Handel wrote “Messiah” to benefit the London Foundlings Hospital and it’s now a holiday standard. Christian Friedrich Ruppe wrote his cantatas to benefit an orphan’s home in Leiden. After their initial performances, they remained unheard for 250 years. Ruppe wrote the Christmas and Easter cantatas on this release for the Holy Spirit of Poor Orphans […]
Holiday music
-
-
Seasonal Serenity from Brian Galante and Stephen Paulus
This release features two world premiere recordings: Brian Galante’s “So Hallow’d the Time,” and Stephen Paulus’ “Christmas Dances.” They couldn’t be in better hands. Robert Taylor’s ensemble, the Taylor Festival Choir sings with a clean, translucent sound that resonates with the deep spirituality of these works. “So Hallow’d the Time” is a quiet contemplation on […]
-
#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalChristmas Week 3
For the past four years, the #ClassicsaDay team has adopted Classical Christmas as its theme for December. And why not? We have a rich body of music related to the season dating back to the Middle Ages. A good deal of it is religious, but not all — many works are simply inspired by the […]
-
Mirabile Mysterium spans centuries of choral Christmas music
I love Christmas music. But I don’t love hearing the same old tunes trotted out year after year. We have over two millennia of sacred music written for this season, variety shouldn’t be difficult. That’s what I like about Mirabile Mysterium. Matthias Jung conducts the Sächsisches Vocalensemble in a wide-ranging program of seasonal sacred music. […]
-
Per la Notte di Natale – superb Christmas concertos
Arcangelo Corelli’s Christmas Concerto (Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8) often turns up on classical Christmas music albums. And I admit I never quite understood why. To my ears, there wasn’t anything especially Christmassy about it. That’s what makes this release so welcome. The liner notes explain the aesthetic behind these Italian […]
-
Christmas Music at Thomaskirche a fine tradition
Machet die Tore weilt, Weihnachtmusik an der Thomaskirche (Christmas Music at Thomaskirche) is the second such collection of music I’ve reviewed this year. That is seasonal sacred music by the composers who preceded Johann Sebastian Bach at Thomaskirche, Leipzig. I’m not sure if this is some kind of trend, but I’d be happy if it was. […]
-
A Tudor Christmas delivers the spirit of the age
The liner notes for this release are very clear. This is NOT a historical recreation of a Christmas from the 1600s. Rather, it’s sort of an impression of what one might have heard during the holidays in Tudor or Stuart England. I can accept that premise. Christmas music as a separate genre really didn’t develop […]
-
The Secret Life of Carols — not what you think
If you — like me — are looking for a seasonal recording with a fresh perspective, check out “The Secret Life of Carols.” The early music ensemble The Telling presents a collection of (mostly) familiar carols in intimate performances. Unlike, say, the Boston Camerata, The Telling doesn’t give us the historical development of each piece. […]
-
Jack Dunlap Band ruin Christmas at Offbeat Roadhouse, Dec 20
The Jack Dunlap Band will pull into Offbeat Roadhouse to ruin Christmas on Friday night, December 20, from 8-9 for a concert which will also be broadcast on WTJU. Sure you could listen to Offbeat Roadhouse on the radio (91.1 FM) or on-line, and even video stream it, but concerts always sound better with you as part of the […]