Classical Music

Sent to press just days before his untimely death in August 2015, John Scott's last recording is Dancing Day, a programme of works for Christmas, made with his beloved Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys of Fifth Avenue, New York. Recorded in the home of the choir in Manhattan, the recording is centred around two works for treble voices and harp performed annually by the boys of the choir under John's direction - Benjamin Britten's inimitable A Ceremony of Carols and John Rutter's companion piece Dancing Day. Completing a compelling disc that features medieval texts and themes are further works for treble voices - Britten's A New Year Carol and Patrick Hadley's I sing of a maiden. The boys are joined by the men of the choir for works by Matthew Martin, Philip Ledger and William Mathias. Also included is John's own arrangement of the simple traditional Dutch carol King Jesus hath a garden, penned whilst organ scholar of St John's College, Cambridge.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Martin Luther had many students and disciples. One of them was named Praetorius, and that student had a son named Michael. Michael became – along with J.S. Bach – one of the two greatest composers in the history of Protestant church music. Michael Praetorius left us an enormous quantity of sacred music, for children’s choir, adult choir, strings, brass, lutes, and soloists. He was also acclaimed as an organist and theorist. His monumental music treatise, Syntagma musicum (1619), is considered the most important work of music theory in the early Baroque, and provides musicians with a wealth of practical information.

Living at the same time as Monteverdi, the great revolutionary composer of Italy, Praetorius was aware of the new and virtuosic elements of Monteverdi’s music; however, he firmly upheld Luther’s ideal that the common people should be able to participate in the music-making in some way. Therefore, while Monteverdi’s music requires an entirely professional ensemble of virtuoso singers, such as existed at St. Mark’s in Venice, Praetorius channeled his imaginative flair toward writing music that brought together professional singers,
humble village choirs, children’s voices, and even congregational singing.

Thus, Praetorius’ music combines the drama and virtuosity of something like the Monteverdi Vespers, with the simple and accessible traditions of Lutheran hymn-tunes that many Protestants know by heart.

The feast of the Nativity held a special place in the hearts and lives of Italian nuns. In a letter to archbishop Federigo Borromeo, a Milanesenun thanked him for his gift of a lute which “has cheered all of the nuns with me, [...] and thus on the night of Holy Christmaswe went to play Matins to all the nuns, singing Gloria in excelsis [...]”. This recording presents works composed by and for these women that might have been heard or performed at Christmastime, andthey call for a great variety of forces ranging from solo voices to double choirs of both singers and instruments. The nun composers represented include the Ursulines Maria Xaveria Perucona and Isabella Leonarda, author of 20 collectionsof vocal and instrumental music; Chiara Margarita Cozzolani and her conventual sister Rosa Giacinta Badalla from the renownedMilanese convent of Santa Radegonda; and Caterina Assandra, composer and dedicatee of various collections. The CD also featuresworks by eminent male composers (Massenzio, Rota, Reina, Speer et al.) and dedicated to these remarkable cloistered musicians.

Silent Night: A Christmas Program

Evensong for Epiphany

Recorded between 1959 & 1975. Includes liner notes by Joseph F. Laredo.
Digitally remastered by Bill Lacey.

Classical Music

Classical Music

This package includes a special booklet containing music and lyric sheets for all the carols.

Classical Music

Includes fanfare(s) by various composers. Ensemble: Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Steven Mercurio.

NUTCRACKER SUITE

Bernstein leads the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in this entertaining, sophisticated, and merry collection.

– All Music Guide

AVE MARIA: CHRISTMAS FAVORITES

Classical Music

This CD contains both DDD and ADD recordings.

Classical Music

V21:MESSIAH HIGHLIGHTS

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

CHRISTMAS WITH MARILYN HORNE AND THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR

After the success of his introduction to the St. Matthew Passion, author Wieland Schmid takes US on a journey through the Christmas Oratorio with thrilling insights into Bach's creative process and background information on the composition. Outstanding narrators and the complete recording of the 2010 performance of the Christmas Oratorio with the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Akademie fer alte Musik Berlin under the direction of Peter Dijkstra make this 4-CD set the ideal Christmas gift.