This album is divided into three parts, the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Feast. The program begins and ends with two songs of oral tradition played on bagpipes and with Ciaramelli, instruments which have become synonymous with Christmas. All of the pieces from this album came from books and ancient manuscripts.

This new release from ICA Classics presents the first recording of Antonio Pappano conducting Elgar with his Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. For this program, Elgar’s First Symphony is paired with his Concert Overture ‘In the South,’ which was inspired by the conposer’s holiday in Alassio during 1903-1904. Both of these works had been out of the orchestra’s repertoire for more than a century until Pappano stated that he was “on a mission to bring this music back to its place of birth,” knowing that his performers had “natural Italianate passion and lyricism,” which would be perfect for these works. Pappano’s 2012 London season opened with Elgar. Reviewers had only positive things to say: “…His surging striving account caught all the nervous energy of this elegia work… Now he should take the symphony… to his own orchestra [in Rome].”

Christmas, more than any other holiday, is deeply rooted in a nation’s culture. This is why Christmas carols from different cultures sound so vastly different from one another. This collection of songs includes music all the way from the Middle Ages to the present day. Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols is a notable track on this release, and is built on folk carols and considered by many to be one of the best Christmas cantatas. One of the world’s best choirs, the SWR Vokalensemble, performs these works.

Also available on Blu-ray

Recorded between 1950 and 1964, these holiday carols are sung by some of the finest recital singers of that time, including Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Rita Streich, Erna Berger, Elisabeth Grümmer. In tandem with exquisite arrangements that transcend the usual sentimental tropes, these famed carols gain a gem-like quality with the RIAS Symphonie Orchester (today known as Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin).

From a performance at the 2015 Valletta International Baroque Festival in Malta, this live performance of the engaging Cologne-based choir and orchestra Die Kölner Akademie led by Michael Alexander Willens aims to refocus attention on the little known Malta born Naples based late Baroque composer Girolamo Abos. The engaging performances of these Maltese Christmas masses with Die Kölner’s impeccable attention to detail bring new attention to this seldom recorded composer whose works are characterized by elegantly constructed forms and spirited contrapuntal thoroughbass that on this collection approach a level of revelation.

Christmas Carols from Village Green to Church Choir could serve as an introduction to where Christmas carols came from and what kind of cultural background they represent. Conductor Andrew Gant has put together a program ranging from very simple versions of carols to arrangements from the 19th and 20th centuries (the church choir end of the continuum). Nothing departs far from the pieces' basic tonal structure, but there's a good deal of variety; nothing is repeated pedantically, and the program flows naturally. The young voices of the small (adult, mixed-gender) choir Vox Turturis... sound clean and natural. A recommended holiday item for anyone curious as to just what Christmas carols are.

– All Music Guide (James Manheim)

Pianist, arranger and bandleader Kjell �hman is one of Sweden's most well-respected musicians. With his 40 years in the music business and a frequently engaged studio musicians he has a unique ability to play all kinds of genres, such as pop, rock, jazz and folk music. With all these versatile skills he can be compared with the Swedish legend Jan Johansson."I was offered the chance to record a Christmas album and this is my take on the best Christmas melodies. Christmas is best spent among friends, and on this disc I am in excellent company.(Kjell �hman)

The Handel Album is the Aulos Ensemble's fifth in a series of critically acclaimed releases for Centaur Records, which include a collection of Christmas music, as well as albums dedicated to Rameau, Telemann and the Bach family. Soprano Dominique Labelle, whose voice has been called "angelic," "silvery," and "vibrant", is noted for her probing explorations of the repertoire from the Baroque to new music. This selection of Handel's masterful operatic arias and other vocal excerpts is interspersed with individual movements from his instrumental Trio Sonata and Concerto masterpieces.

To mark what would’ve been the late choral as conductor, pedagogue and organizer Uwe Gronostay’s 75th birthday, audite is releasing the present Christmas carols CD recorded for the RIAS Berlin during the 14 years (1972-86) of his period as RIAS Chamber Choir artistic director. + The Christmas carols form a dramaturgical cycle, beginning with the mysterious night into which falls the light of God; narrative and devotional songs as well as hymns of praise follow, leading to the birth of Christ, then back into the night that also symbolically bears within itself the dawning of the new day.

Classical Music

A cosmopolitan seaport since Antiquity, but also a historic centre of the arts which saw the birth of the first Academy of Music in Western Europe, Naples is a city of fascinating vitality. Produced by Kenichi Takahashi (Respect Records) and the Neapolitan Mandolin Academy, this album takes listeners deep into the great tradition of Neapolitan Christmas songs. It also demonstrates the considerable influence of Southern Italy on the popular music genres of the west, thanks to those who emigrated from Naples in the last century to settle in France, Argentina and the USA. Patrick FReMEAUX

This year's Christmas CD from OehmsClassics presents the baroque specialist par excellence: Michael Hofstetter. With the Neumeyer Consort and the Ensemble Barock Vokal of Mainz, he has recorded the great and famous choruses from Handel's Messiah. As always with Hofstetter, the result is phenomenal and each tiny sonic nuance is meticulously worked out in the greatest detail.

Classical Music

Nothing heralds the majesty of Christmastime quite like the brilliance and radiant beauty of music for brass instruments. On this remastered reissue of a classic holiday favorite, the Gabriel V Brass Ensemble presents a special collection of music for Christmas written by a variety of masters of the genre including Rolf Smedvig, Anthony DiLorenzo, Morten Lauridsen and William Berry. From the overflow of joy in J.S. Bach's Wie will ich mich freuen to the cinematic soundscape of DiLorenzo's Baltazar (A King's Journey) to the rosy-cheeked romp of Leroy Andersen's Sleigh Ride, each piece adds new luster to your celebration of this glorious season.