Christmas in Ainola
Christmas Carols by Jean Sibelius and other Christmas songs

Hynninen, Groop, Tapiola Choir, etc.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
1. En etsi valtaa loistoa, op. 1 / We Ask For Nothing Rich Or Rare 3:25
2. On hanget korkeat nietokset, op. 1 / The Shining Snows Are Driven High 2:28
3. Jo joutuu ilta, op. 1 Christmas Carol / O'er Hill And Dale 2:06
4. Joulu saapuu portin luo, op. 1 / Now Stands Yule at the Snowy Gate 1:46
5. Tervehtii jo meitä, op.1 / Now is Christmas Coming 2:46
6. Joululaulu (Nyt seimelle pienoisen lapsen) 2:15
7. Andante festivo 4:17

Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947)
8. Arkihuolesi kaikki heitä / Cast Off Thy Everyday Cares 1:49
9. Enkelien joululaulu (Ylistäkää Jumalaa, taivas ja maa) 1:56

Piae Cantiones
10. Ecce novum gaudium 1:53
11. Angelus emittitur 1:59

Luther
12. Enkeli taivaan lausui näin / From Heaven Above 2:42

Trad.
13. Maa on niin kaunis / The Earth is Beautiful 2:21

Piae Cantiones
14. Psallat scholarum concio 1:46
15. Ave maris stella 1:55

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
16-17. Sonatina op.80
16. Andantino (4:28)
17. Lento-Allegretto-Vivace (3:56)

Trad.
18. Kuului laulu enkelten / Angels, from the Realms of Glory 2:14

Otto Kotilainen (1868 - 1936)
19. Kun joulu on / At Christmastide 2:35

Trad.
20. Joulupuu on rakennettu / The Christmas Tree 1:31
21. No onkos tullut kesä / Is It Suddenly Summer? 1:18

Johann Strauss (1804-1849)
22. Radetzky-marssi / Radetzky March 2:42

Tapiola Choir (1)
Jorma Hynninen, baritone (1)
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (1)
Raimo Sirkiä, tenor (2,19)
Jyväskylä Sinfonia (2,19)
Ritva-Liisa Korhonen, soprano (3)
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra (3)
Chamber Choir Kampin laulu (4,5,9-13,20,21)
Pertti Eerola, organ (4,5,12,13)
Jubilate Choir (6)
Virtuosi di Kuhmo (7)
Monica Groop, mezzosoprano (8)

Turku Castle Chamber Choir (14,15)
Yoshiko Arai, violin (16,17)
Eero Heinonen, piano (16,17)
Marita Viitasalo, piano (22)

Jorma Panula, conductor (1)
Pertti Pekkanen, conductor (2,19)
Kyösti Haatanen, conductor (3)
Timo Lehtovaara, conductor (4,5,9-13,20,21)
Astrid Riska, conductor (6)
Peter Csaba, conductor (7)
Markus Lehtinen, conductor (8)
Heikki Seppänen, conductor
Erkki Pohjola, conductor
[ 56:00 ]

Classical Music

This disc convincingly shows Johann Mattheson's qualities as a composer of sacred music.

This is the third oratorio by Johann Mattheson which I have heard and reviewed in a fairly short space of time. For many years hardly any of his music was available on disc, but these three releases show a remarkable interest in Mattheson, who is best known for his writings on musical subjects.

He was educated as a singer, and also learnt to play the keyboard, the viola da gamba, violin, oboe, flute and lute. His first public appearances as a singer and organist were at the age of nine. The first stage of his career was as a singer in opera: he participated in performances at the Oper am Gänsemarkt. He also composed some operas. This phase lasted until 1705 when he accepted the post of secretary to the English ambassador in Hamburg. In the following years he became known as a translator and as a writer on music. He published several books which are still often referred to as they give much information about performance practice and the aesthetic ideals in Germany in his time.

In 1715 he became cantor at Hamburg Cathedral, a position he held until 1728 when he had to leave his job due to progressive deafness. In this capacity he composed oratorios for festivities like Christmas and Easter. They were mostly split into two parts, performed before and after the sermon. Only recently I reviewed a recording of the Christmas oratorio Das größte Kind. It dates from 1720 and is very different from this Christmas oratorio which is from 1715 and is one of the first pieces he composed for Hamburg Cathedral. Whereas in Das größte Kind not a single line from the Bible is used, the core of this oratorio is the text of Luke 2, 1-18, which is sung in the form of recitatives by the Evangelist. And in this oratorio the allegorical characters that feature in Das größte Kind are absent.

Musically these two works are also very different. The arias, written on a poetic text of a reflective nature, are less virtuosic and less operatic than in the oratorio of 1720. It is also remarkable that it contains several references to the past. The oratorio begins and ends with stanzas from the 16th-century hymn 'Vom Himmel hoch'. Mattheson doesn't use the well-known melody which Martin Luther wrote in 1539, but an older melody from 1535, after a then popular song. It is also quoted in the chorus 'Aus Zion bricht an der schöne Glanz Gottes'. The chorus of the angels, 'Ehre sei Gott', is composed in the stile antico, and the chorus of the shepherds, 'Lasset uns hingehen', is a fugue.

Only a couple of arias have a dacapo; sometimes a whole aria is repeated from beginning to end. One aria uses a biblical text: the angel singing 'Fürchtet euch nicht!' (Fear not!). But in fact it is more a kind of arioso than a real aria. It is followed by a 'real' aria for soprano, here given to the second soprano. In most arias the singer is accompanied by strings and basso continuo. In the bass aria 'Der Väter Wunsch' two horns are added, and the duet 'Sterbliche, besingt mit Freuden' contains a solo part for the violin. In the intimate aria 'Man darf dir einen kleinen Raum versagen' the soprano is supported by flute, viola and bc. This suits the content well, and the second half says: "Come into my heart for your comfort." In the chorales and the chorus 'Aus Zion bricht' Mattheson adds parts for two trumpets, two horns and timpani.

The other work on this disc is a setting of the Magnificat. That is to say: Mattheson keeps only two lines from the original biblical text (in German translation). The other verses are replaced by a poetic paraphrase, divided over recitatives and arias. The Magnificat is written for two choirs, each consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass. It begins with a Sinfonia for the whole orchestra which consists of flute, two trumpets, timpani, strings and basso continuo. A duet by the two sopranos follows, who are then joined by the tutti. In the first aria soprano I is supported by solo violin and bc. Next the bass has a recitative in which some elements in the text are singled out through extended coloraturas. He then sings an aria which begins with the text: "His arm scatters and exercises might". Mattheson defies expectation and refrains from using the trumpets here - only strings. The second soprano has a beautiful aria with flute and bc: "I suffer thirst, my soul hungers". After another recitative the piece ends with the other line from the biblical text Mattheson has kept: "As he has spoken to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever", written in the stile antico. The piece closes with a repeat of the opening section.

The Mattheson we meet in the Christmas oratorio on this disc is more 'conventional', as it were, than the Mattheson of Das größte Kind. The Magnificat a due cori, on the other hand, is anything but conventional. At least I can't remember having ever heard a Magnificat, in which the biblical text was largely replaced by a free poetic text. Because of the combination of these two compositions this disc deserves the attention of lovers of baroque vocal music. Like the other two recordings I have referred to it shows that Mattheson is more than a theorist and has to be taken seriously as a composer. New Grove lists quite a number of oratorios from his pen, and it is a shame that a considerable part of his oeuvre in this department is lost.

I was not completely happy with the previous two recordings, also directed by Michael Alexander Willens. In both cases there were some weak links in the cast. This disc is the best of the three, with all soloists giving fine accounts of themselves. The part of the Evangelist is given an immaculate performance by Andreas Post. The soprano parts are divided over the two sopranos. I don't know whether this was indicated by the composer, but it was certainly a good idea as the voices of Nicki Kennedy and Anna Crookes are sufficiently different to tell them apart. The other 'second voices' (alto, tenor and bass) are used as ripienists, who only sing in the tutti sections. These are generally well sung, although sometimes a slight vibrato creeps in, especially in the chorale settings which open and end the oratorio. The playing of the orchestra is also good, and the solo and obbligato parts are beautifully executed. I would like to mention especially Catherine Manson who plays the violin solos in both works. The only criticism is that some of the recitatives are slowish and should have been sung with more rhythmic freedom.

The booklet contains programme notes in German, English and French. In the part about the Magnificat we read: "the metre too changes from 4/4 to ? time". According to the French translation the question mark should be replaced by "3/4". The lyrics are also given with an English translation.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Includes work(s) by various composers. Ensembles: Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Choir. Conductor: Richard Hayman.

Linn�kvintetten has since 1986 been a dynamic element in the Swedish music scene. Ever since it's inception, the ensemble has gone in to renew the Swedish repertoire for brass quintet, which meant about 40 premieres of Swedish music. On this release of joyful and evocative music associated with Advent and Christmas in Sweden the listener will find 16th c. variations on the hymn 'There is a rose in flower' alongside carols, hymns and a new Swedish 'classic', the theme-music from the TV-program 'Karl-Bertil Jonssons Christmas'. Recorded in Hagby church February 2013 during a howling blizzard.

There is no doubt that the best of Alessandro Stradella's output lies in his valuable sacred works. The Christmas cantatas are representative of his typically Roman art and illustrate the story of the Nativity with a certain theatricality, by means of polichorality. We are at the origin of the concerto grosso genre, with a large ensemble in conversation with a concertino of soloists, while delicate, heavenly vocal atmospheres alternate with infernal fury. The recording reveals Stradella as one of the greater geniuses of the seventeenth century, possibly the most versatile in both vocal and instrumental writing. Enrico Gatti The complete Christmas cantatas. Alessandro Stradella was one of the most important Italian composers of the seventeenth century. This recording presents the only two cantatas Stradella composed for Christmas, preceded by the instrumental Sonata di Viole, the earliest entirely instrumental works (i.e., unconnected to a vocal source) for the concertino-concerto grosso ensemble in the history of the genre.

Sleep, Holy Babe is a collection of Christmas lullabies which reflect the old traditions and restful, contemplative nature of the nativity story.

As revered as Vaughan Williams is among choral music fans, it's remarkable that none of his original Christmas pieces has achieved the kind of popularity or concert-ubiquitousness you might expect (on the scale of, say, Darke's In the bleak midwinter, or on a larger scale, Britten's A Ceremony of Carols), especially considering the significant number of Christmas-themed works he wrote and his expertise as a composer for voices. The Fantasia on Christmas Carols might have been such a work, and it's certainly attractive enough, full of wonderful tunes, scored to maximize a festive mood. Perhaps it is that very scoring--for orchestra and requiring a baritone soloist--that prevents more frequent programming; or perhaps it's the style, which is formulaic (especially for the chorus) and, especially in the big, recurring climaxes, seems too heavily orchestrated, losing both the choir and--except for the opening "The truth sent from above"--the essentially simple character of the carols.

That's not to say the Fantasia isn't a good piece or that it doesn't accomplish its purpose--to reflect and celebrate the wonder, mystery, and joyful spirit of Christmas; but its success depends largely on a strong baritone soloist and a first-rate orchestra, as well as achieving good balances among the three performing components. And that's mostly what we have here, save for baritone Stephen Gadd's tendency toward a wide vibrato that obscures pitch, and balances that invariably favor the orchestra in louder sections. The chorus certainly conveys the "joyful spirit" mentioned above, and the orchestra is undeniably "first-rate". However, there are better overall renditions of the Fantasia on disc, namely the Corydon Singers on Hyperion and Cambridge Singers on Collegium, both of which accomplish the festive mood with better sound, more judicious balances, and better soloists.

For many listeners, however, the reason to own this recording is the Hodie, which is virtually non-existent in the catalog (apparently only one other version--the one from King's College on EMI, recorded in 1965--is currently available). This nearly hour-long work follows the essential parts of the Christmas story, using choruses, vocal solos, and a periodic "narration", sung in unison chant by a children's choir accompanied by organ, which lends a "church-y" aspect to this "Christmas Cantata". The choruses represent some of Vaughan Williams' more engaging efforts in the genre, and a few of these--particularly the a cappella The blessed Son of God--are often sung separately as concert pieces.

Several of the solo songs show why Vaughan Williams is justly famed for his skill in the genre--It was the winter cold; The shepherds sing; Bright portals of the sky--and these are expertly sung (respectively) by soprano Janice Watson, baritone Stephen Gadd, and tenor Peter Hoare. Again, the choruses and orchestra are top-notch, and if the orchestration can be more than a little Hollywood-ish at times and the narrations somewhat meandering, overall this is a very satisfying work that truly fills the concert hall with the sense of occasion that the real Christmas story deserves.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

There may be a better vocal Christmas disc to come along this season, but it would have to be awfully impressive to best this beautifully sung, imaginatively programmed effort from the male-quartet New York Polyphony. As the liner notes point out, Christmas uniquely brings together a hugely diverse range of musical styles and traditions, and this program reflects that diversity while maintaining the integrity of a unified program, in both atmosphere (amazingly, recorded in a church in the middle of New York!) and in the prevailing medieval/Renaissance sensibility of even the modern pieces. Of course the four singers have much to do with creating and sustaining the mood and imbuing the works with particular interpretive flavor--these are ideally matched, sensitively balanced voices, warm yet vibrant in the tradition of groups such as the Hilliard Ensemble. And the singing is impeccable--the breathing, the phrasing, all of the ensemble work shows musicians at one with each other and with the music at hand.

The repertoire is unusual, but not just for the sake of offering something "different"; there is purpose here in revealing the threads of early chant, medieval harmony, and Renaissance polyphony strung through to the most recent works, including one commissioned for this recording. Even ancient texts appear in the more modern pieces, including Kenneth Leighton's Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child, the only selection on the program (other than the "Coventry Carol") that enjoys a relatively frequent presence on today's Christmas choral concerts and recordings. Here (and on a few other pieces) the men are joined by three women, one of whom is original Anonymous 4 member Ruth Cunningham, and unlike most other renditions, this one seems inspired a bit more by the work's jazz-like elements. As for the Coventry Carol, the four men somehow manage to juice the famous points of dissonance with even more delicious bite than usual.

Other highlights include the opening number, Andrew Smith's ravishing recent setting of Veni Redemptor gentium, which begins with the chant but, almost before you realize what's happening, transforms to a marvelous harmonic texture that ingeniously mixes ancient and new. Palestrina's Hodie Christus natus est, Byrd's O magnum mysterium, and Cornysh's starkly-harmonious, lively-rhythmic Ave Maria Mater Dei are all sung with utmost sensitivity, clarity, and virtuosity. Parsons' Ave Maria is a masterpiece and in its simple way, so is New York Polyphony's very lovely setting of Away in a manger--a performance you'll want to repeat many times. In fact, that applies to this entire expertly recorded disc, which offers many more pleasures too numerous to mention here, but that hopefully you'll soon discover for yourself.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Suavely performed by the Oxford Camerata, this is a disc to appeal to those who prefer medieval music with a more spiritual and meditative emphasis.

– MusicWeb International

Classical Music

PRAETORIUS Nun komm der Heiden Heiland. In dulci jubilo. Vom Himmel hoch. Puer natus in Bethlehem. Conditor alme siderum. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ. Resonet in laudibus. A solis ortus cardine • Manfred Cordes, dir; Bremer Barock Consort • cpo 777 327 (67:33 Text and Translation)


Straightforward, “musicologically correct” recordings of Michael Praetorius’s music are more present in the imagination than they are thick on the ground. While several of his simpler arrangements of chorale tunes can be found scattered among a myriad of seasonal albums, the more complicated concerted works, which, while based often on the same familiar tunes, stake a greater claim for his brilliance as a composer, are much harder to find. So this present, absorbing account of eight of his concerted motets is especially welcome. Performed as well as they are here, one quickly forgets that it is quite “out of season” to be reviewing them in early spring.


Most of his motets—or at least most of the ones that people bother to record—are built on famous hymn and chorale tunes penned much earlier, ranging from the ubiquitous In dulci jubilo to the most famous Lutheran melodies from the previous century, including Vom Himmel hoch and Nun komm der Heiden Heiland. Puer Natus in Bethlehem and Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ derive from less familiar source material, but are no less compelling. In some cases, Praetorius built his compositions on versions of the texts that interleaved the Latin original.


However, the surprisingly sparse discography of the nearly 1,000 hymns and concerted motets by this earlier (1571–1621) contemporary of the great Heinrich Schütz makes it difficult to assess his full range. The most direct competition for the present disc would seem to come from a now 10-year old Sony anthology on two CDs of concerted motets with Musica Fiata conducted by Roland Wilson (Sony 62929). But Praetorius composed multiple responses to the most familiar hymns, and none of the five similarly titled items is actually duplicated between the releases. Moreover, the two recordings present Praetorius on two different scales: the earlier disc opts for grander polychoral versions, fleshed out with a full 17th-century orchestra of strings, trumpets, cornettos, and sackbuts. Cpo’s Bremen release scales the works to medium grouping of four recorders, four violas da gamba, harp, and an organ positive, accompanying a seven-voice choir. Even these pointed differences, though, do not prevent comparisons, because the different repertoire items present shared challenges of ornamentation, textural clarity, and rhythm. Now over 10 years old, the Roland Wilson release was undercut by a muddier soundscape, with recessed strings and a longer echo in cavernous surroundings. The occasionally resplendent solo singing was inconsistent, falling short of the madrigalesque incisiveness of Manfred Cordes’s assembled singers for cpo. Even on its lighter, 17th-century scale, the brass tended there to overwhelm the male voices. And, while Wilson often succeeded in conveying the monumentality of some of this music—though surely not as powerfully as Paul McCreesh in his fabled “Praetorius Christmas Mass” recording (Archiv 439250)—it often lacked engagement and rhythmic excitement, qualities Cordes supplies in abundance.


Immediately one is struck here, by not only the strength and thoughtfulness of the solo vocal work, but also by Cordes’s sonic imagination, particularly the different colors massaged from his foregrounded gambas and harp. The recorders are also more adept and well tuned than Wilson’s. This pays dividends in the more complicated numbers like the thrillingly canonic In dulci jubilo setting and in the Vom Himmel hoch and Puer natus in Bethlehem , both of which are straightforward multi-verse settings of the complete hymns.


The recording opens with a fascinating, nine-minute “variation concerto” on the hymn tune Nun komm der Heiden Heiland , but listeners may be drawn more immediately to the hypnotically over-layered canons of Resonent in laudibus/Joseph lieber, Joseph mein or the aforementioned In dulci Jubilo . The recording is caught in the natural but not overly reverberant acoustic of the Stiftskirche in Bassum, a small town about 25 kilometers south of Bremen. Of much more than seasonal interest, this disc draws a glowing recommendation.


FANFARE: Christopher Williams

Includes work(s) by composers. Ensembles: Sächsisches Vocal Ensemble, Batzdorfer Hofkapelle. Conductor: Matthias Jung.

It is not uncommon to find discographic compilations in which one composer is at the centre of the selection of works. However, the fact that this edition focuses not on one composer but on a specific work in three different recordings is remarkable - and justifiable. At the centre is the studio recording of the 'Christvesper des Dresdner Kreuzchores' RMWV 7 from the Lukaskirche in Dresden (better suited for recordings than the Kreuzkirche) from 1993 under the direction of Gothart Stier. It is accompanied by the Eterna recording from 1964, also made in St Luke's Church, in which excerpts from the Christmas Vespers are heard under the direction of the composer and Kreuzkantor Rudolf Mauersberger. What is striking about this disc, which was very popular in the GDR, is the altered order of the individual pieces compared to the complete original work. The only audio and video document recorded in the Kreuzkirche is the MDR television recording from 2003, which gives an impression of the annual performances of the work in the designated church.

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

Classical Music

BIRTH OF CHRIST (DIE GEBURT CH

Classical Music

Classical Music

1. Tuo armon valkokyyhky 2:13
2. En etsi valtaa, loistoa 3:18
3. Nyt seimelle pienoisen lapsen 1:47
4. Joulun kellot (Hiljaa, hiljaa helkkyellen) 2:10
5. Kautta tyynen vienon yön 1:25
6. Tuikkikaa, oi joulun tähtöset 1:58
7. Ja neitsyt pikku poijuttansa 1:36
8. Rauhanruhtinas 1:34
9. Joulu tullut on 1:48
10. Joulupuu on rakennettu 2:14
11. Kun joulu on 2:40
12. Enkelien joululaulu 1:25
13. Seimeen syntynyt 2:05
14. Arkihuolesi kaikki heitä 1:30
15. Joulun kellot 3:11
16. Tulemme, Jeesus, pienoises 3:06
17. Joululaulu (Jeesuslapsi suloinen) 1:53
18. Jouluhymni 2:20
19. Olen löytänyt sen 3:14
20. Ilouutinen 2:44
21. Heinillä härkien kaukalon 2:29
22. Maa on niin kaunis 2:55
23. Jouluyö, juhlayö 2:51
24. Rukous 3:47
25. Jouluilta 3:09
26. Det är en ros utsprungen 4:15

[ 65:38 ]

Helsinki Chamber Choir (Finnish Radio Chamber Choir)
Johanna Rusanen, soprano
Timo Nuoranne, conductor