HBDirect.com Classical & Jazz CDs & DVDs November 2015 | Page 8

Music for Christmas

New Christmas Music for 2015
Christmas Music from Olden Tymes

❦Praetorius: Christmette; Christmas Mass

Artists: Paul McCreesh/
Gabrieli Consort; Gabrieli
Players. (1 CD) (Deutsche
Grammophon)
DGG B001933502 $15.48
Paul McCreesh’s monumental celebration of an early
Baroque Christmas, with
music mainly by Michael Praetorius - 79 minutes of
wonderful polychoral music!

Praetorius: Christmas Music / David Hill

Artists: David Hill/Choir
of Westminster Cathedral,
Parley of Instruments (1 CD)
(Hyperion)
.HYP 55446 $11.99 On Sale
Praetorius’ church music is
much less known today than
it should be, partly because
of the sheer volume that he composed. This beautiful selection of his hymns, chorales and carols will
likely prompt you to seek out more.

❦The Christmas Story / Theater of Voices

Works by: Renaissance composers Giovanni Francesco Anerio; William Byrd;
Johannes Eccard; Niels Gade; Alessandro Grandi; Michael Praetorius; Howard
Skempton; Biasio Tomasi, plus Christmas Traditional. Artists: Paul Hillier/The
Theater of Voices (1 SA Hybrid CD) (Harmonia Mundi)
HAR 807565 $19.99
“This lovely disc offers a Danish take on the traditional English carol service... following the texts leads to a pretty profound, immersive experience. Paul Hillier’s arrangements of traditional carols are unfailingly sensitive.” -The Arts Desk

An English Christmas / Westminster Concert
Bell Choir

Works: Traditional carols
Artists: Kathleen Ebling
Shaw/Westminster
Concert Bell Choir. (1 CD)
(Westminister Choir College)
WSTM 1510 $16.99
Arrangements of traditional
English Christmas carols performed by the
Westminster Concert Bell Choir on choir chimes
and the world’s largest range of handbells.

Carols from Queen’s / Choir of Queen’s College

Works: Includes A spotless rose; O Holy Night,
Hark! The Herald; In the bleak midwinter, Ding
dong merrily on high et al. Artists: Owen Rees/
Queen’s College Choir, Oxford. (1 CD) (Avie
Records)
AIE 2345 $16.49
This new holiday album celebrates the luxuriant sound
of The Choir of Queen’s College, and offers some of
the most beloved carols from throughout the ages.

Celebration of Christmas - ‘Carol of Joy’ /
Brigham Young University Choir & Orchestra

BYU Choirs “Celebration of Christmas” albums,
showcase not only the talent and artistry of these
students and their directors but also their strong
personal and spiritual connection to the repertoire.
(1 CD) (Brigham Young University)
BYU 0415COJ $14.99

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, for solo piano

Artists: Stewart Goodyear (Pno). (1 SA Hybrid
CD) (Steinway & Sons)
STEI S30040 $17.99 On Sale
This recording is the world premiere of the
complete Nutcracker ballet arranged for, and
performed on, solo piano.

www.hbdirect.com

Christmas Carols from Oxford

Artists: John Harper/Choir
of Magdalen College, Oxford.
(1 CD) (Musical Concepts)
MSLC 1290 $8.99 On Sale
Twenty-nine classic and
favourite Christmas carols
from Oxford, including:
The Coventry Carol, The
First Nowell, I Saw Three Ships, What Child is
This?, Good Christian Men Rejoice, Good King
Wenceslas, Here We Come A-Wassailing, We
Three Kings, and I Sing of a Maiden.

Christmas from Christ’s College, Cambridge

Works: Carols by Holst,
Vaughan Williams, and
Warlock Artists: David
Rowland/Choir of Christ’s
College, Cambridge;
Jonathan Ellse, organ (1 CD)
(Regent Records)
REGN 446 $17.49
A most unusual collection of early 20th-century
original English carols including nine well-known
carols by Warlock, a set of four lesser-known carol
arrangements, and the ever-popular “Lully my
liking” by Holst.

Christmas From Tewkesbury

Works: A babe is born; Into a quiet world; Ding
dong! Merrily on High; Bethlehem Down; Candlelight Carol; Away in a Manger et al. Artists: Simon
Bell/Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum; Carleton Etherington: organ (1 CD) (Regent Records)
REGN 440 $17.49
Listening to this collection of festive Christmas
music, some of the pieces will be immediately
recognizable while others will be less familiar.

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Music for Christmas

Christmas in Medieval England / Blue Heron

Works: Plainchant, carols
and other music for Advent
and Christmas from 15th
c. England Artists: Scott
Metcalfe/Blue Heron (1 CD)
(Blue Heron Records)
BHRC 1006 $17.99 On Sale
Recorded live at First Church
in Cambridge, Congregational in December 2013,
‘Christmas in Medieval England’ allows listeners to
share the beauty, excitement, intensity, and variety
found in a Blue Heron concert performance.

Christmas Music / Christ Church Cathedral Choir
Works by: Byrd, Mathias, Taverner, Sheppard,
Poulenc, Palestrina, Esteves Artists: Stephen
Darlington/Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford.
(1 CD)