A Vaughan Williams Christmas -- a Refreshing Return to Basics

I tire easily of Christmas music -- especially the traditional carols. Part of the reason is that I've heard the same overblown arrangements (and variations thereof) over and over. That's what made this new Albion release so refreshing. It gets back to basics, and let me hear these pieces as Ralph Vaughan Williams intended when he set them.

Vaughan Williams was one of the music editors for the 1928 Oxford Book of Carols. The intent was to provide well-written four-part settings of English carols for church choirs and congregations to use. The settings may be simple, but they're not simplistic.

That same aesthetic applied when Vaughan Williams contributed TTBB carol settings for British troops to sing in 1941. And it's also true of his 1919 settings for eight traditional English carols.

Some of these carols are quite familiar as seasonal songs, others as English folk tunes. The stripped-down versions heard in this recording reconnects them with their humble origins. Like stripping layers of paint off an old chair can reveal the beauty of the wood, the Chapel Choir under William Vann's direction reveal the naked beauty of these tunes.

I recommend this recording not only to those who love English choral music but for anyone who appreciates fine choral writing. Vaughan Williams settings may sound simple, but they reveal the heart of their material. And that's no simple task.

A Vaughan Williams Christmas
Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
Hugh Rowlands, organ
William Vann, director
Albion Records ALBCD035

Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain - An Irish-Appalachian Celebration

In 2015 Apollo's Fire released "Sugarloaf Mountain: An Appalachian Gathering." This Classical Crossover chart-topper celebrated the connection between Scotch-Irish mountain music and early Celtic and British music. "Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain" revisits the premise with a fresh batch of tunes.

Rest assured these are no delicate forays into folk music by classical practitioners. Director Jeannette Sorrell grew up in Appalachia, and she knows how this music should sound. Apollo's Fire performed with a rough-hewn enthusiasm that's infectious (especially on the tracks where you can hear them flat footing).

At the same time, there's a coherent, well-documented program behind it all. The album starts with traditional music of Ireland, and gradually progresses through immigrant songs to Appalachian mainstays.

And understand, this is not bluegrass music. Mountain music sticks to the traditional instruments of Ireland, as does Apollo's Fire. You won't hear banjos and guitars. But you will hear fiddles, wooden flutes, hammered dulcimers, and Scottish small pipes.

The ballads, such as "Joseph and Mary" and "Christ Child's Lullaby" are beautifully arranged. Soprano Amanda Powell finely balances between traditional Irish balladry and the nasal, high lonesome sound of Appalachian singing.

This one's going on my short list of favorite holiday albums.

Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain
An Irish-Appalachian Celebration
Apollo's Fire
Jennette Sorrell, director
AVIE Av 2396

Margaretha Consort Delivers Authentic 17th C. German Christmas

Marit Broekroelofs and the Margretha Consort present a fascinating program of seasonal music. There are plenty of early Baroque Christmas albums to choose from, in just about every flavor. What makes this recording stand out is the consistency of the artistic vision.

Broekroelofs has taken the seasonal repertoire of the early Protestant church and presents it as it was most likely performed. The program presents the members of the ensemble in a variety of combinations.

The recording opens, for example, with an organ prelude by Franz Tundar. It then moves to Praetorius' "Nun komm der Heiden Heiland" for strings, chamber choir, and organ. From there, a hymn for solo voice and ensemble, then one for choir, strings, and brass.

The music is as varied as the lineups. Familiar hymns such as the "In dulci jubilo" and "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" are here, taken back to their original 17th Century versions. There are also some unfamiliar gems, too. "Illibata ter beata" by Basque theologian Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza is one. The beautiful "Nobilissime Jesu" by Czech composer Alberich Mazak is another. Mazak wrote over 300 sacred works -- this is the first one I've heard.

The recording is excellent. This was music for the (Protestant) church, and a church is where the ensemble recorded. The decay adds resonance without overwhelming the sound. And for works using double choirs and echo ensembles, I could actually hear the spatial relationships between the performers.

I'll be adding this to my holiday rotation.

A German Christmas
17th Century Music for the Time of Advent and Christmas
Margaretha Consort; Marit Broekroelofs, director
Naxos 8.551398

Gothenburg Youth Choir Delights with "A Christmas Wish"

I have to admit, when I first played this album I was quite surprised. The voices sounded fuller and lower than I expected for a youth choir.

But the members of the Gothenburg Youth Choir are all between the ages of 16 to 25. This is no children's choir -- and therein lies the difference.

Director Anne Johansson presents a wonderfully varied program. There are traditional carols from France, Sweden, and Germany. Benjamin Britten, John Rutter, Max Reger, and Jean Sibelius are represented.

And there's a healthy sampling of Swedish composers, such as Sven Körling, Ivar Widèen, and Gustaf Nordqvist.

The end result is a delightful blend of familiar and unusual works, all impeccably sung by the choir. I especially enjoyed the selects from Britten's Ceremony of Carols. Britten's score calls for a three-part treble chorus. I find it wearying to listen to.

Not so here. the Gothenburg Youth Choir brings the music down an octave, and it sounds great. For the first time, I could clearly hear the structure of the music. And the performances were easy on the ears!

Yes, I was surprised by the sound of this release. Pleasantly so.

A Christmas Wish
Gothenburg Youth Choir
Anne Johansson, conductor
Footprint Records FR 102

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm taking the day off to spend time with friends and family. Have a good holiday!

A comfortable Victorian Christmas collection

The general public may think that Christmas carols have been around forever. Music lovers know that the Victorian Era is the source for most of the evergreen carols we still sing today.

Carols for Victorian Christmas captures some of the charms of the era. The disc presents both sacred and secular carols as they might have been heard in the late 1800’s. The choir of Magdalen College, Oxford performs favorites such as “We Three Kings,” “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “Good Christian Men, Rejoice.”

The Harrogate Choral Society’s rendition of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” is charming in its directness and sincerity.

The Fine Arts Brass Ensemble perform “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Landlord fill the Flowing Bowl.” Martin Souter, organist contributes a Brahms chorale prelude, “O Holy Night,” and other selections. The mix of organ and choir reinforces the impression of a Victorian church service.

But the disc also includes a player piano plunking out "Auld Lang Syne." Vintage turn of the century disc players (large-scale music boxes) give us favorites such as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and “Good King Wenceslas.” And they also give us a sense of what holiday music might have sounded like in a comfortable upper-class home.

And comfortable, I think, is the word that best describes this collection. Many of the selections are more than familiar. And they’re performed in a way that would have been familiar to Victorians – even those who never attended a classical music concert.

Carols for a Victorian Christmas was originally released in 2004.

Carols for a Victorian Christmas
The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford; Martin Souter, organ; Fine Arts Brass Ensemble; Lesley Echo Ross, soprano; Harrogate Choral Society
The Gift of Music

Daquin Livre de noëls - Baroque Holiday Bonbons

Excerpts from Daquin's Livre de Noëls often turn up in Baroque Christmas music releases. They're short, appealing gems of French Galant writing. Hearing all twelve of these pieces in one sitting, though, made me revise my impression of them.

Daquin was a virtuoso organist, and his settings of these French Noëls shows the extent of his talent. There's nothing routine about these arrangements. Every one exploits some aspect of keyboard artistry, and each one does so in an original fashion.

Daquin was also mindful of the overall effect of these Noëls. Heard in sequence they form a charming suite of Christmas classics (of their time).

My only complaint about this release is the lack of liner notes. It sounds like Adriano Falconi is playing an organ voiced for the French baroque, but I can't be sure.

Nevertheless, Falconi does a fine job with this material. And the instruments, wherever it is, is well-recorded. I particularly enjoyed Falconi's selection of stops, which include some bells and bird calls.

Even if you're not familiar with the carols Daquin bases his music on, there's much to enjoy here. And now that I've heard all twelve Noëls together, I have a greater appreciation of Daquin's skill.

Daquin: Complete Livre de noëls, Op. 2
Adriano Falconi, organ
Brilliant Classics

The Night of Saint Nicholas: A Medieval Liturgy for Advent

Performance practices change -- even in the field of early music. In the early 1990s Anonymous 4 burst onto the scene, making medieval music sound vibrant and alive. Other ensembles built upon their success, each with their own take on the repertoire.

"The Night of Saint Nicholas" was originally released in 1998. So how does it hold up after almost two decades? Very well, actually.

The release is a collection of sacred music revolving around Saint Nicolas, most dating from the 13th Century. La Revierdie and I Cantori Gregoriani deliver performances that are beautiful in their simplicity.

The ambiance of the recording site --  the Church of San Damaso, Modena, Italy -- perfectly matches the music. The reverberation fills the spaces between the notes without blurring them.

I'd almost say these are classic sacred early music performances. There's the ethereal quality essential to the style. Each selection unfolds at its own unhurried pace.

It evokes a sense of timelessness that not only transcends the centuries but the trends of the last 20 years. This release doesn't sound dated at all. Rather, the sound seems as ageless as the legend it celebrates.

The Night of Saint Nicholas
A Mediaeval Liturgy for Advent
La Reverdie; I Cantori Gregoriani
Arcana A 442

Raunächte - The Twelve Nights after Christmas in Pastels

For Americans, the Twelve Days of Christmas means turtledoves, drummers drumming and five golden rings. But for Northern Europeans, that time between Christmas day and Epiphany (January 6) is when winter weather is often its harshest. And yet it's also a time of hope.

Raunächte collects twelve works that exemplify that spirit of hope "in the bleak midwinter." If the carol "The 12 Days of Chrismas" evokes bright, primary reds and greens, these compositions conjure up images in soft pastels. Even works such as John Rutter's "Gabriel's Message" and Edward Elgar's "The Snow" seem more muted.

The LaCapella-Family is a group of five ensembles that present a varied program. The contemporary selections are especially strong. Ola Gjeilo's "Tundra" depicts the windswept landscape with a hauntingly beautiful melody set against rustling strings and piano. "The Piece of Wild Things" by Joan Szymko for female choir and piano glistens like moonlight reflections on snow. I love it.

Also of note in this album of extraordinarily beautiful works is Franz Herzog's luminous arrangement of "Es wird scho glei dumpa" for a capella choir. The album concludes with a joyful "Magnificat" by Agneta Skjöld.

If you're looking for something different this holiday season, consider Raunächte. It's seasonal music drawn in pastels, yet with an amazing variety of emotions and tonal colors. 

Raunächte - The Twelve Nights after Christmas
Music by John Rutter, Ola Gjeilo, Joan Szymko, Wilhelm Nagel, Morten Vinther Sørensen, Cesar Bresgen, Edward Elgar, Gjendine Slålien, Felix Mendelssohn, Agneta Skjöld  
LaCapella
Rondeau Productions ROP6149

In Dulci Jubilo - Music for the Christmas by Buxtehude and Friends

I've been burnt out on Christmas music for some time -- even classical Christmas music. But In Dulci Jubilo promised something fresh -- seasonal music from Dieterich Buxtehude and his colleagues. And it was recorded by Paul Hillier and the Theater of Voices. I wasn't disappointed.

In Dulci Jubilo is a time capsule of Christmas and Advent music from Northern Germany in the late 1600s. The Protestant Reformation had established its own musical voice.

Dietrich Buxtehude, Heinrich Scheidemann, Franz Tundar, Johann Christoph Bach (J.S. Bach's great uncle) laid the foundation composers of the High Baroque would build on.

Paul Hillier is a meticulous director, and his attention to detail shows in the performances and the program. The Theatre of Voices has an exceptionally seamless blend. And they're all top-notch soloists as well. The program takes the listener through the liturgical season, from Advent through Epiphany with selections to match. And the works are nicely balanced between choral and instrumental.

Some selections are familiar, such as In Dulci Jubilo and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (How Brightly Shines the Morning Star). Others, such as Buxtehude's Das neugeborne Kindelein and J.C. Bach's  Merk auf, mein Herz were new to me.

But familiar or not, there's a consistency that runs through all these works. Luther was all about clarity, and these works deliver their message in a straightforward fashion. The pulse is always clear, and no matter how artful the counterpoint, the words are never obscured.

In Dulce Jubilo is a well-sung, well-organized program that effectively captures a moment in time. A moment that more than hints of the grandeur that was to come with Bach, Handel, and Telemann.


In Dulci Jubilo
Music for the Christmas Season by Buxtehude and Friends
Theater of Voices, Paul Hillier, director
Dacapo 6.220661 SACD

Noël Baroque played with joie de vivre

The impetus behind this release was simple: Sofi Jeannin wanted her Maîtrise choir to sing Christmas music. Enter François Lazarevitch, director of the early music ensemble Musiciens de Saint-Julien.

He had been collecting 16th and 17th-century French carols and was looking for a fresh way to present them. The resulting album is a wonderful blending of tradition and invention -- and some great music to enjoy for the holidays.

Most of the French baroque carols, such as those by Michel Corrette and Louis-Claude Daquin, were composed for organ. Lazarevitch arranged the works for his ensemble and gave the music voice. Jeannin's Musiciens de Saint-Julien was augmented by children's voices of La Maîtrise de Radio France.

This is not a dry, learned reading of early music. Rather, these selections are delivered with a joie de vivre that's infectious. If Patapan makes you happy, this music will have you smiling. If it doesn't, these performances should win you over. The musicians perform with a high degree of skill, yet seem to retain the earthy enthusiasm of the carols' peasant origins. And that's what makes this album so much fun.

I'm adding Noël Baroque to my short list of holiday music.

Noël Baroque
Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien; Sofie Jeannin, director 
La Maîtrise de Radio France
Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien; François Lazarevitch, director
Alpha 266

Luther's Christmas Carols -- Serene sounds of the season

To me, renaissance Christmas carols have a certain serenity about them. Perhaps it's the softness of the instruments, such as the lute, recorder, and virginal. All I know is that in a season where emotions are often whipped up to a fever pitch, they help me stay centered much better than "Frosty" or even "Joy to the World."

Martin Luther understood the importance of music in worship, and his Christmas hymns are still sung today.

This collection takes five hymns Luther wrote for Weihnachten (Christmas) and presents them with various settings. Luther's melodies are simple and durable but at the same time malleable enough for all kinds of treatments.

Included are a number of dance arrangements by Michael Praetorius, polyphonic settings for organ by Martin Agricola and others, even arrangements for lute and voice.

All the arrangements are short (only a few pass the 2-minute mark), and the album groups them together by the Luther hymn they set. The seemingly endless permutations of these melodies keep the program interesting. Treatments and instrumental/vocal combinations change almost every track. While I was familiar with some of these works (especially Praetorius), there were some pleasant surprises along the way from the more obscure composers.

Simone Eckert and the Hamburger Ratsmusik play in a simple, straightforward style well-suited to the material. Sopranos Veronika Winter and Ina Sledlaczek sing with pure, unwavering tones. Tenor Jan Kobow's light delivery nicely balances the ensemble sound. When these voices blend, it's positively angelic.

This is a beautiful collection of Luther's music, presented through the arrangements of six generations of composers. I'll be enjoying this one repeatedly this holiday season.

Euch ist ein Kindlein heut geborn
Luthers Weihnachtslieder (Luther’s Christmas Carols)
Veronika Winter, soprano; Ina Siedlaczek, soprano; Jan Kobow, tenor
Hamburger Ratsmusik; Simone Eckert, director
Carus 83.390

Thanksgiving Transient Traditions

Some of my ancestors. Their Thanksgiving traditions
changed over time, too.

It's common to think of Thanksgiving in terms of family traditions, but I'm often struck with how transient those traditions are.

As a young child, we always went to Grandma's house, and the menu was always the same. But as my mother took over the cooking, there was a subtle shift. Mom's rolls were delicious, but they didn't quite taste like Grandma's. And the supporting cast changed, too. The neighbors on either side of Grandma always came to dinner, but eventually they aged and moved away (or passed on).

After Grandma died, the Thanksgiving table became smaller, until my sister and I were married and our spouses were part of the gathering. But that also changed things. Because my wife and I alternated between her family home and mine for the holidays -- so sometimes we weren't there. And when my Mom could no longer put on Thanksgiving, we started having my parents over to our house for the meal. A different menu again, based on my wife's family traditions.

When Mom passed on, my Dad would either come down for Thanksgiving, or more often just go to a restaurant with my sister (who was now divorced), while we usually went to my wife's family. As for our children, well, they sometimes join us and other times spend the holiday with their own friends.

One tradition remained -- we always took a photo of everyone gathered around the table. And I realize now that we could probably date those photos by where they were taken, who's in the photo, and what's on the table.

Thanksgiving is a traditional time for family, but it's not an immutable one. The mix of relatives (and food) will resemble those of holidays past, but also have something new, as time continues to change us all.