For nearly 20 years, Seraphic Fire’s Christmas concerts have heralded the change of seasons for our audiences in South Florida, and there is no piece more associated with these yearly musical celebrations than Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. Written by Elizabeth Poston, English composer and purported World War II spy for the Allies, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree takes a Federal-era American text and clothes it in music so simple, that it could easily be an 18th-century colonial hymn. With its elegant treble-voice verse and luxurious ending canon, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree has become an indispensable part of Christmastide for thousands of our friends in our hometown of Miami, FL, and beyond.

With Poston’s masterpiece as our polestar, this new holiday recording by Seraphic Fire celebrates the simple and the authentic. From Praetorious’s double choir setting of In dulci jubilo and Gottfried Wolter’s spine-tingling Maria durch ein Dornwald ging, to familiar American carols arranged by composer contemporaries of Seraphic Fire (including Susan LaBarr, Edwin Fissinger, Timothy Takach, and Seraphic Fire’s founder Patrick Dupre Quigley), this new recording hopes to introduce new settings of old melodies that will hopefully become instant classics in your Christmas soundscape. Each Seraphic Fire Christmas program is special, and we hope that The Apple Tree: Christmas with Seraphic Fire will continue our tradition of bringing peaceful, tuneful contemplation to our beloved audiences, near and far. – James K. Bass

Originally issued on the 2LP set Nativity in 1976, this classic Vox recording is a fine example of Robert Shaw’s expertise as a choral conductor. The album features a selection of carols, choral works and orchestral Christmas favourites performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Produced by the legendary Elite Recordings team of Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz, and newly remastered from the original analogue tapes in high-definition.

This is a Blu-ray Audio disc, playable on Blu-ray players only.

“In the Summer of 2019, we recorded our album Once Upon a Time, our first recorded version of a “story concert.” Although we had explored this concept for several years prior with storyteller Sarah Walker, Once Upon a Time was our first collaboration with Benedict Sheehan, who composed incidental music (almost like a choral movie score) to accompany Sarah’s dialogue and to connect the musical dots between existing works by an array of composers. That summer, it became clear that we had stumbled onto something unusual and special. First, the idea of a continuous choral story score – combining elements of classical performance, storytelling, film scoring, and theatricality – seemed to be a rich new idiom for choral performance art. Second, the collaborative team of the project seemed like a dream come true – there was a strong sense of mutual respect for everyone’s unique talents, and a rare ability for creative push and pull…” (Matthew Guard, Artistic Director)

From the pipe organ at the Sono Luminus studio in Boyce, Virginia, we are pleased to present a fine selection of baroque organ music for the Christmas season. Felipe Dominguez (b. 1983) is a Chilean/American organist, harpsichordist, clavichordist, and musicologist. A graduate of Brigham Young University (B.M. 2010, M.M. 2012), he studied organ and harpsichord with Douglas Bush and Don Cook. He has pursued further postgraduate organ instruction in Europe with Edoardo Belotti, Hans Davidsson, Harald Vogel, and Leon Berben. Mr. Dominguez has performed as a soloist and in ensembles in Chile, Argentina, the United States and Europe.

Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (Oh, Come thou Savior of the Gentiles) is a German chorale normally sung during advent, and is a call for the Lord to come to Earth.

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming is a well known and beloved traditional chorale on the original harmonization by Michael Praetorius.

The chorale Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich, (Praise God, you Christians, All Together) is set in verse 1 with the melody in the soprano and counterpoint in the two lower voices, and in verse 2 with the melody in the pedal and two lines in imitation on top.

Noël cette Journée (Christmas day today) imitates the French musette with a sustained pedal note, a sweet melody and elegant ornaments, painting an image of the French countryside.

Zipoli’s Pastorale also centers on the image of countryside landscape, which was a popular Christmas theme at the time in the spirit of the biblical annunciation to the shepherds.

Michau qui causoit ce grand bruit is a traditional French Noël treated in a very common structure of variations with different character, the first with a royal feel and the second with a courtesan air.

A ricercar is an imitative form that uses a melody as its main source of material for development. In the case of the Ricercare on “Ave Maria Klare”, a hymn for the Virgin Mary is used as the main source material.

Buxtehude’s Fantasia on “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” (How brightly Shines the Morning Star) is one of his greatest masterpieces. He uses small phrases of the chorale melody to develop contrasting sections full of color, energy, and beauty, which also provide an opportunity to highlight the wonderful colors of the organ.

Louis-Claude Daquin wrote a large collection of Noëls and his own performances were legendary in 18th Century Paris. His Noël variations normally present the melody first, followed by variations, at times very virtuosic as it is in this case.

Selections from the Oratorio “The Messiah” by Handel have long been a staple of the Christmas repertoire. This version of the pifa transcribed for the organ is highly ornamented and with its triple meter and dance character intends to take the listener back to the annunciation to the shepherds.

Böhm’s setting of “From Heaven Above,” a popular Christmas chorale, sets the melody as a solo, largely unornamented so it is easy to recognize, against a contrapuntal backdrop.

Voluntary V, Op. 6, by John Stanley though not a Christmas piece has all the hallmarks of a royal entrance. It begins with a contrapuntal section similar to a string ensemble, followed by a virtuosic trumpet solo (Oboe 8’).

This second setting of “From Heaven Above,” by Pachelbel is much different than the previous one, the melody being in the pedal with a Principal 8’ against Koppel Flute 4‘ and Quint 1 1/3‘ in the Swell that dance in counterpoint above the melody.

This 18th Century setting of a pastorale by Bernardo Pasquini is much more elaborated, making more use of counterpoint and varied harmonies throughout the piece. However, it stays true to the countryside character of pastorals.

In Sweet Rejoicing! (In Dulci Jubilo) Is a popular upbeat Christmas hymn. The first 16th Century version from the Fridolin Sichers Tablature is highly imitative, with phrases overlapping over each other very actively. The second version by J.S. Bach, written in his youth, is a highly ornamented version of the hymn that works in scales and arpeggios with a majestic end only as Bach can deliver.

REVIEW:

What distinguishes this release (other than the fine playing and sound) is the inviting combination of a few absolute Christmas classics with a treasure trove of lesser-known but vibrantly lively period works. In the end we get a good listen to the newly installed Sono Luminus organ, which sounds just right. And then the program scores big to my ears with a wide-ranging, musically ravishing collection of Baroque gems for the season. Highly recommended.

-- Gapplegate Classical Modern Music Review

“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John the Evangelist’s words inspired the title of a remarkable Christmas cycle, rendering its profound message, diverting our attention from glittering decorations and refocusing on the very reason for celebrating Christmas – commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Many a time with a breath-taking directness, traditional carols clearly capture the poetics of the Nativity and the story of those who were there. Such carols were precisely that which resounded in the mind of Jirí Slavík, a seasoned young jazz musician and composer with a penchant for folklore, in the spring of 2020, when a pandemic locked us down in our homes. “No one had the slightest inkling as to when we would again be able to play and sing together.” The songs immediately became a source of hope, hope that light would begin shining soon. The carols acquired their shape, sometimes soft and intimate, at others bolder, symphonically opulent. Interludes and songs inspired by the Biblical story came to life, ultimately engendering a whole cycle. From the beginning, it was intended to be performed by Ondráš – an orchestra and choir specialising in folk music, yet willing to cross the genre’s borders. As interpreted by the singers and instrumentalists, the Bohemian and Moravian carols sound absolutely natural, be they presented in the usual “dulcimer” texture, or in unconventional colour arrangements. This type of music – just like any music retelling a powerful story – requires quietening. When we let tranquillity take over our minds, we may touch upon a secret. The Nativity story in Bohemian and Moravian Christmas carols

Repertoire expansion for the Christmas season In the 18th century, "well-stocked" church music was a natural tradition throughout central Germany: church services were embellished along the ecclesiastical year with cantatas appropriate to the liturgy for the glory of God, but also for the joy and "spiritual edification" of the visitors. From this treasure of hitherto unknown Christmas music, four cantatas by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf are presented for the first time on this recording. Wolf worked as court kapellmeister in Weimar, and the fact that Goethe rejected him as "self-indulgent" should not prevent us from admiring him as a very important composer of the transition. Musically, Wolf was greatly influenced by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in the empfindsamer Stil and by the works of the Berlin Kapellmeister Carl Heinrich Graun. He was also a prolific composer whose works were received with admiration by his contemporaries. The four cantatas show elements of the early classical and sensitive styles; the cantata choruses are often homophonic and songlike, polyphonic sections rather rare. All the cantatas prove to be individually conceived works that testify to the composer's mastery. Beautiful sounding arias, the naturalness of their expression and the dramatic compression in the individual movements are still convincing today. At the same time, the cantatas bear witness to the high quality of Protestant church music in the period after Johann Sebastian Bach and illustrate the high value of music within the liturgy. Today they can be a welcome addition to the repertoire for the Christmas season.

Here are charmingly fresh folk carols from the French countryside, arranged by one of the Ancien Régime’s favorite composers, and played alternately on the organ, the harpsichord and the fortepiano, following Balbastre’s own practice.

Considered one of the major harpsichordists of his generation, Olivier Baumont has for several decades enjoyed a rich career as a performer, teacher and researcher. At the Conservatoire national supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, juries unanimously awarded him first prizes for harpsichord and chamber music. He benefited from the artistic guidance of Huguette Dreyfus and Kenneth Gilbert, and was occasionally invited by Gustav Leonhardt to attend his interpretation classes in Cologne. Olivier Baumont’s fine qualities as a musician were quickly recognized. Curious, ardent and erudite, he has a keen sense of communication (masterclasses, conferences, radio and television programs), he enjoys being on stage and takes pleasure in sharing his taste for the 17th and 18th centuries with others, making him hailed as an artist with multiple facets, solicited around the world.

Contains Cantatas BWV 36, 40, 57, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 91, 110, 121, 122, 123, 132, 133, 151 & 191.

REVIEW:

Before Christmas and much of its music was commercialised, there was Bach – pre-eminently the greatest composer of the season, unfailingly cutting to the emotional and spiritual quick of the texts he set to music. This six-disc box of Advent and Christmas cantatas from Helmuth Rilling’s complete series is a wonderful digest of Bach’s unparallelled achievement in this area.

The intensity of colour and expression in these works is stunning – the surging, brass-capped elation of Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, so full of the simple joy of the Christian message, the searching meditation on temptation in Selig ist der Mann, the seemingly bottomless well of spiritual sustenance plumbed in the chorale conclusions.

The soloists are generally distinguished, and sometimes excellent – tenor Peter Schreier and soprano Arleen Augér both give object lessons in Bach style in their Schwingt freudig euch empor arias, while Helen Donath, Helen Watts and Kurt Equiluz are among other well-known singers making a contribution.

Rilling’s performances (on modern instruments) are neatly tailored and naturally benevolent in nature, buoyant with the wholesomeness and warmth that this great music so frequently emanates. There is simply no better way of celebrating a musical Christmas.


Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 4 (out of 5)

-- Terry Blain, BBC Music Magazine

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

REVIEW:

Concerto Copenhagen and Lars Ulrik Mortensen adopt the minimalist one-voice-per-part approach to the choir: 10 expert voices have been chosen shrewdly, with five ‘concertino’ singers (the soloists) reinforced in choruses by an additional five ‘ripieni’ voices.

To my mind, Mortensen’s special performance, full to the brim with insightful musicianship and a refreshing avoidance of contrived formulas, comfortably joins Parrott, Junghänel and John Butt as the finest examples of this kind of perspective on performing Bach’s monumental sacred masterpiece.

Maria Keohane and Joanne Lunn combine to beguiling effect in an understated ‘Christe eleison’, and the latter sings ‘Laudamus te’ radiantly in partnership with Fredrik From’s sophisticated violin obbligato playing. The musical conversation between oboist Antonie Torunczyk and countertenor Alex Potter in ‘Qui sedes’ ebbs and flows sweetly. Peter Harvey’s ‘Quoniam’ has dignified gravitas (and tasteful horn-playing by Ursula Paludan Monberg), and Jan Kobow sings poignantly in partnership with flautist Katy Bircher in the Benedictus.

The individual components are routinely marvelous, but Concerto Copenhagen produce something much more than the sum of its parts: one of the most profoundly captivating interpretations to have emerged recently.

– Gramophone

December holds in its hands many worlds of celebration as the month unfolds with Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas and the eve of the New Year. Over the centuries a great deal of music has marked this time of year, but very little has been added to the canon in recent decades. Gordon Getty inspired us with his composition of delightful new Christmas carols to invite a group of American composers to celebrate the season in music. The resulting New Carols by Seven American Composers, a rich and tuneful recording of new holiday classics for all to share with their friends and families, features the work of Mark Adams, Jake Heggie, Joan Morris and William Bolcom, David Garner, Luna Pearl Woolf, John Corigliano, and Gordon Getty, who, in addition to his Four Christmas Carols arranged Franz Gruber’s Silent Night for mixed chorus and chamber orchestra, the culminating album track.

REVIEWS:

Early Music America (Spring-2000, pp.14-15) - "...Burdick brings careful musicological research abd tasteful musicianship to this triumphant new recording of the 'Messiah'....it is a pleasure to hear strong young voices in this refreshing music....This is an exemplary 'Messiah'..."

This joyful new release is a showcase of Christmas songs for voice, reed, and piano. Encompassing a wide range of Christmas music from traditional sacred songs to modern pieces like White Christmas, this album is sure to have something for every Christmas lover. Founded in Luxemburg in spring of 2015, the Trio Cénacle dedicates itself to keep on searching to new possible interpretations of the art of lied performing. They are joined by the talented and accomplished Calamus Reed Quintet.

Includes suite of medieval carols by various composers. Ensemble: Solid Brass. Soloists: David Sampson, Barry Browner, Charles Olsen, Elizabeth DiSavino, Hans Muller (Trombone), Hugh Eddy, Carl Della Peruti, Jeffrey Caswell, Kyle Turner, Adrienne Wilcox, Douglas Haislip.