For many, the Christmas holiday season would be incomplete without the resounding drum roll and trumpet fanfare that opens Bach's "Oratorium auf die Heilige Weynacht" ("Oratorio for the holy Christmas"). Ever since it was first performed by the Thomaskantor between Christmas Day in 1734 and Epiphany 1735 in Leipzig's two main churches of St. Thomas and St. Nikolai, Bach's six part musical masterpiece has become a cornerstone of the city's identity and musical heritage. The performance presented here, led by Bach's 17th successor Gotthold Schwarz together with the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, features a lineup of renowned soloists, enabling one to experience the festive grandeur of what many consider the epitome of Christmas music in it's original setting. "Gotthold Schwarz transforms this into a Christmas Oratorio that is far more than a sum of it's parts... his musical rhetoric avoids cheap gimmicks and vain showmanship." (Peter Korfmacher, LVZ)

Baritone Elem Eley describes this very personal album in this way: "Some of the most magical moments of my childhood were the eager tearing-away of the plastic wrap from the annual Christmas album, just purchased from the Firestone dealer in our little hometown! It was through these "Stereophonic LP" albums (devotedly and regularly brought home by my father) that I was introduced to much of the classic holiday repertoire, both sacred and secular. Burl Ives, Robert Goulet, Leontyne Price, The Brothers Four, Mahalia Jackson, Isaac Stern, of course, the New York Philharmonic, Mitch Miller and his chorus - these artists, plus many others, each year brought us much other-worldliness of the holiday season - often with an entertaining this-worldliness of musical style! Christmas Day is not consciously modeled after the Great Songs of Christmas serials, but the comparison is inescapable. We hope that this album may provide a measure of nostalgia, "Christmas magic," and inspiring reflection on the true meaning of the season. My own voice is complemented here by a host of outstanding artists - adult and children's choirs, orchestra, and brilliant instrumentalists. We offer you beloved carols, some composed or newly-arranged especially for this project. Join us on our journey to the cradle."

Tosca and Tannhauser, lieder by Schumann and Schubert - interpreted by a tubist and a harpist? Without any singing at all? Exactly! On the new GENUIN album by Andreas Martin Hofmeir and Andreas Mildner, the name says it all: "Besser ohne Worte" (Better without words) humorously offers arrangements of lieder and arias. It's a bit like Christmas and Easter at the same time! The ECHO Classic Winner and the exceptional harpist play with passion and with unheard-of perfection - as the only tuba-harp duo in the world. Until now, angelic singing was only accompanied by the harp, but now

The Handel and Haydn Society continues it's acclaimed Haydn exploration on CORO with one of the composer's last major works - the dramatic and sumptuous Mass in B-flat major more commonly known as the 'Harmoniemesse' because of it's use of a full wind band. It is accompanied on this album by the Symphony No. 99 in E-flat major - one of Haydn's twelve 'London' symphonies composed between 1791 and 1795 when London was the indisputable musical capital of Europe. Handel and Haydn Society is America's oldest continuously operating arts organisation. Harry Christophers has been Artistic Director since 2008 during which time the Society has released 12 recordings on CORO including Haydn's Creation, all six of his 'Paris' Symphonies, Mozart's Requiem and Handel's Messiah, and a Christmas album - 'Joy to the World' - celebrating America's favourite festive tunes.

For many, the Christmas holiday season would be incomplete without the resounding drum roll and trumpet fanfare that opens Bach's "Oratorium auf die Heilige Weynacht" ("Oratorio for the holy Christmas"). Ever since it was first performed by the Thomaskantor between Christmas Day in 1734 and Epiphany 1735 in Leipzig's two main churches of St. Thomas and St. Nikolai, Bach's six part musical masterpiece has become a cornerstone of the city's identity and musical heritage. The performance presented here, led by Bach's 17th successor Gotthold Schwarz together with the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, features a lineup of renowned soloists, enabling one to experience the festive grandeur of what many consider the epitome of Christmas music in it's original setting. "Gotthold Schwarz transforms this into a Christmas Oratorio that is far more than a sum of it's parts... his musical rhetoric avoids cheap gimmicks and vain showmanship." (Peter Korfmacher, LVZ)

Prague has always been regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The name 'Cor Europae' (Heart of Europe) probably dates from the country's early history, in the thirteenth century, when the Kingdom of Bohemia stretched from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. This was a period of great prosperity, especially under King Wenceslaus II Premyslid, and culminated with the reign of Charles IV, who was both King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the fact that Bohemia was the centre of Europe and benefited from the presence of many scholars (more especially after the foundation of the university in 1348), the local culture also preserved an older tradition there. This can be seen in the beautiful repertory for the Advent and Christmas period that have survived in the sources of Prague Cathedral and the Benedictine abbey of Prague Castle. These sources make it possible to reconstruct the liturgy of the Feast of the Nativity as it was celebrated there, with organa and tropes in the tradition of twelfth-century music, at a time when the new Ars Nova style was flourishing elsewhere in Europe. It is this music that the wonderful voices of the Tiburtina Ensemble bring to life for us.

Carson Cooman is many things musical- organist and Composer in Residence at the Memorial Church, Harvard University, writer, critic, and consultant, concert organist, and above all a highly prolific composer of music in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral to song. His organ compositions come in many styles, from liturgical models, to substantial secular pieces such as his organ symphonies, preludes and fugues. Here are a fine set of fantasias on well-known seasonal tunes and some new compositions, to celebrate Christmas in fine style (and suitable for listening all year round.) Erik Simmons is a superb organist, making his twelfth Cooman organ album for Divine Art. He is playing the wonderful ‘Sun Organ’ of St. Peter & Paul, Gorlitz, recorded through the Hauptwerk system.

The "Christmas History" was written by Johann Rosenmüller in Leipzig in the middle of the 17th century. Rosenmüller brought the musical avant-garde of his time from an extensive trip to Italy in the winter of 1645/46 to Central Germany, which was also culturally bled out by the Thirty Years' War. Under his direction, music was heard from the galleries of the Leipzig churches which could not be heard anywhere else in Germany: vocal concerts with a large ensemble made the nave vibrate, colourfully composed instrumental ensembles structured the works with interludes and ritornelles. The programme is rounded off by the "Christmas History" by Heinrich Schütz.

Famed worldwide as a film composer, Ryiuchi Sakamoto began his career as a pianist, creating patterns, phrases and innovative arrangements before joining his first commercial electronic pop band in 1978, the Yellow Magic Orchestra. Around the same time, he worked on his first solo album, the Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto (1978), which blends up-to-date electronic techniques with an old-fashioned gift for good tunes. Riot in Lagos brought him fame beyond Japan, and he went on to work with many top producers of pop, dance and electro. In 1983, Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence launched Sakamoto's career as a film composer, which has gone from strength to strength with scores for The Last Emperor (1987) and The Revenant (2015). All these pieces feature in Jeroen van Veen's survey, which is based on the best modern edition of these scores and often differs from Sakamoto's own, partly improvised recordings. Classical listeners will appreciate Sakamoto's breadth of reference: to Chopin (Ubi), Bach (Andata, Solari), Glass (Bibo no Aozora), Satie (Opus), Brahms (Intermezzo) and Ravel (Bachata), for example. But his language of minimalist jazz is one enjoyed around the world as music that gives listeners the space to think and work and create for themselves.

The award-winning London vocal ensemble SANSARA, with Artistic Directors Tom Herring and Benjamin Cunningham, makes it's Resonus Classics debut with a striking programme of works for Advent and Christmas both old and new. This compelling programme explores the anticipation of Christmas through works by masters of the Renaissance alongside pieces by living composers combining to conjure an aura of mystery and excitement. SANSARA is an award-winning vocal ensemble focused on the performance of a cappella choral music. As a collective body of voices, a choir is a living, breathing instrument with unparalleled expressive potential. SANSARA realises this through direct and honest music-making, always striving to conjure compelling atmospheres, communicating with clarity and integrity. SANSARA works as a chamber ensemble without a single director or conductor. The result is a highly engaged and versatile group of professional musicians, working together with a unified voice to express a shared artistic vision.

The Metamorphoses were composed at the beginning of the Christian era by the Latin poet Ovid, just before his relegation on the shores of the Black Sea. This collection consists of a multitude of short stories inspired by mythologies, epics and tragedies both Greek and Roman: A world-book, in turn uplifting, gallant and burlesque whose voice is inspired by Michel Vuillermoz, member of the Com�die-Fran�aise, reveals the spirit and the flavors of the work. Fr�meaux & Associ�s and Les Belles Lettres offer, for the first time in audio books, an ideal library of the great literary texts of Greek and Latin Antiquity. Whether one has read these works or always dreamed of doing so, this collection brings to the fore texts that are still current, served by faithful translations and by the interpretation of the greatest French-language actors. 9782844681423 FRAS8142.2 39428936 .00 32.99 .43 FREMEAUX & ASSOC. FR COMPACT DISCS POP SPOKEN / COMEDY / RADIO SHOWS BOX SETS (AUDIO / VIDEO ONLY) 10/04/2019 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/52/3718752-2509800.jpg 11 4 Y ROTH / ROYER DIVERGENTE 2 This release is the second installment in Veronica Roth's renowned Divergent series. Abandoning a city with fire and blood, Tris is on the run. Thanks to her faculties, she managed to escape from the Erudite's program, which manipulated and launched the Bold soldiers to attack the Altruists. In three days, Tris lost her faction, his friends, his parents. With her brother, Caleb, and her boyfriend, Tobias, she has to find allies among the other factions. Marine Royer reads the book in French. 9782844689238 FRAS8923.2 39428998 .00 32.99 .37 FREMEAUX & ASSOC. FR COMPACT DISCS POP SPOKEN / COMEDY / RADIO SHOWS 10/04/2019 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/58/3718758-2509802.jpg 6 2 N TIDINGS OF COMFORT & JOY / VARIOUS TIDINGS OF COMFORT & JOY / VARIOUS This recording provides a glimpse of the festive and intimate sounds with which the season of Christmas is celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia. Included are first international commercial recordings of works by Craig Phillips, Charles Beaudrot, Frank Boles, Stephen Paulus, and Howard Helvey. Dale Adelmann was named Canon for Music at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, in 2009, having served previously as director of music for All Saints' Beverly Hills; the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus; St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo; and the Gentlemen of St. John's College, Cambridge. He is one of America's leading interpreters of the Anglican-Episcopal choral tradition. Reviewers hailed his book on the revival of Anglican choral worship as essential reading" for Anglican church historians and musicians alike. In 2018 he was made a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music in recognition of his scholarly and practical contributions to Anglican music.

Peter Wright’s timeless and enchanting interpretation of The Nutcracker has been in The Royal Ballet’s repertory for over thirty years. Presented in a festive period setting, this charming and magical production features Marianela Nuñez as the exquisite Sugar Plum Fairy and Vadim Muntagirov as her charming Prince. Vivid designs and spellbinding stage effects which include authentic Christmas tree decorations that magically come to life, and Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous, iconic score combine to create the quintessential Christmas ballet – an opulent treat for the senses for audiences of all ages. This production is filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.

Also available on Blu-ray

Christian Spuck puts the literary origin at the heart of his choreography of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, emphasizing the fantastical nature of the original rather than the delightful Christmas fairytale and bringing back the tale of princess Pirlipat, who turns into a nut monster, as told by E.T.A. Hoffmann. On stage, Drosselmeier’s workshop turns into an old revue-theater, where the ballet’s characters come to life. Spuck’s choreography plays with the richness of characters in Hoffmann’s narrative cosmos, the absurdity and overwrought humor that inhabit them, while at the same time looking down into the dark abyss of Romanticism. This production was recorded at the Opernhaus Zürich April 2018

The Choir of Westminster School blends the ancient and modern in this festive collection of choral works, drawing on Advent and Christmas music by composers including Judith Weir, James MacMillan, John Tavener, Roxanna Panufnik and Ralph Vaughan Williams. With a national reputation for excellence, the Choir of Westminster school gives annual concerts at the Barbican and performs regularly at venues including Westminster Abbey, St John's Smith Square and the Houses of Parliament. Under the direction of Timothy Garrard, Director of Music, the Choir rehearses regularly throughout the week in preparation for twice-weekly services in Westminster Abbey and evensongs in the School Chapel.

The Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, under the direction of Earl Rivers, present a program of choral music for the Christmas season, spotlighting American and European 20th-century composers. Founded in 1979, for over 30 years VAE has brought the power of spectacular, powerful and thrilling choral performances to audiences of all generations. Their mission: Vocal Arts Ensemble is greater Cincinnati’s premier professional vocal ensemble dedicated to presenting passionate and innovative performances of choral music that raise and nurture the public’s appreciation of the life-enriching qualities of the choral arts. Because of the small size of the choir, as well as the distinctive venues chosen each year across the area, VAE is uniquely able to present diverse performances that engage and enchant a range of music lovers. Works presented each season range from emerging composers to the well-loved pieces of the choral canon, and it is this intimate balance of traditional yet innovative programming, as well as the creativity and passion brought to the stage by Johnson that makes VAE so unique. VAE is committed to the presentation and development of modern chamber music, and new works by internationally-known composers are annually premiered through the “Meet the Composer” series. Additional community engagements throughout the year include appearances with the May Festival and collaborations with area arts organizations.