This recording is in the DVD Audio format and will only play on hardware specifically compatible with the DVD Audio format. Standard CD players will not play this CD.

These revelatory films feature Britten with his favored English Chamber Orchestra performing at two very different times of his life, with equal value. Filmed at Christmas 1964, the main program of Mozart's Symphony No.40 and Britten's own Nocturne shows a man in his prime. The Mozart was a particular favorite of Britten's and his admiration for it certainly comes across in the performance.

Classical Music

Classical Music

This is splendid Baroque period music composed for the occasion of Christmas Eve. Performed by the New Berlin Chamber Orchestra along with soloists on organ and violin, these nuggets include Corelli’s “Concerto grosso Op. 6 No. 8 in G minor ‘fatto per la notte di Natale”’, Handel’s “Pastoral Symphony” from Messiah, “Locatelli’s Concerto grosso in F minor,” Manfredini’s “Concerto grosso in C major,”and more works by Molter, Torelli, and Werner.

Classical Music

This specially priced double CD features a collection of the beautiful and popular music from the Baroque for the Christmas season. Many of the melodies you will hear are familiar seasonal favorites while other lesser-known works will offer you with an enchanting listening experience.

With performances drawn from the Hänssler Classic catalog, featuring the artistry of Helmuth Rilling and his Gächinger Kantorei, the early music specialists Ensemble Musica Poetica Freiburg, Ulrich Stötzel's Collegium Vocale, and several of Europe's most distinguished organ soloists, this beautiful 2-CD collection captures all the moods of the Christmas season – joyous, festive, reflective and spiritual.

Tracks:

1.1 J. S. Bach, Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich 00:45
1.2 J. S. Bach, Jauchzet, ihr Himmel, frohlocket, ihr Engel 03:23
1.3 J. S. Bach, Magnificat anima mea 02:53
1.4 J. S. Bach, Brich an, du schönes Morgenlicht 01:05
1.5 J. S. Bach, Zu Bethlehem geboren 01:01
1.6 A. M. Brunckhorst, Sollen wir uns heut nicht freuen 01:32
1.7 P. Nicolai, Zion, hört die Wächter singen 03:51
1.8 A. Hammerschmidt, Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle 04:01
1.9 J. S. Bach, Nun komm der Heiden Heiland 02:47
1.10 J. S. Bach, Wie soll ich dich empfangen 01:18
1.11 G. Schnitter, Sieh nicht an, was du selber bist 04:06
1.12 Ch. H. Rinck, Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe 01:44
1.13 A. M. Brunckhorst, Fürchtet euch nicht 00:55
1.14 J. S. Bach, Seid froh, dieweil 00:53
1.15 Es ist ein Ros entsprungen 03:00
1.16 J. S. Bach, Vom Himmel hoch 00:34
1.17 Ch. H. Rinck, Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe 00:55
1.18 J. S. Bach, Jauchzet frohlocket 07:25
1.19 P. Gerhardt, Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen 05:05
1.20 A. M. Brunckhorst, Nun zeiget der Himmel die schönsten Gebärden 01:50
1.21 J. S. Bach, Wohl mir, dass ich Jesus habe 03:03
1.22 J. S. Bach, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern 00:46
1.23 Wittenberg, Nun singet and seid froh 03:13
1.24 J. S. Bach, Wir singen dir in deinem Heer 01:11
1.25 J. S. Bach, Uns ist ein Kindlein heut geboren 00:53
1.26 Ch. H. Rinck, Auf, Christen lasst uns unsern Gott 01:31
2.1 A. M. Brunckhorst, Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe 00:43
2.2 J. S. Bach, Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ 04:26
2.3 J. G. Herder, O du fröhliche 02:11
2.4 J. S. Bach, Nun seid ihr wohlgerochen 02:58
2.5 G. Joseph, Dies ist die Nacht, da mir erschienen 02:28
2.6 J. S. Bach, Ach, mein herzliebes Jesulein 01:09
2.7 J. S. Bach, Gottes Sohn ist kommen 02:44
2.8 J. S. Bach, Dein Glanz aller Finsternis 00:55
2.9 P. Gerhardt, Kommt, and lasst uns Christus ehren 03:50
2.10 J. S. Bach, Gloria in excelsis Deo 06:40
2.11 P. Strauch, Du Kind, zu dieser heilgen Zeit 03:38
2.12 J. S. Bach, Jesus richte mein Beginnen 02:01
2.13 Ch. H. Rinck, Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe 04:19
2.14 J. S. Bach, Als der gütige Gott 01:14
2.15 J. S. Bach, Lasst uns nun gehen gen Bethlehem 00:41
2.16 Ch. H. Rinck, Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe 00:50
2.17 J. S. Bach, Zwar ist solche Herzensstube 01:11
2.18 J. S. Bach, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland 04:43
2.19 J. S. Bach, Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich 03:10
2.20 Ch. H. Rinck, Nach seinem gnadenvollen Rat 01:09
2.21 Ch. F. Gellert, Dies ist der Tag, den Gott gemacht 03:23
2.22 J. S. Bach, Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren 01:11
2.23 J. S. Bach, Ich steh an deiner Krippe hier 03:45
2.24 J. S. Bach, Nun singet and seid froh 02:19
2.25 J. Mohr, Stille Nacht 02:49

To give familiar melodies a fresh, rich and colorful new look and thus to present them in an attractive new light is the essential direction which the Calmus Ensemble Leipzig followed for this Christmas CD. The arrangements of well-known Christmas songs in this collection make use of structures from both classical as well as popular music from a variety of eras, always taking only the best of both worlds. It is hoped that the listener will not only be delighted, but will also be pleasantly surprised. That listening to this international Christmas album brings continually good feelings and that one listens with much joy and pleasure is due not only to the fine arrangements, but also to the lively interpretation and the perfect sound of the Calmus Ensemble Leipzig, which knows how to create an entirely genuine, uninhibited Christmas feeling.

Complete Track List:
1 Ludwig Böhme Maria durch ein Dornwald ging 04:23
2 Bob Chilcott Nova! nova! 02:39
3 Ludwig Böhme O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf 02:37
4 Ludwig Böhme Gaudete! 03:06
5 Philip Lawson Hark! The herald angels sing 03:16
6 Morten Schuldt-Jensen Away in a manger 01:56
7 Gregor Meyer Noel nouvelet 02:35
8 Gregor Meyer La Peregrinacion 03:19
9 Joe Roesler Tu scendi dalle stelle 03:52
10 Hannu Lepola Sylvian joululaulu 05:29
11 Sebastian Krause Es ist ein Ros entsprungen 03:10
12 Fredo Jung Weihnachten / Im Balladenton 02:21
13 Max Reger Schlaf, mein Kindelein 03:18
14 Claus Bantzer Was soll das bedeuten 03:02
15 Wolfram Buchenberg Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht 03:02
16 Ludwig Böhme O Tannenbaum, du trägst ein grünes Kleid 02:49
17 Ludwig Böhme Jingle bells 02:40
18 Ludwig Böhme Thank God it's Christmas 03:16
19 Harald Banter Leise rieselt der Schnee 01:58

This new holiday season has brought with it some smartly programmed Christmas choral recordings, including this one that combines The City of London Choir, soloists, organ, and the Bournemouth Symphony in both familiar works (Herbert Howells' A spotless Rose and Here is the little door; John Gardner's Tomorrow shall be my dancing day; John Rutter's What sweeter music; John Joubert's There is no rose) with those we just don't hear often enough. Among the latter are three extended pieces, Holst's Christmas Day--a festive and cleverly structured joining of several carols with its central theme, Good Christian men, rejoice; Finzi's In terra pax--a 16-minute setting of texts from poet Robert Bridges and from the gospel of St. Luke, its pleasingly meandering, engagingly tuneful, colorfully orchestrated style (with occasional big, dramatic outbursts) making for an evocative tone painting of "A frosty Christmas Eve when the stars were shining..."; and from Kenneth Leighton, not his well-loved Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child, but the longer and very challenging A hymn of the Nativity, which shows impressive virtuosity from the choir. It's also a pleasure to hear Peter Warlock's delightful little gem, Tyrley, tyrlow, as well as the more often-performed Balulalow.

Baritone Roderick Williams and soprano Julia Doyle are ideal soloists in the Finzi, but Williams stands out for his warm, lyrical tone, fluid, natural phrasing, and affecting expression. He's a very gifted interpreter whose discs of Finzi songs and "Children's" songs are well worth checking out. Doyle's opening to the Leighton and subsequent interaction with the choir in this difficult a cappella work is very well done, as is the substantial contribution from the orchestra. Conductor Hilary Davan Wetton has a cool and perfectly judged sense of both the celebratory and the serene, important in realizing the variety of mood and complexity in these 20th-century works. I had a little trouble with the extremely slight intonation discrepancy between choir and organ in Rutter's What sweeter music, which must have been a function of the particular acoustic space--a different venue from most of the other selections. Some listeners will notice; others won't.

The program ends in grand style with Vaughan Williams' God bless the Master (the last of his set of four "Winter" songs from his Folk songs of the four seasons. You can't help but be caught up in the joyful spirit that's apparent throughout all the performances on this disc, from the soloists and accompanists to the choir and orchestra. And while that alone is reason enough to own this, you really shouldn't miss the Leighton or the very rarely-recorded In terra pax, in this now-reference version of the work.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Classical Music

Very special music.

I have been an admirer of Hobbs’s music for some 25 years now. He is always creating music which is subversive – as do Laurence Crance, Gavin Bryars and John White – but yet speaks directly to the listener. As a performer he’s had a very busy career, performing in a piano duo, as well as founding the duo Live Batts!, with John White. He is a founder member of the Scratch Orchestra, the Promenade Theatre Orchestra and the Hartzell Hilton Band. I lost contact with Hobbs’s work after the premiere of the large-scale chamber piece No One May Ever Have the Same Knowledge Again at the ICA in 1998. Recently I bought some CDs from him of some recent pieces, including Sudoku Music (2 CDs – EMC104). This latter is well worth tracking down. It can be bought from http://www.experimentalmusic.co.uk/Experimental_Music_Catalogue/Home.html
 
This CD single comprises an arrangement for eight pianos, multi-tracked by Pezzone, of a work which is a perfect example of Hobbs’s music. It’s hypnotic, beautiful, non-aggressive, and it just seems to hang in the air, the music filling all the space around you. Hobbs’s Second String Quartet has the same feeling to it – why isn’t this played regularly? There is a feeling of West Coast transcendentalism about this performance. That’s not a criticism, it’s simply that there is more of a “laid-back” feel to this performance than I was expecting. For me, 19 minutes isn’t enough but it’s a fabulous taster for Hobbs’s music. It is to be hoped that it will help new listeners to get to grips with one of this country’s more elusive composers, one who is quietly working away at his art and only occasionally letting it out to the public. At least that is how it seems.
 
Buy this and love it for it is very special music. It lives long in the brain after the disk has stopped playing.
 
-- Bob Briggs, MusicWeb International
 

Bach: Christmas Oratorio

Classical Music

Includes carol(s) by Richard Rodney Bennett. Ensemble: Tudor Choir. Conductor: Doug Fullington.
Includes traditional chant(s).
Includes work(s) by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Robert Fayrfax, Sir William Walton, John Sheppard, Gustav Holst, Peter Warlock.