Hope wishes everyone a wonderful Christmas this year with this new version of the Christmas classic Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, in a version for violin and chamber orchestra.

https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/have-yourself-a-merry-little-christmas-daniel-hope-13643

Monday, December 2, 2024

Berlin Classics Issues Box Set of German Brass' Christmas Albums

 

Berlin Classics Issues Box Set of German Brass' Christmas Albums

The legendary Brass music Ensemble German Brass is turning 50 this year. Their legendary Christmas albums are now available in one box. Get into the Christmas spirit and enjoy the splendor of the festivities with these wonderful recordings.

Saturday, November 30, 2024

Folks Tunes and Christmas Hymes Revitalized in "Helgasong"

 

Folks Tunes and Christmas Hymes Revitalized in "Helgasong"

Opheim, Tillung, Økland, Brunborg and Eilertsen revitalize beautiful and forgotten folk tunes and Christmas hymns on “Helgasong”.

“Helgasong” is a revitalization of religious folk tunes from Voss, Hardanger, Eksingedalen, and Øygarden. These Christmas hymns have been sung in Norway for hundreds of years, presented here in local variants with new arrangements. The older song tradition forms the backdrop—an individual voice singing alone, or harmonized voices in old homes. 

Hymn texts that have held significant meaning for many, and therefore still remain today. “In deepest darkness, the sky becomes clear,” begins the second verse of “Now come God’s angels with greetings from the sky,” written by Elias Blix. These Advent and Christmas hymns tell us of the light being reborn each Advent and Christmas, at the Winter Solstice, when it is darkest in the north. Berit Opheim explains:

– The background story is a desire to highlight and share local folk tunes in Christmas hymns as part of Norway’s song tradition. Over the past couple of years, we’ve discovered several folk tunes in older notations, including those transcribed by Olav Sande. Beautiful melodies that are a joy to sing and to bring forward in new arrangements.

Some of these folk tunes haven’t been used in decades, making it an even greater pleasure to bring them out of dormancy. The ensemble includes Irene Tillung (accordion), Mats Eilertsen (double bass), Nils Økland (fiddles), Tore Brunborg (saxophone), and Berit Opheim (vocals). All the arrangements were collaboratively developed by the musicians, and the recording took place in August 2024 at Raundalskyrkja in Voss. Opheim continues:

– The recording process was very positive, with good days and a warm atmosphere in a room with rich acoustics, in the wooden church in Raundalen, Voss. The instrumentation was chosen based on the expression we wanted for the different songs, and to create variety on the album. The arrangements are largely collaborative, with much of the music being improvised.

The concert tour for Helgasong begins on December 15 in Ål Church, followed by performances in Kabuso, Øystese on 16.12, Mariakirken, Bergen on 17.12, Vangskyrkja, Voss on 18.12, and two concerts on 19.12 in Eksingedalen Church and Dale Church.

Berit Opheim emphasizes the central message, concluding:

– Regardless of what one believes, or what one finds in the texts, or likes, many people experience a sense of community and belonging when Christmas hymns are performed, especially when they participate in the singing. Singing often creates a strong sense of togetherness. 

We hope to convey the closeness in these hymns, which have been so important to many for centuries. Intimacy, tenderness, grandeur, joy, and light—the hymns

1. No koma Guds englar 4:47
2. Den fagraste rosa er funni 5:20
3. I denne søte juletid 4:43
4. Oppå land 1:30
5. Eg er so glad kvar jolekveld 3:52
6. Fager er jordi 3:52
7. Fryd dig du Kristi brud 3:25
8. Her det ny som på jorderig skjedte 3:42
9. Eit barn er født i Betlehem 5:06Dei to systrena 1:24
10. Fra himlen høyt 3:39

https://grappa.no/en/albums/heilo/helgasong/

Clementine Dawson, Clive Osgood, and Barabara Steadman-Allen Win the Sir David Willcocks Carol Competition



Clementine Dawson, Clive Osgood, and Barabara Steadman-Allen Win the Sir David Willcocks Carol Competition

    After receiving one-hundred and eleven (111) entries, the David Willcocks Carol Competition, which is sponsored by The Bach Choir (London), announced the winners. 

    First, the competition was judged this year by Cheryl Francis-Hoad, Charlotte Harding, Carmen Ho, and The Bach Choir's director David Hill.

17-and-under

    The 17-and-under winner was Clementine Dawson who used the poem by Walter de la Mare "Alone." She's a viola player and plays with several orchestras.

18-and-over joint winners were

    Clive Osgood for this "Hodie Christus Natus Est," for eight-part choir "using music in dance-like seven time." Osgood is "a composer, accompanist, organ and music teacher living" in the Haslemere, Surrey area. Osgood is "Director of Music and Organist at the Parish Church of St Bartholomew’s in Haslemere, and teaches A-Level Music at Reed’s School, Cobham."

    Barabara Steadman-Allen won for her "Good Festival of Christian Cheer," which is also described as having "dance-like characteristics." The announcement says Steadman-Allen has sung in choirs her entire life and is also a trombone player. She is retired, but previously worked as a Anglican Vicar and secondary school music teacher.

    On the competition's shortlist is below. The announcement encourages ensembles to get into touch with these composers to perform these pieces:

"In addition to our three winners, our judges picked out three other carols which made their final shortlist. They’re listed below including the scores. Do get in touch with the composers if you’d be interested in performing these works, as they’d love to hear from you – their email addresses are listed."





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