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Composer: GRUBER, Franz Xaver ((1787-1863)) |
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ID: CHRCD013
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Choral Collection
Subcollection: Christmas Music
Dame Felicity Lott and the Joyful Company of Singers serve up rich Christmas fayre with 'Plum Pudding', well-spiced with favourite carols and readings by actor Gabriel Woolf.
PLUM PUDDING
‘A rich boiled suet pudding with raisins, currants, spices, etc.' (OED).
You'll find no ‘boiled suet' in our offering, but rich and well-spiced fare abounds - and unlike its namesake our pudding is bursting with plums! First, though, a warming drink as we Wassail with the merry folk of medieval Yorkshire: ‘…all over the town… in the wassail bowl we'll drink unto thee'. Vaughan Williams, renewing his quest for traditional airs after the horrors of war service, made his exultant arrangement in 1919. Almost a century earlier, in his beloved Northamptonshire village, John Clare was immortalising country life through the seasons; in December, when ‘GladChristmas comes…' he vividly evokes the simple pleasures of that ‘day of happy sound and mirth'. Close contemporaries, Victoria (1548-1611) and Byrd (c. 1543-1623) both began their musical life as choristers, at Avila Cathedral in Spain and at London's Chapel Royal respectively. The former's magnificent motet O magnum mysterium, its arching phrases intertwining like a great cathedral's vaulting, was written in Rome in 1572. Byrd's equally intricate but more worldly This Day Christ Was Born - subtitled ‘A Carroll for Christmas Day' - appeared in his last published songbook in 1611. Moving back to medieval times, to the Wakefield Mystery Plays, we hear God - portrayed by a worthy merchant in his guild's ‘pageant' - reflecting on his treatment of Adam, and summoning Gabriel to tell Mary that she will bear his Son.
Only the ‘Pageant of Shearmen and Tailors' survives from Coventry's contemporary play-cycle, and it is this which furnishes the text of the “Coventry Carol”, Lully, lullay - sung here in Kenneth Leighton's glorious 1956 setting for ethereally serene soprano and choir. By way of contrast Rhian Samuel (b. 1944 and, like Leighton, a distinguished teacher as well as composer) brings Jolly Wat the Shepherd to vivid life in her strikingly harmonised ballad.
After such exuberance, it is time for calmer contemplation. The 15th-century poem I sing of a Maiden, with its gentle portrayal of the sleeping Maid, and haunting refrain ‘He cam also style … as dewe in Aprylle …' is perfectly complemented by the lovely Mariä Wiegenlied; in Peter Broadbent's arrangement of Reger's 1912 ‘slumber-song' a pair of sopranos duet ecstatically above a soft choral accompaniment. Felicity Lott returns to tell the story of The Three Kings ‘from Persian Lands afar'; Elgar's organist friend Ivor Atkins (1869-1953) wrote the familiar arrangement of this Weihnachtslied (Christmas song) originally written in 1856 by Liszt's pupil Peter Cornelius. A darker view of The Journey of the Magi informs T.S. Elliot's 1927 poem, in which one of those kings, years afterwards, recalls the bitter cold and hardship of their journey and, for all its ‘satisfactory' end, reflects equivocally on the changes wrought by that Birth.
There is bleakness, too, rather than the rustic revelry which Laurie “Cider with Rosie” Lee's name might lead one to expect, in his 1954 poem Twelfth Night, adroitly set to music by the American composer Samuel Barber in 1968. This austere meditation on the earth's ‘utter death', more animated at ‘his birth our Saviour', returns at the close to a restatement - albeit more hushed - of its opening line: ‘No night could be darker than this night'. Lee's memories of Christmas in Seville, on the other hand - he had a lifelong love affair with Spain - bring welcome respite. The children who sang him carols, ‘their faces set in a kind of soft unconscious rapture', moved him deeply - understandably so, if they even approached the purity of tone and radiant sense of innocence which the Joyful Company of Singers conjure up in Guerrero's heart-easing Virgen Sancta, written in 1589. How those same children might have revelled in Andrew Carter's arrangement of the Spanish Esta Noche (‘This Night'), with its guitar effects and infectious high spirits.
How many poets have made such music from words alone as Dylan Thomas? He wrote (and read) his original Memories of Christmas for BBC Radio in 1945. Two years later, for the magazine Picture Post, he added a postscript to it, the Conversation About Christmas; Gabriel Woolf's reading captures all the sly wit embodied in its dazzling wordplay. One of the best-loved English carols, The Holly and the Ivy, introduces the topic of traditional Christmas Decorations, a theme taken up by the journalist, novelist and Punch contributor E.V. Lucas (1868-1938). A sequence of letters between a rector and his parishioners - aptly interspersed between lines from the rousing old Welsh song Deck the Hall - reveals how the best-laid plans can go increasingly awry. No festive celebration of this kind would be complete without The Twelve Days of Christmas - and we are treated to two variations on the theme: John Julius Norwich's hilarious warning against taking the old song's message too literally is aptly counterpointed by Andrew Carter's roistering choral arrangement. Another swift change of mood ensues. In Christmas Truce Captain R.J. Armes, writing home from the muddy hell of the First World War's trenches, touchingly describes an utterly unexpected experience. Then, across the desolate no man's land, steal the strains of the Stille Nacht. On Christmas Eve in 1818, in the Austrian village of Oberndorf, disaster struck when the church organ broke down. The organist, Franz Xaver Gruber, gratefully accepted some verses written two years earlier by the parish priest, Josef Mohr, and hastily set them to music; the choir sang the piece that night, to the accompaniment of a guitar - and the rest, as they say, is history. In another remembrance of Christmases past, Leonard Clark tells how he had almost forgotten the Singing in the Streets, before Gruber's immortal melody returns, this time in English. Joyful indeed are Felicity Lott and the Company of Singers as Silent Night, in Peter Broadbent's richly-harmonised arrangement, brings our festive feast to a contented close. |
| 15.00 eur Buy |
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ID: ERP3810
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Boy-Soprano
Bell ringers from Terra Mariana... An exciting performing of classical hits by Arsis Handbell Ensemble. The festive bronze sound of the bells gives a new dimension to the well-known pieces. |
| 14.00 eur Buy |
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ID: GMCD7170
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Sacred Music
Subcollection: Cathedral Choir
Recorded in the Parish Church of All Saints, Hove
It’s history……. The young King Edward VI founded three Royal "Hospitals" towards the end of his reign. Christ’s Hospital, in the old buildings vacated by the Grey Friars, was to educate and care for fatherless children and other poor men’s children, St Thomas’ Hospital was to attend to the sick, and Bridewell Hospital was to give shelter and sustenance to beggars. Barely a century later the Great Fire of London claimed a large number of the Christ’s Hospital buildings, but it was almost entirely rebuilt within 30 years, thanks to the generosity of a number of city merchants. In 1673 Charles II founded the Royal Mathematical School within Christ’s Hospital, largely from the inspiration of Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist. He was the Secretary to the Admiralty and so was interested in ensuring that high quality mathematicians and navigators were educated for future sea-service. Much later Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Lamb and James Leigh Hunt were boys at Christ’s Hospital, and the School has boarding houses named after them. The school was originally co-educational; however, from quite early in its history, the girls of the Foundation were educated separately at Hertford. In 1985, however, they rejoined the boys at Horsham, where the School had relocated in May 1902 in search of fresh air and space for proper relaxation and games. Today, Christ’s Hospital is the largest educational charity in the country, enabling this education to be offered to the most deserving children, irrespective of the ability to pay. All fees are means tested and on average parents meet less than 15% of the School’s costs. The Foundation therefore looks for children who will contribute most to, and benefit most from, a place at the School. …it’s music……. Historians have quite correctly emphasised that Christ’s Hospital was never merely an orphanage as such, for amongst the earliest academic appointments was "a schoole-maister for Musicke". So our musical tradition stretches back nearly 450 years: - longer, if one were to count the semi-monastic tradition that had been nurtured for centuries before by the Greyfriars by the Newgate of the City of London, for Christ’s Hospital took over their premises in November of 1552. It is far from fanciful to imagine the youthful voices of the children singing in the massive three hundred foot long church of Christ Church, Greyfriars, not far from Old St Paul’s, and we know for certain from Robert Dow’s Will for setting up a Song School in 1609 that boys were "to sing in the Quier of Christ Church", and that from 1613 a boy should "serve and be employed in playing of the organs of the said church". Alas in September 1666 the Great Fire destroyed that wonderful building, but the tradition itself continued in the rebuilt, though rather smaller church, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, which became known as Christ Church, Newgate Street. Today, the School has six full-time and thirty visiting music staff teaching some 500 individual lessons each week, as well as providing a full programme of rehearsals and concerts for ensembles of all sizes. Much emphasis is given to the development of musical ability through chamber music and the finest pupils give an annual concert at the Purcell Room on London’s South Bank. However, the School is also proud of its larger ensembles, the Choirs, the Orchestras, and the Marching Band, famous for its appearances each year at the front of the Lord Mayor’s Show, at Twickenham and at Lords. Music is an integral part of the School’s life, and continues to play an important role in the continuing strong links with the City of London. …and it’s choirs Standing on one side of the great central quadrangle of Christ’s Hospital is the Chapel. It is a collegiate-style building, spacious enough to seat the whole school of 830 pupils and 90 staff. Services are accompanied by the School Organist on the massive five-manual Rushworth and Dreaper organ, which was designed in 1931 by the Director of Music at that time, C. S. Lang. The 112 members of the Chapel Choir are seated centrally and antiphonally, ideally placed to lead the congregational singing. As well as singing hymns, anthems, canticles, psalms and responses for the regular weekly services, the choir also sings for a full programme of special occasions throughout the year including a service for St. Matthew’s Day in the City of London, attended by the Lord Mayor, re-emphasising the school’s strong links with its past. The choir performs in the famous "Bluecoat" Tudor uniform worn by all pupils of the school throughout the normal school week. The choir gives an annual performance of a major choral work - in recent years, Brahms’ German Requiem, J. S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Mozart’s Requiem. In addition the choir sings Choral Evensong at such venues as St Paul’s Cathedral, Chichester Cathedral, Guildford Cathedral, St George’s Chapel, Windsor, broadcasts for television and BBC Radio (Remembrance Sunday, Highway, Radio 3 Advent Carol Series, Sunday Half Hour) and the smaller chamber choir, Schola Cantorum, sing for many other special events. This is the Choir’s fourth CD recording. Details of earlier recordings are available from Christ’s Hospital Enterprises, Christ’s Hospital, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 7LS. |
| 15.00 eur Buy |
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ID: IMP0703
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Christmas Music
Subcollection: Voice and Choir
This album includes Christmas music in surprising interpretations. For example, how about a Christmas potpourri with Balkan swing, or the combination of electric guitar and organ. The album has something for all tastes. The perfect Christmas gift for everyone! |
| 15.00 eur Buy |
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ID: MELCD1002357
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Children’s Choir
Subcollection: Christmas Music
Anastasia Leonova, soprano (5, 10) Eleanor Gvozdkova, viola (4, 9, 10) Aglatova Anna, soprano (14, 16) Maxim Paster, tenor (13, 20) Maria Krushevskaya, harp (1-12) Margarita Petrosian, piano (13-22) The Children's Choir of the Bolshoi Theatre Artistic director - Julia Molchanova |
| 16.00 eur Buy |
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ID: SIGCD046
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Choral Collection
Subcollection: Christmas Music
Signum Records is proud to announce the launch of its first DVD disc which also marks the debut of Tenebrae on the Signum Label.
The Dream of Herod features music for Advent, anthems for the Mother & Child, music for Christmas, and The Dream of Herod, a semi-dramatic contemporary work with a particular resonance at Christmas.
9 - Chris Watson & John Bowley, tenors
12 - Natalie Clifton-Griffith, soprano |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: SIGCD182
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Vocal Collection
Subcollection: Christmas Music
Christmas Traditional Composer
Tenebrae is a professional chamber choir, founded and directed by Nigel Short in 2001. Often performing by candlelight, the choir creates an atmosphere of spiritual and musical reflection, where medieval chant and renaissance works are interspersed with contemporary compositions. The carefully selected team of singers use the acoustic and atmostphere of the building to enable the audience to experience the power and intimacy of the human voice.
Tenebrae has an exceptionally wide repertoire from early, through renaissance, baroque and classical music, to romantic and twentieth century works, plus a range of specially commissioned pieces, the most recent of which is Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles. What Sweeter Music is a real festive treat, with a sumptuous collection of songs and carols for Christmas - touching on traditional favourites (Silent Night, Away in a Manger), modern classics (The Lamb, What Sweeter Music) and some new light-hearted arrangements (Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas). |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: SIGDVD008
CDs: 1
Type: DVD
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Collection: Choral Collection
Region Code: NTSC. Region 0, Plays in all territories
Menu screens: English
Color mode: Colour
Screen Format: 16.9
DVD Format: DVD 5
Duration: 55 mins
Subtitles: none
Sound Format: Stereo. Dollby Surround 5.1 DTS 5.1
DDD - 24 bit digital recording
After the triumphant success of The King’s Singers last DVD ‘Live at the BBC Proms’ in 2008, this new video performance recorded at LSO St Luke’s in London sets an eclectic assortment of modern Christmas classics with special arrangements of some much loved favourites. Ranging from the beautiful simplicity of Michael Pretorius’s Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen to the mad capers of Gordon Langford’s arrangement of Deck the hall, this is a delightful programme which reflects a typical live King’s Singers Christmas show.
One of two releases in time for the Christmas period from the UKs best-loved a cappella group The King’s Singers: feasts for the eyes and ears on both CD and DVD.
Their new Christmas DVD was recorded in the stylishly distinctive setting of Jerwood Hall in LSO St Luke’s, London.
The King’s Singers are world-renowned for their live performances, and this concert captures the charm and skill that you’d expect from a group of this calibre. It is a musical treat as well as a visual one, recorded in both CD quality stereo and in 5.1 surround sound.
The DVD also features a 10-minute bonus documentary feature, titled “Life as a King’s Singer”. |
| 21.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: UP0168
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Christmas Music
Subcollection: Carols
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| 15.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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