#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalHoliday 2024 Week 3

December is a time of traditions. And #ClassicsaDay posing the #ClassicalHoliday challenge is one of them. In December, post classical performances in your social media feeds. The performances should be works written for a December event (sacred or secular) or composed in December. 

For my part, I'll be posting works from the Middle Ages up to the present. We really don't have to put up with novelty Christmas tunes.

12/16/24 Michael Praetorius: Christmas Mass

Michael Praetorius was Kapellmeister for the Elector of Saxony in the 1610s. It is there that he most likely mounted this mass, which would have been performed on Christmas Day.

 

12/17/24 Max Reger: Weihnachstraum (Christmas Dream) Aus der Jugendzeit, Op. 17, No. 9

Reger published his collection of piano pieces "From my Youth" in 1902. One of the movements was a fantasy on "Silent Night."

 

12/18/24 John Rutter: Angels' Carol

Rutter wrote the text as well as the music for this carol. It was originally composed for a choral competition in the 1980s. It has since become one of his most-performed works.

 

12/19/24 Anon 11th C. Magnificat

The Liber Usualis is a book of commonly used Gregorian chant. It was complied in the 11th Century, and is organized by days of the church year. The Magnificat is traditionally sung during Advent.

 

12/20/24 Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Noel sure lest Instruments H. 534 No. 5 A la venue de Noel

Charpentier published two collections of popular French carols. The first "Carols for Instruments" volume came out in 1690. The second followed in 1693.

 

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalHoliday 2024 Week 2

December is a time of traditions. And #ClassicsaDay posing the #ClassicalHoliday challenge is one of them. In December, post classical performances in your social media feeds. The performances should be works written for a December event (sacred or secular) or composed in December. 

 For my part, I'll be posting works from the Middle Ages up to the present. We really don't have to put up with novelty Christmas tunes.

 

Giuseppe Torelli: Christmas Concerto in G minor, Op. 8 No. 6

Torelli was renowned as a violinist and a violist. In 1709 he published a collection of concerto grossi specifically for use during Christmastide worship.

 

Three Latvian Carols

Ziemassvētki is a Latvian 3-day winter festival. It includes Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and December 26--Second Christmas. Eastern Orthodox followers celebrate Ziemassvētki January 6-8. 

 

Ignacio de Jerusalem: Cherubes y Pastores

De Jerusalem was a major composer in New Spain (Mexico). He emigrated from Spain in 1742 and within a few years was chapel master of the Catedral de Mexico. This institution set the standards for sacred music in New World.

 

Libby Larsen: Jesus Rest Your Head

Larsen fell in love with this Appalachian tune after hearing a Library of Congress field recording. Her arrangement was composed for a publication, "World Carols of Choirs."

 

Claudio Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine

Monteverdi published this work in 1610 in Venice. It was dedicated to Pope Paul V Borghese and was written for a large choir and orchestra.

 

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalHoliday 2024 Week 1

December is a time of traditions. And #ClassicsaDay posing the #ClassicalHoliday challenge is one of them. In December, post classical performances in your social media feeds. The performances should be works written for a December event (sacred or secular) or composed in December.

For my part, I'll be posting works from the Middle Ages up to the present. We really don't have to put up with novelty Christmas tunes.

12/02/24 Anon.: Hymn to St. Nicolas

Nicholas of Myra, canonized in 1446, died on Dec. 6, 3456. St. Nicholas' feast day was established on December 6 for that reason.

 

12/03/24 William Byrd: This Day Christ Was Born

Byrd was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I -- although he converted to Catholicism. He produced seasonal sacred music for the Protestant court (and also secretly for Catholics).   

12/04/24 Georg Gebel (the younger): Weihnachtsoratorium

Gebel was active in the early 1700s and worked mainly in Eastern Germany. This is one of his two Christmas Cantaats, written in the 1740s.

 

12/05/24 Healy Willan: Here we are in Bethlehem

Organist and composer Willan emigrated to Canada in 1913. He composed over 800 works and is best known for his choral and organ compositions.

 

12/06/24 Thomas Luis de Victoria: Ave Maria

Victoria was considered one of the greatest sacred music composers of the late Renaissance. His music was well-known both in Spain and Italy (especially in the Papal City).

 

John Rutter: Brass at Christmas

I wouldn't say that John Rutter owns Christmas, but it can seem that way. Rutter has a rare compositional talent. He writes substantial music. It's rewarding for both serious listeners and casual audiences. 

And it's also rewarding to sing. Professional choirs can perform it with little rehearsal. And amateur choirs -- with practice -- can also sing Rutter's music.

And Rutter has written and arranged a lot of music for Christmas. So this is the time of year you're most likely to hear him in concert.

Many of the carols on this release will be familiar to Rutter enthusiasts. And they benefit from these performances with the Black Dyke Band. Classical Christmas music and brass are a natural fit. Luc Vertomemen's arrangements take full advantage of the ensemble. 

The Black Dyke Band is one of the foremost brass ensembles in the world. And this release shows them at their best. Rutter carols have solid, singable melodies. These arrangements also sing. Even if you don't know these works, the music has a charm that can pull you in.

The Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus joins the ensemble for some selections. It's a great combination. The chorus has a smooth, blended sound that's ideal for Rutter's music. And the vocal tracks add variety and interest to the program.

If you've collected Rutter's recordings on Collegium, this album will augment them nicely. If not, this is an appealing stand-alone release. And certainly, one that adds to the holiday mood. At least in my house, that is. 

John Rutter: Brass at Christmas
arranged by Luc Vertommen
Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs, conductor
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus; Darius Battiwalla, director
Naxos 8.574564

Americascapes 2 Highlights Outlier Masterworks

 

I really liked volume one of this series. The performances were top-notch (which helps). But what I enjoyed was the imaginative programming. 

Most collections of American music just re-present the same thing. It's Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and John Philip Sousa (or perhaps John Williams). Robert Trevino interprets "American" as a larger, more inclusive term. 

This release features works by major figures within the classical world. But ones hardly recognized by the general public. George Walker was a black American composer who created music with a unique sound. His 1959 "Address for Orchestra" was his first symphonic work. And it's a corker. 

George Crumb was another outlier. He created his own form of music, one with a logical internal structure. He then notated it, creating graphic works of great beauty. These sonic sculptures sound like nobody else. 

"A Haunted Landscape" was written for the New York Philharmonic in 1984. Twenty percussionists augment the orchestra. It's pure Crumb, but not what most orchestra audiences would expect. 

Silvestre Revueltas was one of the most innovative composers in 1930s Mexico. Revueltas anticipated many of the postwar trends in music. He combined folk music with modernism. His music influenced an entire generation of Latino composers. Yet he's hardly known here in the States. 

"La Coronela Ballet" was his final work before his death at age 41. The work is a dizzying melange of styles. Tempos shift in split seconds. Volume also changes abruptly, almost as if we're listening to a remixed tape. But we're not. 

Robert Trevino leads the Basque National Orchestra in some impressive performances. For the orchestral musician, Crumb's music can seem counter-intuitive. And Crumb's notation requires study and attention to read properly. The orchestra performs with authority, letting the music expand outwards into soft-focus soundscapes. 

Revuelta's ballet also has some serious ensemble challenges. The sudden changes need an orchestra that can play together with laser-like precision. And they do. Heartily recommended.

American Opus: Americascapes 2
George Walker, George Crumb, Silvestre Revueltas
Basque National Orchestra; Robert Trevino, conductor
Ondine ODE 1445-2