Classical Music

The new album of saxophonist Asya Fateyeva, with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, presents a brand-new version of the hit 'Nutcracker' by Tchaikovsky, arranged by composer Wolf Kerschek. The recording is complemented by Christmas music arranged for saxophone and the vocal ensemble Niniwe Vocal Art.

Personnel includes: John Langstaff, Carol Duveneck, Hillary Wells (vocals); Susan Ward (vocals, shawm, handbell); Ruth Dornfeld, Mary Lea (fiddle); Neal MacMillian (fiddle, Northumbrian pipes); Peter Barnes (pennywhistle, piano, synthesizer); David Coffin (recorder); James Polk, Lawrence Rosenwald (recorder, handbell); Jerome Epstein, Tom Kruskal (concertina); Nigel Nathan (sackbut, handbell); George Emlen, David Gay (synthesizer); Sean Reynolds (bodhran).
Cambridge Symphonic Brass & Tympani: Bruce Hall, Kenneth Pullig (trumpet); Richard Hudson (French horn); Kevin Henry (trombone); Gregory Fitze (tuba); Sarah Tenney (tympani).
Recorded at Paine Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachussets in 1987. Includes liner notes by Susan Cooper.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

BIRTH OF CHRIST (DIE GEBURT CH

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL is based upon a cherished movie classic that's enchanted millions. The musical features a score by the young Richard Rodgers Award winning newcomers, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, whose off-Broadway musical, DOGFIGHT, recently opened to positive reviews. The book is penned by Joseph Robinette, and is based on the writings of radio humorist Jean Shepherd and the 1983 holiday film favorite. Tony Award.-winner John Rando (URINETOWN) directs the production with choreography by Warren Carlyle (CHAPLIN, FOLLIES, AN EVENING WITH HUGH JACKMAN).

2016 holiday release. Kurt Elling's first holiday album, The Beautiful Day, is truly beautiful and festive in a swinging way! Elling sings these classic Christmas and popular holiday songs with an ease and confidence proving once more that he is the best jazz singer of our time. The first track, "Sing a Christmas Carol", swings lightly and gets you into the feel of the album and puts you in a jazzy holiday mood. Elling's versions of "We Three Kings" and "Same Old Lang Syne" exude cool as he makes these Christmas favorites truly his own. "Beautiful Day" is the perfect ending for an album that s destined to be a holiday jazz classic. Grammy winner Kurt Elling is among the world's foremost jazz vocalists. He won the DownBeat Critics Poll for fourteen consecutive years and was named Male Singer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association on eight occasions. An international jazz award winner, the New York Times declared, "Elling is the standout male vocalist of our time." The Washington Post added, "Since the mid-1990s no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. He has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz."

In Dr. Seuss HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL, Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is "two sizes too small," decides to steal Christmas away from the Holiday loving Who's. The World Premiere Recording includes members from the original Broadway cast and features the hit songs "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and "Welcome Christmas" from the beloved original animated series, plus a bonus recording of "Where Are You Christmas" from the live action Grinch movie. With additional music and lyrics by Mel Marvin and Timothy Mason, Dr. Seuss HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL breathes new life into the timeless story of the true meaning of Christmas.

CLASSICAL KIDS CHRISTMAS / VARIOUS

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS / VARIOUS

2019 holiday release from the legendary "rock band with horns". Produced by founding member Lee Loughnane, Chicago Christmas is the 37th album of the band's career and it's fourth holiday collection. Whereas it's previous releases focused more on traditional Christmas songs, the new record spotlights holiday music the band wrote especially for the album. Along with the new songs, the album also features the band's interpretations of two holiday standards: "Here We Come A Caroling" and "Sleigh Ride." It's the second time Chicago has recorded "Sleigh Ride." A different version appears on Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Thee (2011). The album's other non-original track is a soulful Chicago interpretation of the Hal David and Burt Bacharach classic, "What The World Needs Now Is Love," which founding member Robert Lamm thought had a timely message for the holidays. Chicago Christmas features original compositions by many of the band members, along with unmistakable horn arrangements by founding member James Pankow. The album was recorded and mixed by Tim Jessup.

SONG FOR CHRISTMAS: 26 CAROLS & CHRISTMAS SONGS

Limited red vinyl LP pressing including extra song not available on CD version: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Merry Christmas is the first Christmas album, and the fourth studio album, by Mariah Carey. Released by Columbia Records on November 1, 1994, the album features cover versions of popular Christmas tunes and original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. The album produced the worldwide classic single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You". Merry Christmas has sold 15 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time.

There is hardly a better way to get to know Graupner's individual vocal style than with this disc.

One of the most remarkable things about German composers of the 17th and 18th centuries is the size of their oeuvre. One wonders where they found the time to compose so many works, considering the general slowness of life. It took days to travel from one part of Germany to another, and weeks to go from Germany abroad. Writing a composition by hand, copying parts for all performers, teaching, rehearsing - it is just amazing how much work they had to do. And in addition, there was an insatiable demand for music which they had to satisfy. This is also the main reason they composed so much.

Take Christoph Graupner: the number of his cantatas is estimated at about 1400! He had to deliver a cantata for every Sunday, plus all feastdays, plus special events like the birthday of his employer. And then there was the instrumental music, both chamber and orchestral music, which was played as entertainment. Reusing old material was no option: music which was more than 10 years old was considered old-fashioned. As Graupner worked in Darmstadt from 1709 until his death there was no material his employer hadn't heard before.

But by good fortune he had some assistance. From 1713 to 1738 the cantatas for the first and third Christmas days - one of the busiest periods of the year - were written by his assistant chapel master, Gottfried Grünewald. The second Christmas day was also the birthday of his employer, so the music for that day, which had to be particularly festive, was written by Graupner himself. He also composed the music for New Year, and the following Sundays, including Epiphany and Candlemas.

Four of the five cantatas on this disc date from the 1740s. Graupner used texts which were provided by his brother-in-law, the theologian Johann Conrad Lichtenberg, who for a number of years wrote a cycle of cantata texts every year. The cantatas consist of a sequence of recitatives, arias and chorales, but the texture varies.

Frohlocke, werte Christenheit, begins with a chorus on a free poetic text. This is followed by two pairs of recitative and aria, for bass and soprano respectively, and closes with a harmonisation of two stanzas from the old hymn 'Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem'. The vocal parts are embedded in lively orchestral figurations which is typical of Graupner's treatment of chorales. This practice has its roots in the 17th century, and was often used by composers like Johann Kuhnau and Johann Ludwig Bach.

Der Herr hat mich gehabt im Anfang and Das Licht scheinet in der Finsternis both begin with a dictum, a quotation from the Bible. The former has a recitative for bass and a duet for alto and tenor, who mostly sing in parallel motion, which is only broken at the end. The duet is followed by a recitative and an aria for tenor, and closes with a stanza from Luther's hymn 'Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ'.

The latter also contains a duet, this time for tenor and bass. There is a strong contrast in the vocal and instrumental parts between section A and section B, reflecting the juxtaposition of light and darkness in the text. The preceding recitative for bass is a perfect example of Graupner's effective treatment of the text.

Das Licht des Lebens scheinet hell opens with an accompanied recitative for bass, who then sings an aria. This is followed by a chorale - a stanza from 'Ermuntre dich, mein schwacher Geist'. Then the soprano sings a recitative and an aria, and the alto has a recitative which ends in an accompagnato at the last line. The cantata ends with another stanza from 'Ermuntre dich'.

The last cantata of this disc, Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, is the only one which dates from the period that Grünewald was active. It was written for the second Sunday after Epiphany, 18 January 1728. But during the winter season 1727/28 Grünewald was ill. Because of that he wasn't able to compose, and Graupner had to write all cantatas himself. As Grünewald also participated in the performances as a bass, Graupner omitted bass parts in his cantatas. This shows that at that time cantatas were performed with one voice per part, which is also practised in this recording. This particular cantata is the only one from this period that has a bass part. One may conclude that Graupner temporarily had a bass at his disposal, but probably a not very experienced one as he only participates in the three chorale settings.

These are three stanzas from the hymn 'Von Gott will ich nicht lassen' (1563). The cantata opens with the first stanza, which is followed by a recitative for the tenor, who then sings a duet with the alto which is an eloquent expression of the text: "Jesus provides. Now away, you cares!" This is followed by another stanza from the hymn. Next are a recitative and an aria for soprano. In the latter she is accompanied by a trio of two oboes and bassoon which are joined by the strings in the ritornelli. The cantata closes with another stanza from the hymn 'Von Gott will ich nicht lassen'.

During his career Graupner has developed a musical language of his own, which is not comparable with anything written in his time. His compositions are certainly not easy-listening stuff as recent recordings of his instrumental oeuvre show. Of his vocal music very little has been performed and recorded as yet. There is hardly a better way to get to know his vocal oeuvre than with this disc.

These five cantatas are varied in scoring and offer a number of beautiful arias and duets. It is particularly advisable to pay attention to the way Graupner uses the instruments to express the Affekte of the texts. Things could hardly be better. The four soloists are completely congenial and their voices blend perfectly, as the chorale settings show. The individual performances of the singers are also excellent; the delivery is immaculate thanks to good diction and pronunciation. The instrumental parts are engagingly given by the members of Das Kleine Konzert.

The booklet contains extensive programme notes and all the lyrics have an English translation. In tracks the lines are printed in the wrong order.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Classical Music