The growing genius of a titan of English music comes vividly into focus in a stunning collection of Edward Elgar's music for chorus and orchestra from the Brighton Festival Chorus and BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth. The voice was at the center of Elgar's musical life as a child, and it was to play a defining role in his own compositions. Spanning 26 years - from the imposing setting of Ecce sacerdos magnus ('Behold the great priest')* in 1888 to the richly realized psalm settings of the 1910s, it is possible to chart in these often moving, occasionally monumental works the development of Elgar's prowess in setting the voice. The muscular and poetic Op.34 Te Deum and Benedictus and consoling Offertory Anthem, O Hearken Thou are heard alongside two contrasted psalms - the mighty Great is the Lord and bold and vigorous Give unto the Lord - that have become cornerstones of the English choral tradition. Two sunny, secular works show Elgar balancing delicacy and deliberateness with consummate skill. Based on a play by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Iberian-accented Spanish Serenade is courtship of exquisite beauty and warmth. Scenes from the Bavarian Alps sets words by the composer's wife, Alice, to produce six animated and colorful songs that conjure the sights and sounds of happy holiday visits by the recent newlyweds. Behold the Great Priest presents a treasure-trove of Elgar's choral compositions intriguingly mapping out his development towards the full-scale masterpieces of Sea Pictures, The Apostles and The Dream of Gerontius.

The Akathistos Hymn to the Virgin Mary is a lyrical masterpiece in 24 stanzas that has been treasured for nearly 1,500 years by Eastern Christians. Father Ivan Moody's 1998 setting, composed specially for Cappella Romana, weaves beloved Greek melodies into Russian choral textures as it progresses from reverent contemplation to ecstatic transcendence. Vocal ensemble Cappella Romana combines passion with scholarship in it's exploration of early and contemporary music of the Christian East and West. It's 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 it's Slavic commonwealth. "purity and radiance in perfect realizations" (Gramophone) "The sound is splendid" (American Record Guide) "light and warmth over an ancient musical ground" (Willamette Week)

In 1677 Johann Schelle became the music director at the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, succeeding his teacher Sebastian Knüpfer and preceding Johann Kuhnau in this post. His own pupils included important composers like Johann Christoph Graupner, Johann David Heinichen, Reinhard Keiser, Johann Theodor Roemhildt and Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow. Schelle is known to have produced more than 180 compositions, of which unfortunately only 48 have survived. His importance lies mainly in his chorale cantatas and in the combination of Biblical texts and freely written sacred poetry he employed in his more advanced sacred concertos- an early form of what would later become the Lutheran church cantata. The present release gathers together Schelle’s known compositions for Advent and Christmas. In doing so it also sheds light on the musical role of the St. Thomas Choir in Leipzig’s musical culture during the final third of the 17th century.

Amanda Maier (1853-1894) and Julius Rontgen (1855-1932) were a couple in both music and love. This new album includes world premiere recordings of Amanda Maier's preludes, Julius Rontgen's piano suite "Julklapp" (Christmas Gift), and the piano suite "Zwiegesprache" (Dialogues), that the young couple composed together. In addition to this, you also get Rontgen's brilliant variation work "Neckens Polska," which he dedicated to his future bride. This release is charming, beautiful, and highly romantic music at it's best, performed by one of Sweden's most outstanding musicians: the award-winning pianist Bengt Forsberg.

Bohuslav Martinu honed his songwriting craft in between composing larger orchestral works, his yearning for home reflected in the Four Songs to Czech Folk Texts written during desperate times in the Second World War. Sourced from previously unpublished manuscripts, this unique programme presents world premiere recordings of earlier songs written during summer holidays in Policka, as well as the Three Songs after Poems by Guillaume Apollinaire, long thought to e lost but miraculously unearthed just weeks before this recording. Pianist Giorgio Koukl regards these songs as similar to pearls, "born out of hardship, pain and discomfort and, after a while, becoming precious and admired."

The pianist and composer Beata Hlavenková is a respected authority on the Czech musical scene. She has been known above all as a musical partner of the famous singer Lenka Dusilová – in the Baromantika and Eternal Seekers projects – and as co-author of a great number of Dusilová’s songs, but also thanks to her own albums and collaboration with various local and international artists. The author’s new project, “Bethlehem”, mostly comprises new arrangements – or re-compositions – of traditional Christmas songs of the Czech, British, Polish, German and French provenience, but also a handful of Hlavenková’s own compositions, all in the author’s solo piano performance. The Christmas carols recast into new original form and combined with the author’s clearly discernible style bring profound aesthetic experience.

Riemuitkaamme! is an imaginative and unconventional selection of choral music associated with Christmas as it is celebrated in Finland. Several of the pieces are by Finnish composers – Sibelius, Rautavaara and Madetoja, to name a few – while others have become part of the Christmas traditions of the country despite their international background. Among these Berlioz’ The Shepherds’ Farewell and Tchaikovsky’s Christ, when a Child… are quite late additions compared to the medieval hymns Puer natus in Bethlehem, Ecce novum gaudium and Angelus emittitur. All three of these were included in the collection Piae cantiones from 1582, the oldest Finnish music publication. Here, they are performed in settings by various composers from different countries and eras – forming a kind of soundtrack of Christmases past and present, distant and close. Contemporary music forms an important part of the activities of the Helsinki Chamber Choir and Nils Schweckendiek, and true to form, the team includes a world premiere recording in their celebrations: Aattoilta, by the Canadian-born composer Matthew Whittall.

This first release by Próto features over two hours of traditional Byzantine chants for Christmas. Próto is a collaboration of two protopsaltes (“first cantors”): John Michael Boyer, Protopsaltis of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco; and the Reverend Deacon John Rassem El Massih, Protopsaltis of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Their shared vision is excellence in traditional Byzantine Music within the liturgical life of Orthodox Christian parishes, as well as the advancement, development, and composition of traditional Byzantine Music in the English language. A 32-page booklet is included with this release, with full texts in Greek, Arabic, and English. This album has been endorsed by Their Eminences JOSEPH, Antiochian Orthodox Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America, and GERASIMOS, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of San Francisco.

For many years a solo member at the Vienna State Opera and sought after at international opera stages, Austrian baritone Clemens Unterreiner continues to perform in concert halls and churches alike. So it comes as no surprise that the Austrian star baritone abandons the dramatic repertory for this new release and presents a selection of the most beautiful German Christmas carols. Together with the ORF Radio Symphonic Orchestra, some of the most timeless melodies and contemplative songs are featured on this album, preparing inimitably for the holy days of the celebration of God’s love. In a second part, Clemens Unterreiner recites festive poetry by writers such as Heinrich Heine, Joseph von Eichendorff, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Stefan Zweig, Clemens von Brentano or Joachim Ringelnatz.

Following on from their debut release on Resonus – 'Music for Troubled Times' – The Ebor Singers, with director Paul Gameson, returns to the label with a companion album of music for Christmas from the time of the English Civil War. With 'A Cavalier Christmas', the choir are joined by the Chelys Consort of Viols in exploring this fascinating, yet turbulent, period in music as Charles I sought to continue to observe the festive season in style, contrary to attempts by England’s Puritan-influenced parliament to ban such celebrations. Acclaimed for performances and recordings that sparkle with fresh insight and vibrant musicality, The Ebor Singers has earned a reputation as one of the most exciting vocal ensembles in the north of England. Based in the beautiful medieaval city of York, the choir performs regularly in the city’s stunning buildings, including York Minster.

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REVIEWS:

What Christmas music was sung during the English Civil War period? The York-based Ebor Singers answer that question in this fine anthology of works by Gibbons, Byrd, Dering, Jenkins and others.

– BBC Music Magazine

Paul Gameson coaxes fine singing and some admirable solo contributions from his Ebor ensemble, with the Chely’s Consort of Viols providing discrete accompaniment throughout.

– Classical Ear

Why yet another Messiah? ‘I went through the different scores that exist and decided on the very interesting 1754 version, which features five soloists. You must remember that, when Handel arrived somewhere to perform his oratorio, he had soloists of varying standards available to him. So he quickly revised his score accordingly... All this is directly related to the reality of Handel’s situation as a concert promoter. In those days, to earn a living from his music, a composer absolutely had to get his works performed and make a profit on the evening. The idea of not retouching a work to avoid “spoiling” or “distorting” it is a much more modern one. There must be around a dozen versions of Messiah (I won’t list them all). The 1754 version is rarely played because it calls for five soloists: two sopranos, alto, tenor and bass... I’ve opted here for an operatic interpretation, taking its cue from the drama inherent in this account of the life of Christ.’ (Herve Niquet) This deluxe edition also includes a fascinating portrait of Herve Niquet, an interview organised around thirty keywords (from ‘Dance’ to ‘Nerves’) that sheds new light on one of the most atypical conductors on today’s musical scene.

This deluxe package presents the oratorio on two CDs, issued in a hardcover book that explains not only the background of Messiah, but also Niquet’s quasi-operatic interpretation, which emphasizes the spiritual drama of the work and removes it from the overly reverent tradition that prevailed from the 19th century until the 1980s. Highly recommended.

– All Music Guide

On the occasion of the 200th birthday of the song Stille Nacht (Silent Night), the Salzburg baritone Rafael Fingerlos, who grew up in the Stille Nacht community of Mariapfarr im Lungau, and his piano partner Sascha El Mouissi wish to approach the subjects of "stillness“ and "night“ in a completely new manner. The intentionally secular, loving selection of poetry settings of the most widely varied romantic composers forms a counterpoint to the repertoire of customary Christmas albums. Well-known settings and precious musical-literary rarities result in an especially variegated and profound sound, a deeply moving listening experience. Twenty-four musical numbers following a clear dramaturgy, including three world premiere recordings (piano miniatures by the young, up-and-coming Salzburg composer Jakob Gruchmann), will remind listeners of a secular Advent calendar. After the third transitional miniature by Gruchmann, the calendar finds its spiritual fulfilment with the world famous Christmas song Stille Nacht (Silent Night) on the 24th place. This masterwork by Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber has been recorded here in the original version for two male voices and guitar, including all six verses.

Originally written for the three days of Christmastide 1734 and the beginning of 1735, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio has since gone on to become an established part of Advent and Christmas – just like turkey and Christmas pudding. With soloists Regula Muhlemann, Anna Lucia Richter, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Sebastian Kohlhepp, and Michael Nagy, the newly-formed ensembles of the Gaechinger Cantorey conducted by Hans-Christoph Rademann celebrate their first Christmas Oratorio together with this recording of all six cantatas! The newly-founded baroque orchestra and the newly-constituted choir of the Bachakademie will perform under the joint name GAECHINGER CANTOREY from now onwards. Based on the historic foundations of the Bach era, and with roots in the living performance history of the choir founded by Helmuth Rilling, this name represents an integrated musical approach and the aesthetic sound ideal of the baroque.

Vintage Christmas Trio is David Ian’s long-awaited full-length follow up to his debut success Vintage Christmas. His purest release to date, this album features instrumental-only jazz trio interpretations of Christmas favorites using the most minimal elements--highlighting Ian’s craft as pianist and arranger. David Ian’s delightful performances transport you to an era that birthed the most sentimental songs of this season. The opener, “Deck the Halls” welcomes in the Christmas spirit with a swinging trio. David Ian’s signature sound shines throughout the album as he transforms the often stately “Joy to the World” into a jazz/blues injected festivity and then carries the listener into a dreamier state with the ever-loved classic “White Christmas.” The lyrical bass solos of Jon Estes tastefully splash their way on numerous tracks supported by the clever drumwork of Josh Hunt, who together comprise a perfectly ornamental rhythm section. “We Three Kings” takes on a new form with a reflective mood; an unexpected arrangement of a Christmas classic, more forgotten in recent years. In “Silver Bells,” Ian masterfully and fluidly switches back and forth from swing to straight time. The close of the album is a solemn “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” stripped down to just piano and percussion. If you listen closely, your ears might catch the chirps of a winter bird complementing this moving musical performance.

Note the three striking elements on this album, from the minute you press play. The first is the quality of the performances. These are top-level musicians bringing their same superlative artistry to Christmas favorites that they do to a Schubert quartet or Taverner score. The second is the sterling quality of the recording. If there is a sonic equivalent to sipping a hot toddy while curled up before a roaring fire, it is Sono Luminus’s peerless mixes and captures. Third–and in every way as essential as the previous two–this is a kaleidoscopic collection of styles and interpretations of beloved songs and carols that keeps one eager for the next number. With such a fetching variety of artists and approaches, you will find yourself going top-to-tail on this one. Simplicity is an underrated avenue when it comes to holiday releases, so the entries by Irina Muresanu & Matei Varga, Bruce Levingston, Kathryn Bates, and Skylark Vocal Ensemble are a breath of proverbial fresh air. Muresanu’s seductive playing is a glimpse into the golden age of violin technique–lush vibrato and delicious sentimentality, which infuses “White Christmas” with every bit of nostalgia one could hope for.

CONTENTS:

• Steve Nelson, Jack Rollins: Frosty the Snowman
• Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b XII. December "Christmas"
• Berlin, I: White Christmas
• Marks, J: Holly Jolly Christmas
• Blake, H: Walking in the Air
• Cory Hills: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
• Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
• Guaraldi: Christmas Time Is Here (From "A Charlie Brown Christmas")
• trad: Joy to the World
• trad: Good King Wenceslas
• Martin, Hugh: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• Gruber, F: Silent Night, H. 145

REVIEW:

This is a well-constructed program of solo piano music that valuably includes the premiere recording of Holst’s Brook Green Suite in Vally Lasker’s transcription and two pieces by Roderick Williams; one an original composition and the other his free transcription of John Ireland’s Sea Fever.

Britten’s Holiday Diary seems to be receiving more recordings and concert performances of late. I last movements from it in a highlights disc from the Husum Festival. The nippy flurries of Early Morning Bathe are finely projected by Maria Marchant, who ensures that the Sailing movement is by no means plain, though after the squalls one returns to its elysian introduction. The big contrast between the showy Fun-Fair aand the subdued Night could hardly be more potent. Ronald Stevenson tended to be more-than-somewhat dismissive of the solo piano writing of some senior British composers. His Peter Grimes Fantasy, which follows with inexorable programmatic logic, is a fugue on two subjects and Britten approved of it according to the paragraph in the booklet that preserves Stevenson’s own introduction to the piece. It’s driving, powerful music, idiomatically laid out, as one would expect of the prolific executant-composer. Maria Marchant’s metronome is set to ‘action’ when it comes to John Ireland’s Ballade of London Nights, which she takes at a real lick—the fastest recording of it yet to be set down, I think. If I happen to prefer the more insinuating tempi of, say, John Lenehan, Alan Rowlands and Eric Parkin, it’s certainly bracing to hear Marchant’s take, if only the once.

Roderick Williams’s Sea Fever transcription opens like Rachmaninov and is vividly accomplished, whilst his own Goodwood by the Sea fits the program delightfully: richly colored, rhythmically vivid, wholly delightful. Kenneth Leighton’s Six Studies are knottier by far, a sequence of so called ‘Study-Variations’, composed in 1969. The color and astringency of the writing is always exciting, the ‘e secco’ instruction fully realized here in the second study, and the way that economy of means develops gravity in the Adagio a particularly revealing example of Leighton’s skill. The garrulous quality of the capricious fourth movement and the dramatic energy of the finale study reinforce the rewarding merits of this brief but intense cycle. Holst’s solo piano music aspires to little more than charm, though the folklorically inflected Toccata is thoroughly engaging: the Brook Green Suite is similarly effortlessly charming and Lasker’s transcription—she was his assistant and ex-pupil—is fresh-faced and effective.

It ends a well selected work list that will reward close listening. Robert Matthew-Walker’s notes are very readable, though he has to strain to make connections between the works from time to time. Fine recording quality.

-- MusicWeb International (Bruce McCollum)