TRADITIONAL
Christmas with the Academy Academy & Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] The story of the birth of Jesus more than two thousand years ago has been the source of inspiration for countless poets and musicians, as well as practitioners of other forms of art. The infant, born of a virgin in a lowly cattle shed, because there... |
André Rieu
Silver Bells [ Polydor / 2 CD/DVD - released 18/Nov/2022 ] It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas trees are warming, treats are the sweetest and anyone under the mistletoe gets a kiss. But the holiday season wouldn't be perfect without the delightful music of André Rieu! The CD & Bonus DVD is... |
Andre Rieu
The Christmas I Love [ Universal / CD - released 17/Dec/2012 ] The Christmas I Love is a lovely collection of standard Christmas carols and holiday-themed classical pieces performed by "the Waltz King of PBS," Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra. It's an understated and enchanting collection of holiday... |
TRADITIONAL
On Yoolis Night: Medieval Carols & Motets for Christmas Anonymous 4 [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 12/Nov/2012 ] "A truly superior recording…a sound of uncommon purity and beauty." CD Review |
TRADITIONAL
Sacrum Mysterium: A Celtic Christmas Vespers [CD & DVD] Jeannette Sorrell (harpsichord & conductor) & Meredith Hall (soprano) / Apollo's Fire [ Avie / 2 CD/DVD - released 5/Nov/2012 ] "This type of fusion is increasingly popular, and Apollo's Fire do it enthusiastically, if perhaps without the final degree of finessed musicality that other ensembles bring to this type of project" (BBC Music) |
CHARPENTIER
Noels and Christmas Motets Aradia Ensemble / Kevin Mallon [ Naxos / CD - released 18/Oct/2009 ] "The Canadian vocal and instrumental Aradia Ensemble, under its director Kevin Mallon, performs stylishly and with sensibility." - Classic FM, Jan 2000 |
J.S. BACH
Weihnachtskantaten (Christmas Cantatas) Arleen Auger (soprano) Ortrun Wenkel (contralto) Peter Schreier (ten) Siegfried Lorenz (bass) / Thomanerchor Leipzig Neues / Bachisches Collegium [ Berlin Classics Basics / CD - released 10/Mar/2008 ] "This disc enters a very crowded and competitive field. However, unless you're allergic to Bach played on modern instruments these well-turned performances under one of Bach's successors at St. Thomas's, Leipzig are well worth considering, especially... |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saens: Oratorio de Noel - Christmas Oratorio Bachchor & Bachorchester Mainz [ Profil / CD - released 1/Jan/2005 ] |
J.S. BACH
Sacred Works: Masses BWV 232-236 / Christmas Oratorio, BWV248 Soloists / Collegium Vocale, Ghent, Philippe Herreweghe [ Virgin Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2011 ] "the four Lutheran Masses have been absurdly undervalued because they were largely revamped from earlier cantatas. But who could resist the singing of Gerard Lesne, the invigorating Kyrie of the F major Mass, the G major's tenor aria with oboe... |
TRADITIONAL
The Cambridge Singers Christmas Album The Cambridge Singers with Stephen Varcoe (baritone); The City of London Sinfonia; directed by John Rutter [ Collegium / CD - released 20/Nov/2003 ] "Rutter has become the musical equivalent of Dickens, synonymous with the season of Christmas." Guardian |
HOLST / MENDELSSOHN / TRADITIONAL
Christmas With Canterbury Cathedral Girls' Choir Canterbury Cathedral Girls' Choir [ Decca / CD - released 1/Dec/2017 ] This is the debut album from the first ever girls' choir at historic Canterbury Cathedral. This album marks the first time that girls have been allowed to sing in an official capacity over the 1,400 year history of Canterbury Cathedral |
GEOFFREY BUSH
A Christmas Cantata Cardiff Polyphonic Choir and Orchestra [ Saydisc / CD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] The highly regarded Cardiff Polyphonic Choir and Orchestra perform the first commercial recording of Geoffrey Bush's beautiful work "A Christmas Cantata". This popular work features well-known carols in a setting for choir with string orchestra and... |
The Carpenters
Christmas Collection [ A & M / 2 CD - released 27/Nov/2020 ] How about snowy days and Mondays? The soft, soothing sounds of Karen and Richard Carpenter are perfectly suited to a white Christmas with a crackling fire; here are their Christmas Portrait ('78) and An Old Fashioned Christmas ('84) LPs, together in... |
TRADITIONAL
A Feast of Christmas Carols [4 CDs] The Cathedral Choirs of Durham, Norwich, Southwark and York Minster [ Priory / 4 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2010 ] Featuring the famous cathedral choirs of Durham, Norwich, Southwark and York Minsister. Over four hours playing time. |
J.S. BACH
A Bach Christmas: Magnificat, BWV 243a / Cantata: Christen, atzet diesen Tag / etc Catherine Bott & Elizabeth Scholl (sopranos) Christopher Robson (countertenor) Paul Agnew & Andrew King (tenors) / New London Consort / Philip Pickett [ ABC Philips Eloquence / CD - released 1/Dec/2005 ] "Marvellous life-enhancing music ... can be enjoyed at any time of the year, not just at Christmas" (MusicWeb Feb 2006) |
Cerys Matthews
Dylan Thomas: A Child's Christmas / Poems & Tiger Eggs [ Marvels of the Universe / 2 CD - released 7/Nov/2014 ] It was a Christmas in South Carolina that reawakened Cerys' love for Thomas and inspired her to mark his centenary with her most ambitious project yet - setting his words to music. Includes the whole of' A Child's Christmas in Wales' and poems... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Veni Emmanuel: Music for Advent The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, Graham Ross [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 5/Dec/2013 ] "Tavener's flair for drama is here; so are the influence of the Russian Orthodox liturgy and his gift for writing melodies and harmonies that are hard to shake off." (Times) |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Cantique De Noël: French Music For Christmas, From Berlioz To Debussy Choir Of Gonville & Caius College Cambridge, Geoffrey Webber (Director), Michael How & Luke Fitzgerald (Organ) [ Delphian / CD - released 19/Oct/2018 ] Geoffrey Webber and his choir have developed a reputation for exploring the unusual, and this album is no exception. A number of traditional French melodies have been adapted over the years to become familiar Christmas fare in English-speaking lands;... |
TRADITIONAL
Christmas-Time Carols from King's College Cambridge Choir of King's College Cambridge, David Willcocks [ Griffin / CD - released 25/Nov/2013 ] The earliest 15th century carols were based on simple folk melodies, with texts added representing Christmas ideas, but it was a long gap then until the Victorians, followed shortly by great 20th Century composers (Vaughan Williams, Holst etc),... |
DAVID BEDNALL
Welcome All Wonders: A Christmas Cantata The Choir of The Queen's College, Oxford / Owen Rees [ Signum / CD - released 29/Jul/2013 ] 'Welcome all Wonders: A Christmas Cantata' is a large-scale work for choir, organ and trumpet spanning 15 movements. It celebrates the Christmas story through an imaginative selection and juxtaposition of poetry and liturgical texts, and provides a... |