The Ebor Singers, with director Paul Gameson, returns to the Resonus Classics label with an album of American Christmas music. The contemporary American Christmas choral tradition is a remarkable confluence of stylistic confluences, sacred and secular, which reflect the country’s cultural vibrancy more so than other times of year. Featuring works from composers including Morten Lauridsen, Eric Whitacre, Stephen Paulus, Susan LaBarr, Abbie Betinis, Timothy C. Takach, Jake Runestad, Matthew Culloton, René Clausen, Alfred Burt, Dan Forrest and Melissa Dunphy, the ensemble is joined by harpist Rachel Dent and oboist Jane Wright.

Ernest Moeran’s love for Ireland and absorption of its music and musicians led to the composer living on the island of Valentia for two years. He later made Kenmare his second home from around 1934 until his death there in 1950. Moeran’s experiences in Ireland appear to have influenced him melodically in the traditional folk dance-like textures he embraces, particularly throughout his early Piano Trio and Violin Sonata featured on this album alongside his Prelude for Cello and Piano and Sonata for Two Violins. With their own strong links to Ireland, the album is performed by the Fidelio Trio with violinist Nicky Sweeney. In the four chamber works on this album Moeran’s use of melodic and harmonic turns, his approach to instrumentation and command of the strings and piano writing, has gifted us a treasure trove of focus in repertoire, utterly connected, through him, with music of places and peoples.

REVIEW:

Especially valuable here is the superbly articulate and memorably affectionate advocacy lent to the disarming Piano Trio...this enterprising anthology yields copious rewards and can be welcomed without reservation.

-- Gramophone (Editor's Choice, March 2022)