The First Nowell - Christmas Carols Through the Ages / The Edison Singers

$9.99
Label
Naxos
Release Date
November 11, 2022
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Various
    • PERFORMER
      The Edison Singers, Noel Edison
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      November 11, 2022
    • UPC
      747313447572
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      8574475
    • LABEL
      Naxos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day (arr. S. Nicholson for choir and organ)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Performer: Matthew Larkin

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    2. In the Bleak Midwinter (arr. O. Gjeilo for choir)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    3. I Wonder as I Wander (arr. M. O'Donovan for choir and organ)

      Composer: John Jacob Niles

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Performer: Matthew Larkin

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    4. Hodie Christus natus est, SwWV 163 (arr. N. Edison for choir and organ)

      Composer: Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Performer: Matthew Larkin

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    5. Sans Day Carol (arr. J. Rutter for choir and organ)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Performer: Matthew Larkin

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    6. Adam lay ybounden

      Composer: Boris Ord

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    7. Go Tell It on the Mountain (arr. P. Halley for choir)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    8. Lux Arumque

      Composer: Eric Whitacre

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    9. 5 English Folk Songs: No. 5. Wassail Song

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    10. In the Stillness

      Composer: Sally Beamish

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    11. Ding Dong! Merrily on High (arr. C. Wood and M. Larkin for choir and organ)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Performer: Matthew Larkin

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    12. A Virgin Most Pure (arr. C. Wood for choir)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    13. Hodie, Christus natus est

      Composer: Healey Willan

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    14. Coventry Carol (arr. M. Shaw for choir)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    15. Ave Maria (Angelus Domini) (version for 2 mixed choirs)

      Composer: Franz Xaver Biebl

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    16. My Dancing Day (arr. B. Chilcott for choir)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    17. Silent Night (Stille Nacht) (arr. S. Chinsen for choir and organ)

      Composer: Franz Xaver Gruber

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Performer: Matthew Larkin

      Conductor: Noel Edison

    18. The First Nowell (arr. P. Halley and J. Stainer for choir and organ)

      Composer: Traditional

      Ensemble: The Edison Singers

      Performer: Matthew Larkin

      Conductor: Noel Edison


The Christmas carol has its origins in the Middle Ages but it has since embraced a wide variety of musical backgrounds. In this album, religious sentiment is set in many different contexts – from the mystery plays to an African American spiritual, from its origins in Gregorian Chant and 16th-century secular dance to traditional examples rooted in poetry. Some of the most famous and beautiful examples are heard alongside energizing contemporary carols to present a tapestry of the genre across the centuries.

CONTENTS:

  • trad.: Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day
  • Holst: In the Bleak Mid-winter (Cranham)
  • Niles: I wonder as I wander
  • Sweelinck: Hodie Christus natus est
  • trad.: Sans Day Carol
  • Ord: Adam lay ybounden
  • trad.: Go tell it on the mountain
  • Whitacre: Lux aurumque
  • Vaughan Williams: Five English Folksongs
  • Beamish: In the stillness
  • trad.: Ding dong! merrily on high
  • trad.: A Virgin most pure
  • Willan: Hodie Christus natus est
  • trad.: Coventry Carol
  • Biebl: Ave Maria
  • trad.: My Dancing Day (Arr. B. Chilcott for Choir)
  • Gruber: Silent Night
  • trad.: The First Nowell

REVIEW:

The Edison Singers is a Canadian mixed adult choir (7-5-6-6 are listed for this album) founded in Ontario by Noel Edison in 2018. Their singing is well balanced, with commendable precision and clear delivery of the texts. This was recorded in the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate in Guelph, Ontario. The sound has the spacious ambiance you would expect from such a building. Here is a satisfying Christmas album with a different touch.

-- American Record Guide