“Lou Harrison and Cultural Fusion”
A PostClassical Ensemble “More than Music” film
Written and produced by Joseph Horowitz
Visual presentation by Peter Bogdanoff
Film six in the six-film Naxos series:
“Dvorak’s Prophecy: A New Narrative for American Classical Music”

Joe Horowitz writes of this film: "No non-Western musical idiom has so impacted on the Western concert tradition as Indonesian gamelan, beginning with the Javanese Pavilion at the 1889 Paris Exposition: an epiphany. Sampling gamelan-inspired works by Debussy, Poulenc, Messiaen, and McPhee, we arrive at a paragon exemplar of cultural fusion – Lou Harrison – and a pair of concertos, for violin and piano, unsurpassed by those of any other American. The composer/scholar Bill Alves demonstrates the layered complexity of Javanese gamelan, and how it translates into keyboard textures composed by Harrison for Keith Jarrett. For Harrison’s Concerto for Violin and Percussion, we tour the “junk percussion” – including flowerpots and washtubs – that Harrison made sing and dance."

He goes on to write "We now inhabit a “postclassical” musical aesthetic that, rather than piling on modernist complexity, draws inspiration from a variety of sources, Eastern and Western, “high” and popular. The prophetic figure, it seems to me is Lou Harrison, who practiced world music before there was a name for it. Harrison was certainly a composer who discovered a usable past – including music from Indonesia, China, and Japan. In the New World, a usable starting point was and remains the sorrow songs of African Americans, so eloquently celebrated around the turn of the twentieth century by W. E. B. Du Bois and Antonin Dvořák. Dvořák’s 1893 prophecy that “negro melodies” would foster a “great and noble” school of American music has never seemed more pertinent.”

"These six beautiful films reveal a compelling, inclusive musical tradition, deeply interwoven with American culture." – J. Peter Burkholder, author of 'A History of Western Music' and 'Listening to Charles Ives'.

Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, and pianist Gloria Chien, a frequent performer with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, make their commercial recording debut as a duo on Here with You, an album of early and late German Romantic masterworks they’ve treasured throughout their 15 years of mutual admiration and musical collaboration. It’s a project that embodies, in the artists’ words, a “shared expression of beauty and friendship.” Johannes Brahms and Carl Maria von Weber were accomplished pianists who wrote for — and performed with — the leading clarinetists of their day. Brahms’ Sonata No. 1, Opus 120, spotlights fast-paced, intense dialogues between the two players, while his Sonata No. 2 explores the clarinet’s entire tonal range. Weber’s Grand Duo Concertant has been described as “a double concerto without orchestra” showcasing sheer virtuosity for both instruments. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s newest Mead Composer-in-Residence, Jessie Montgomery wrote Peace in 2020 as a response to the global pandemic. McGill and Chien offer the world-premiere recording of the clarinet and piano version.

Over the years John Rutter's Christmas recordings with his outstanding Cambridge Singers have become essential components of holiday tradition for choral music fans around the world. Throughout the 1980s and early '90s Rutter's legions of followers were treated to several now-classic CD albums for Collegium, including Christmas Night, Christmas with the Cambridge Singers, and Christmas Day in the Morning. It's from these recordings that the present program was drawn, with the addition of two newly issued tracks--Dormi, Jesu and Love came down at Christmas. Yes, if you already own those other discs, for completeness' sake and, well, just because it's a new Rutter release, you'll still have to have this one. And that's not a bad thing at all, especially since all of these tracks have been remastered in notably clearer, more vibrant sound than their 10- or 15-year-old predecessors.

The selections focus on Rutter's own compositions, with "a sprinkling" of his arrangements of traditional carols organized (in typical Rutter/Cambridge Singers fashion) into a thematically grouped program--Prologue, The Christmas Story, Christmas Night, Christmas reflections, Christmas Joy, and Epilogue--the latter consisting of a lovely setting of Silent Night, made for a 1988 BBC television production. And speaking of classics, among the 23 pieces heard here is Rutter's masterpiece, What sweeter music, a staple of Christmas programs everywhere (and a continuing presence in a popular series of Volvo commercials), sounding even more glorious than ever. [11/23/2002]

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Viol consort Fretwork and mezzo soprano Helen Charlston explore the more reflective and sombre Christmas celebrations of Elizabethan England, in a collection of works by William Byrd, Anthony Holborne, Orlando Gibbons and Martin Peerson. With celebrations confined strictly to the 12 days from Christmas Eve to Epiphany, the preceding Advent was regarded as a time of religious introspection, with music composed to mark both fasting and feasting. Byrd’s consort songs for voice and 5 viols encompass this range, from the joyous Out of the Orient Crystal Skies – ending with an exuberant ‘Falantidingdido’, a word whose meaning is lost to history – to his Lullaby, a ‘song of sadnes and pietie’ that became one of Byrd’s most enduringly famous songs.

In 2021, Fretwork celebrates its 35th anniversary. In the past three and a half decades they have explored the core repertory of great English consort music, from Taverner to Purcell, and made classic recordings against which others are judged. In addition to this, Fretwork have become known as pioneers of contemporary music for viols, having commissioned over 40 new works. Acclaimed for her musical interpretation, presence and “warmly distinctive tone” (The Telegraph), Helen Charlston is quickly cementing herself as a key performer in the next generation of British singers. Helen won first prize in the 2018 Handel Singing Competition and was a finalist in the Hurn Court Opera Competition, and the Grange Festival International Singing Competition.

Celebrate Christmas with America's oldest arts organisation, the Handel and Haydn Society, as they explore a fascinating and eclectic selection of festive music from traditional carols using American tunes to Christmas motets by Charles Ives and contemporary American composer, James Bassi. Also included are carols by the 'father of American choral music', Bostonian William Billings, and the captivating and instantly-recognisable Carol of the Bells by Mykola Leontovich.

REVIEWS:

There are some surprising and beautiful arrangements on the Boston-based Handel and Haydn Society’s Joy to the World – An American Christmas, conducted by their English artistic director, Harry Christophers. What Christophers has offered is an overview of the most popular carols sung in America (sometimes presenting them alongside their English counterparts), yielding not only the usual fare of Rutter and Howells, as well as a particularly accomplished performance of Morten Lauridsen’s O magnum mysterium, but some new works including Quem pastores laudavere, a wonderfully creative combination of traditional melodies and barbershop ideas by James Bassi.

-- Gramophone

This is not the brash affair that you might expect from the Christmas-card cover; even the pseudo-Handelian Joy to the World receives the most tasteful performance I’ve ever heard. It contains slightly more familiar material than the [comparable offerings from other labels]...there’s some material that isn’t specifically seasonal or familiar and the presence of Harry Christophers at the helm of the Handel and Haydn Society lends it distinction well above the run of the mill. Good recording and the inclusion of the booklet provide added incentives.

-- Brian Wilson

This Christmas collection consists of 19 numbers, many traditional and familiar. Included are two settings of ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ and three of ‘In Dulci Jubilo’. The superlative musicianship and the almost perfect blending of voices make this one of the best Christmas recordings I’ve heard. If you like “different” arrangements, there are ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Angels We Have Heard on High’ with harmonies slightly altered from the usual. If you prefer the traditional, you can hear perfectly sung renditions of ‘It Came upon the Midnight Clear’, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, and ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’. Other high points include gorgeous choral sound in Marten Lauridsen’s ‘O Magnum Mysterium’ and James Bassi’s ‘Quem Pastores Laudavere’.

My favorites come near the middle of the program. Harry Christophers, the director, has included two songs new to me: ‘The Shepherd’s Carol’ by Bob Chilcott and Charles Ives’s simply-titled ‘Christmas Carol’. Both are simple, beautiful texts set to lovely music and scrupulously performed. Just these two selections make this recording worth owning. There is also a fine solo on ‘I Wonder as I Wander’, a beautiful diminuendo to end Herbert Howells’s ‘A Spotless Rose’, and at the end as perfect a ‘Carol of the Bells’ as one is likely to hear.

The excellent booklet includes texts and background information on the music and the performers. An excellent addition to one’s Christmas collection!

-- American Record Guide

When the Handel and Haydn Society sing holiday standards, it’s as though carolers stopped by your house—and happened to be top-ofthe-line professionals. Starting with a single pure voice, an a cappella rendition of “I wonder as I wander,” with pristine tone and impeccable intonation, opens the recording. The singers bring a gentle lilt to various settings of “In dulci jubilo” and blend seamlessly in a reverent “O magnum mysterium,” drawing attention to its arresting harmonic shifts. The ensemble also performs an exuberant “Joy to the World,” with florid accompanimental lines and calland-response sections buffeting the familiar melody, as well as a “Carol of the Bells” that highlights the vocalists’ pinpoint precision.

-- NJ.com

Christmas in Medieval England allows listeners to share the beauty, excitement, intensity and variety found in a Blue Heron concert performance. It includes plainchant, carols, and other music for Advent and Christmas from 15th c. England. It is comprised entirely of tracks recorded live at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational in December 2013. The disc should find favor with fans of Blue Heron’s first CD release (BHCD1001), which contained music of 15th c. France. “… one of the Boston music community’s indispensables.” (Boston Globe)

Kevin Puts is one of America’s most exciting and important composers. His first opera, Silent Night, with a libretto by Mark Campbell, was commissioned by Minnesota Opera. It premiered in 2011 and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. A work profound and sweeping emotional power, it has since entered the modern operatic repertoire with remarkable speed, enjoying world-wide performances. The opera is based on Christian Carion’s screen-play for the 2005 French war film Joyeux Noël, and its fictionalized subject is the series of Christmas truces on the Western Front in 1914.

REVIEWS:

American composer Kevin Puts’ first opera, Silent Night, with a libretto by Mark Campbell, was commissioned by Minnesota Opera, the house where this live recording was made. The opera's subject is the Christmas truce on the Western Front in 1914.

Various languages are used in the opera, German, French, English, Italian, and even Latin.

Puts and Campbell have packed the serious theme into a complex score, very colorful and modern in style, with painfully dissonant and wonderfully lyrical moments. Overall, the opera is good for an impressive musical experience, though the question is whether the visuals of the theatrical experience are missing from the audio recording. On the other hand, with just the audio there is more focus on the music, and it is, after all, quite expressive and convincingly performed in this live recording.

-- Pizzicato

As we have already heard in his orchestral works, Puts is a highly compelling and innovative orchestrator, and here he is equally compelling in the field of opera where he works within the conventions of solos, duets and choruses. They are then brought together by the British-born conductor, Courtney Lewis. It is not the type of story you can enjoy, but the opera, which takes two hours, must rank amongst the most outstanding staged in recent times. Add to this the ideally balanced recording, and it becomes self-recommending. The twin disc comes with English. This, and the slim two disc jewel case with notes on the artists, is then presented in a cardboard box.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

GRAMMY®-nominated conductor and composer Benedict Sheehan leads The Saint Tikhon Choir in his new setting of the Eastern Orthodox Vespers in English. Inspired by the great All-Night Vigil setting by Rachmaninoff, Sheehan’s composition expands the genre with full settings of Psalms. Each verse is treated with deep musical pathos to express a full range of human emotion. Vespers also features virtuosic vocal solos, including the first for basso profundo in English. Soloists include Fotina Naumenko, soprano; Helen Karloski, mezzo-soprano; Timothy Parsons, countertenor; Paul D’Arcy, tenor; Jamal Sarikoki and Michael Hawes, baritones; Jason Thoms, bass; and Glenn Miller, basso profundo.

Encounter this music that projects a vision of hope and light for all. The Saint Tikhon Choir was founded in 2015 by Benedict Sheehan, the group’s artistic director, and Abbot Sergius of St. Tikhon’s Monastery. It is the first professional vocal ensemble connected with an Orthodox monastery in America, founded with a mission to foster and build up the American Orthodox choral tradition at the highest artistic level.

At the end of the fourteenth century, musical worlds collided in England as Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos spent Christmas at King Henry IV’s royal court. For the first and only time, florid chant, polyphony, royal ceremonial, and imperial acclamations from both kingdoms and rites echoed antiphonally in London’s Eltham Palace. Cappella Romana’s performance is illuminated by the latest research on historically informed performance of medieval music. Cappella Romana tells this musical story of cultural contact in international crisis with clarity and beauty.

Travel back to a Christmas like no other before or since, with music for the Nativity of Christ not heard in centuries. Vocal ensemble Cappella Romana combines passion with scholarship in its exploration of early and contemporary music of the Christian East and West. Its name refers to the medieval Greek concept of the Roman oikoumene (inhabited world), which embraced Rome and Western Europe as well as the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople (“New Rome”) and its Slavic commonwealth. A Byzantine Emperor at King Henry’s Court is Cappella Romana’s 30th release.

REVIEW:

What is most striking here is that Cappella Romana, although deeply immersed in Byzantine ways of singing, also accomplishes a very different and distinctive sound for the English pieces, adding an appealing bit of gravel in the texture. As with other Cappella Romana recordings, this one was splendidly recorded at the Madeleine Parish in Portland, Oregon. With detailed booklet notes exploring the various issues involved, this is a unique and fascinating medieval release.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

Certainly, the 'quietest time of year' is also the time when music is to be most frequently heard - not only in public, in shops or markets, but also in the countryside, where Christmas is the time when perhaps the most singing is done. The music author Marius Schneider once underlined this fact by writing:"God hungers for songs." And thus the time which celebrates the symbolic birth of the Lord is a great time for music - even for people who may have no direct religious beliefs. With this 5CD-Set Capriccio presents in total 100 Classical Christmas titles, sung by most famous choruses and soloists. And draws a bow from the high classical Christmas Oratorio by Bach to more simple songs from the country side. And of course the most famous song can't be missed: "Silent Night, Holy Night."

Keyboard legend, Rick Wakeman, famous the world over for his hugely successful and high-profile rock career - most notably with leading bands Yes and The Strawbs and for his sought-after collaborations with top artists of the day such as David Bowie and Black Sabbath - is pleased to celebrate the festive season with a brand-new album, 'Christmas Portraits'. With all tracks personally chosen and arranged by Wakeman himself, this special holiday album celebrates Wakeman's favourite time of the year as he performs familiar and favourite festive music, arranged for solo piano, all performed on his beloved Granary Steinway Model D grand piano. A former student and Fellow of the Royal College of Music, Wakeman has covered much musical ground during his wide-ranging career and here with 'Christmas Portraits', he brings his classic Wakeman twist to traditional Christmas classics, arranging some evergreens into fresh new medleys. Of this brand-new album, Rick Wakeman commented: "Christmas is my absolute favourite time of the year. I love every aspect of it, especially traditional Christmas music and songs which have wonderful simplistic melodies that are perfect for adaptation to produce variations on the piano. That is something I love to do and that is exactly what this album is".

Christophers elegantly mixes traditional carols, 20th century British standards, and contemporary works, and at every turn, there is something new.

The Sixteen contrasts traditional with contemporary in this choral feast of festive music. Bob Chilcott's sumptuous Advent Antiphons based on plainsong melodies anticipate the coming of Christmas and feature alongside Mykola Leontovich's much-loved Carol of the Bells, Richard Rodney Bennett’s stunning Susanni and Eric Whitacre’s shimmering Lux aurumque. Interspersed with the beautiful simplicity of traditional carols, this is a Christmas collection to savor.

Harry Christophers stands among today’s great champions of choral music. In partnership with The Sixteen, the ensemble he founded almost 40 years ago, he has set benchmark standards for the performance of everything from late medieval polyphony to important new works by contemporary composers. His international influence is supported by more than 150 recordings and has been enhanced by his work as Artistic Director of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society and as guest conductor worldwide. The Sixteen’s soundworld, rich in tonal variety and expressive nuance, reflects Christophers’ determination to create a vibrant choral instrument from the blend of adult professional singers. Under his leadership The Sixteen has established its annual Choral Pilgrimage to cathedrals, churches and other UK venues, created the Sacred Music series for BBC television, and developed an acclaimed period-instrument orchestra. Highlights of their recent work include an Artist Residency at Wigmore Hall, a large-scale tour of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, and the world premiere of James MacMillan’s Symphony No. 5, ‘Le grand Inconnu’; their future projects, meanwhile, comprise a new series devoted to Purcell and an ongoing survey of Handel’s dramatic oratorios.

REVIEW:

The title Carol of the Bells might suggest a greatest Christmas hits collection, and that Ukrainian standard is indeed present, but most of the material is a good deal less familiar. Christophers elegantly mixes traditional carols, 20th century British standards, and contemporary works, and at every turn, there is something new. Some of the traditional carols come from an old Oxford publication; Christophers notes that several, such as All in the Morning, have fallen out of use, and his case for their revival is persuasive. The Sixteen's reading of Eric Whitacre's much-recorded Lux aurumque is top-tier, and from the opening Pilgrim Jesus of Bob Chilcott, the program just flows unusually naturally. This is a holiday album that adds new subjects to the conversation even as it upholds some long traditions.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

Winner of a 2022 Edison Klassiek Award!

‘A tribute of respectful affection, the expression of my sorrow.’ -Verdi about his Messa da Requiem

The Munich performances of Verdi's Messa da Requiem in October 1981 were concert events that have hardly been equaled since, let alone surpassed – so powerful were the chorus and orchestra, so strictly did the maestro keep his eye on the interpretation, and so superb were the renowned soloists - singers of international renown who gave their all to achieve the best possible result. And they all succeeded brilliantly.

Finally – four decades later - BR-KLASSIK can now present this absolute pinnacle in the performance history of Verdi's MESSA DA REQUIEM on album. The audience was spellbound and totally captivated, and there was glowing praise from the critics: the powerful work, they said, had hardly ever been heard like this on this side of the Alps; Riccardo Muti had demonstrated how Verdi's Requiem should sound; this performance of Verdi's requiem mass was authentic, frightening, tender and terrifying, providing a timid yet hopeful glimpse of transcendence; all in all, a truly resounding success. Wolf-Dieter Peter, a reviewer for the Mittelbayrische Zeitung in Regensburg (see booklet), was there at the time and reported how the extra trumpets positioned in the gallery of the Herkulessaal “blasted a glistening jet of metallic sound across the stalls, almost as if from the afterlife”. It was something, he said, that had "never been seen, heard or experienced like this before... simply unforgettable."

This recording won the 2022 Edison Klassiek Award - equivalent to the GRAMMYs in classical music in the Netherlands - in the category The Document, for an outstanding recording from the past brought forth in the present.

REVIEWS

This brilliant performance of Verdi's Requiem from 1981 voices heaven and hell, love and fear in a sublime synchronicity of conductor, choir and soloists. This live recording lets us hear what happens when everything comes together in an optimal way, namely eternal beauty.

--2022 Edison Klassiek Award Citation

At 35 José Carreras was nearly in the prime bloom of his voice; he sings the “Ingemisco” with style and no signs of operatic excess. Baltsa is also memorable for her musical, totally sincere performance. Nesterenko might not show much comprehension of the text, but he is vocally magnificent.

Jessye Norman is the revelation of the Munich performance. In the soft music she sings with tender delicacy, ravishing tone, and a total lack of the grand manner that would eventually develop. Her “Libera me” is completely secure—it strikes me as the equal for vocal glamor and thrilling high notes of the young Leontyne Price under Fritz Reiner (Decca). Norman doesn’t sound especially Italianate, but that’s a minor consideration, and in the “Libera me” Muti contrasts her intense emotion with hushed mystery from the chorus.

This all adds up to something unexpected, a new addition to the discography of this much-recorded—and much revered—work that deserves to stand beside the classics from any era. That it sounds so splendid is more than welcome, perfectly rounding out a must-listen that no lover of the Verdi Requiem should miss.

 -- Fanfare

BR Klassik has released this live recording of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem to mark the forty years since its performance in October 1981 in the Herkulessaal, Munich. Riccardo Muti’s set of performances conducting the Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks was greatly acclaimed by audiences and critics alike and were the maestro’s first appearances in the Bavarian city. One does wonder why such an outstanding recording wasn’t released much earlier.

For this performance, Muti assembled an impressive roster of soloists. At the time, the late American soprano Jessye Norman was completing the first phase of her career that had been predominantly based in Europe and had mainly involved oratorios and solo recitals. In 1981, Norman was in her mid-thirties and still a year off making her first USA opera appearance. She excels in the Requiem, her soprano sounding fresh and clean with an unaffected purity and an uncommonly focused projection. Concluding the work is the lengthy Libera me, rather like a complete opera scena. Norman convincingly intones the prayer for absolution followed by the chorus imploring the merciful Lord for his forgiveness on that awful day of judgement with the wrath to come. In particular, the section Requiem aeternam dona eis with chorus is beautifully achieved by Norman, gloriously soaring seraphically to her high notes without strain and ending in a hushed whisper.

A late replacement in the part, Spanish tenor José Carreras was also then in his mid-thirties and in his prime. Featuring in many Verdi opera performances and recordings, Carreras is noted for his passionate expression and the beauty of his voice. In the Ingemisco the tenor implores God that on the last day of judgment, He will forgive his sins and grant him mercy. With his voice in such splendid condition Carreras might well be singing an opera aria, yet he delivers the sacred text with dedication, retaining reverential conviction.

Renowned Greek mezzo-soprano Agnes Baltsa was no stranger to Munich, having undertaken part of her training in the city. In 1980 she was honored with the title of Kammersängerin of the Wiener Staatsoper. Under Muti’s baton, in the Liber scriptus section of the Sequentia, the resolute Baltsa gives her all, standing out in a performance of real passion.

The bass role is taken by the Moscow-born Yevgeny Nesterenko. A member of the Kirov, in 1971 Nesterenko joined the Bolshoi, becoming renowned as a leading bass in the company. A greatly experienced singer, his unaffected voice isn’t as weighty and voluminous as many basses, yet it can produce color and displays a talent for expression.  He is best heard in the Confutatis maledictis where his grayish tone attains a fulfilling level of menace that isn’t overplayed. Prepared by British chorus master Gordon Kember, who was new in the role, the glorious-sounding and well unified Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks provides an invaluable contribution.

Muti’s conducting communicates a palpable sense of occasion, producing a performance that achieves at turns extreme beauty, bitter sorrow, fierce intensity, and sacred awe. Striking in magnificent opening of the Dies irae, the large forces come together for a compelling and full-blooded depiction of Judgement Day.

Recording in the renowned acoustic of the Herkulessaal the sound engineers provide splendid clarity and balance, astutely capturing an atmosphere that feels ideally suited to the sacred text. (By the way, additional trumpets were positioned at the rear of the hall gallery). There is an essay ‘Intensely Gripping’ by Wolf-Dieter Peter, and a summarized version of a conversation between recording producer Wilhelm Meister and recording engineer Martin Wöhr. Latin texts with English translations are included in the booklet.

Overall, this 1981 Muti performance of Verdi’s magnificent Messa da Requiem has convincing impact. Standing out is the spine-chilling dread of the Dies Irae that contrasts markedly with the inspiring and consoling elements of the score. It is simply top drawer.

--MusicWeb International (Michael Cookson)

Fourteen years ago, Till Brönner - one of Germany's leading trumpet soloists - won hearts with an album of favorite holiday melodies adapted for his instrument. In 2021, he returns with a new look at the music of the Christmas season in intimate arrangements for trumpet, bass, and drums.

The present release is the most comprehensive Bruckner Symphonies cycle, including all 19 available versions. Anton Bruckner burst out of the confines of the cathedral using that most secular of musical forms, the symphony. The creator of some of the 19th century’s greatest orchestral music, Bruckner cut a singular figure among his contemporaries. This new complete Bruckner Symphonies edition from Capriccio reassesses these enduringly enigmatic and complex works. Presented by the Bruckner Orchestra Linz and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and featuring all 19 available versions, the cycle is scheduled for completion in 2024, Bruckner’s 200th birthday. The second release, of Symphony No. 8 (1890 version) is performed by Bruckner Orchestra Linz conducted by Markus Poschner.

Vasari Singers is one of the UK’s leading chamber choirs with a series of acclaimed albums released on Naxos. Music on a Christmas Morning presents an uplifting seasonal programme including the world premiere recording of Helena Paish’s beautiful setting of words by the youngest of the Brontë sisters. Vasari Singers’ previous Christmas release A Winter’s Light is available on Naxos 8.573030.

Promise of Peace is the audio recording of the full-length 2022 St. Olaf Christmas Festival, held in Minneapolis on December 2-3; 2022. Recorded live in Orchestra Hall, this album features performances from the St. Olaf Choir; St. Olaf Orchestra; St. Olaf Chapel Choir; St. Olaf Cantorei; Manitou Singers; and Viking Chorus.