Holiday Music - Part II
Behold, a critic
shall conceive, and bear his thoughts. Of the 48 season-related CDs and DVDs
that arrived at Casa Bellecci-Serinus this year please, Oh Lord, no more!
here's my take on the best of the rest.
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New Orleans Christmas (Putamayo
PUT 256-2)
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Here's
a most enjoyable collection of New Orleans jazz classics that put a smiling
face on the holiday season. No Katrina, no Bush, no racism; the New Birth
Brass Band swings through "Santa's Second Line" as though the only thing
that will ever be swept away is depression. Only a misogynist grinch would
hold back as Ingrid Lucia purrs the pants off "Zat You, Santa Claus?" |
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Stacy Sullivan: Cold Enough to Snow (LML Music LML CD-189)
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If your
taste turns to female vocalists with a distinct cabaret/pop tinge, you will
echo Stephen Schwartz's question, "Why isn't Stacy Sullivan already famous?"
In a program that ranges from "Away in the Manger" to Joni Mitchell's
"River," Sullivan's easy voice and guitar will suit many to a T.
Don't expect to travel to the emotional depths on this one. |
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Russ Lorenson: What I Want
for Christmas (LML Music LML CD-211)
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This
time it's a male cabaret singer, smiling his way through the holidays with
some swinging arrangements and the occasional push of the vibrato to
indicate emotion. From "Christmas in San Francisco" to a medley that
includes songs by Irving Berlin and Julie Styne, you'll find no angst here.
Add a glass of wine, lots of tinsel, and close the shutters to anything but
the Christmas lights. As long as you don't demand a truly distinctive voice
or treatment, you'll do just fine. |
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Estonian Philharmonic
Chamber Choir: A New Joy - Orthodox Christmas (Harmonia Mundi HMU
807410)
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From
the mystic-sounding bells of Tallinn's St. Alexander Cathedral to the
opening hymn "Our Father," we sense something special. Famed choir director
Paul Hillier directs the sonorous voices of Estonia's famed choir in a
program that includes reverent, often exalted music by the great Arvo Pδrt,
Tchaikovsky, and others. The singing is like healing balm, and the
remarkably transparent high-resolution recording, available as an optional
multi-channel SACD, captures the spacious acoustic of Estonia's Tallinn
Methodist Church to perfection. |
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Kids Love Christmas
(Sanctuary Classics CD RSN 3078)
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All
thumbs up to 22 joyous tracks from various English choirs, orchestras, and
brass bands. Carl Davis and the Hallé provide a delightful alternative to
the Boston Pops' classic take on Anderson's "Sleigh Ride." The disc even
includes some occasionally ponderous extracts from Tchaikovsky's The
Nutcracker. Innocence everywhere abounds. |
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Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg &
Friends: Merry A Holiday Journey (NSS Music)
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Iconoclastic violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg adds a distinctive twang to
her violin as she occasionally teams with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott;
Clarice, Sergio and Odair Assad; Judy Blazer; the St. Peter's Adult Choir;
and a host of others to share a very personal window on Christmas. Thanks to
Salerno-Sonnenberg's versatility, stylistic contrasts abound, from the hot
to the holy (not necessarily exclusive, thank God). Not everything is
perfectly polished, but it's all refreshingly real. |
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Vivaldi: Gloria in D major
J.S. Bach: Magnificat in D major The Sixteen; The Symphony of
Harmony & Invention, Harry Christophers (CORO COR16042)
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One of
England's most well known early music vocal ensembles, The Sixteen, together
with their own period instrument orchestra, have been reissuing all their
historic recordings on their own label CORO. Many, such as this 1991 CD of
justly famed works by Vivaldi and Bach, broke new ground in their time.
While these pieces are not Christmas per se, their enduring beauty makes
them a perfect fit for your stocking. |
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Karsten Troyke: Jidische
Vergessene Lieder (Raumer Records RR12097)
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Troyke,
a champion of Jewish music, has assembled a wonderful collection of Yiddish
songs, many of which were previously unknown and unrecorded. Troyke learned
the songs from Sara Bialas-Tenenberg, who at age 13 was incarcerated in the
Treblinka concentration camp. Somehow she survived, carrying within her
memories of songs she learned during WWII and in the years following her
liberation. The songs, many laden with suffering and pain, remind us of the
consequences of the religious insanity that again threatens world stability.
I was going to say "world peace," but I don't think so. That has yet to
come. |
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A Sacred Christmas (Jade
6201)
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From a
record company based in Milan comes an assortment of lovely Christmas
performances sung by Coro Exaude de la Habana, The Youth Choir of
Saint-Francois de Versailles, Schola of the Monks of Montserrat, and other
groups from Spain, France, and Argentina. The conclusion, a clueless "vibrant Gospel style" version of
"Silent Night" sung by French forces, only
adds to the charm. Smilingly recommended.
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Broadway Cares: Home for the
Holidays (Centaur Entertainment CEN 30047-2)
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If the
fact that all the profits from this album are donated to Broadway
Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is not sufficient cause to purchase, how about
performances by Lisa Minnelli, Sam Harris, Adam Pascal, Lea DeLaria, Billy
Porter, Audra McDonald, and 14 other pros? Admittedly, some of the tracks
sound more Broadway glitz than Xmas holy, but there's lots of good stuff to
enjoy. |
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Christmastime is Here
Erich Kunzel (Telarc CD-80538)
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Kunzel's agreeable Christmas collection spices up rather formulaic,
well-recorded medleys and seasonal songs (including "Christmastime is Here"
from A Charlie Brown Christmas) by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the
School of Creative and Performing Arts Children's Choir, and the Indiana
University Singing Hoosiers (wowie zowie!) with tracks by the fabulous Tony
DeSare, deservedly feted jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton, Ann Hampton Callaway,
John Pizzarelli, and (speaking of incongruity) The King's Singers. |
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Christmas in Santa Fe: Santa
Fe Desert Chorale (Clarion CLR926CD)
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Recorded in live concert at Santa Fe's Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis,
the 20-member chorale, under the direction of Linda Mack, do a superb job
singing seasonal music (all but the token Jewish prayer in English) written
and arranged by Rutter, Britten, Mechem, Conrad Susa, and others. With some
selections accompanied by harpist Rosalind Simpson, choral enthusiasts and
lovers of the season need not hesitate. |
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Lighten Our Darkness: Music
for the Close of Day (Collegium COLCD 131)
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Under
the direction of the renowned John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers perform 18
a cappella choral motets, mainly from the Renaissance, written to accompany
evening worship services in Catholic monastic and collegiate communities.
That three copies of this CD arrived on my doorstep serves as a sign that,
even though this gorgeous music isn't Christmas per se, its serene beauty,
superbly captured in the resonant Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral, will swathe
you in loveliness and grace. Highly recommended. |
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Merry Christmas (soundtrack
Virgin Classics 094634197823)
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I
missed this film, set on the battlefield on Christmas eve, 1914, but the
five tracks featuring high soprano Natalie Dessay and tenor heartthrob
Rolando Villazon especially the curious duet on a very inauthentic "Bist
du bei mir" (once attributed to J.S. Bach) will tempt opera lovers
aplenty. |
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John Fluker: J is for Joy
(Retribution Records RR002)
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Contemporary gospel vocalist, keyboardist, and arranged Fluker, who has
served as Gladys Knight's musical director, offers a welcome break from the
usual holiday fare with 10 contemporary arrangements (only 41 minutes worth)
of Christmas hymns and carols. Reflecting the influence of r&b, jazz,
gospel, jazz, and contemporary cool, six of the tracks feature Fluker's
winning voice, which makes the best case possible for his sweet, synthesized
variations on the pop familiar. |
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Handel: Messiah (1751
version) Academy of Ancient Music, Choir of New College Oxford,
Edward Higginbottom (Naxos 8.570131)
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Behold,
the first modern recording of Handel's 1751 version of Messiah, which
uses fetching boy trebles instead of sopranos for the top line of choruses
and most soprano arias (save for Rejoice, greatly, which Handel
allocated to his tenor soloist). Both tenor Toby Spence and bass Eamonn
Dougan are former clerks of New College Choir, adding extra authenticity if
not the most refulgent tone. Instead of Handel's chosen castrato, Guadagni,
we have countertenor Iestyn Davies, who has one of the finer countertenor
voices I've heard. The three boy treble soloists (ages 11, 12, and 13) are
heavenly; the two who introduce the chorus, Glory to God in the Highest,
sing like angels. |
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Handel: Messiah (1750
version) The Choir of Clare College, Freiburger Barockorchester,
René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi HMC 801928.29)
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In
Handel's first revision of his masterpiece, which he conducted seven years
after its disastrous London premiere, the emphasis is on vocal virtuosity
and spiritual solidity. From Jacobs' orchestra (captured in high-resolution
multi-channel SACD for those with the equipment to reproduce it) we hear
considerable weight, from superb tenor Kobie van Rensburg greater urgency
and authority than from Higginbottom's lighter but nonetheless fetching
forces. Ryland Davies' bass instrument is gonad-shaking; Patricia Bardon's
traditional English plumy rich mezzo blessed with gratifying flexibility;
Kerstin Avemo's lighter soprano quite fine if not as radiantly pure as one
might wish; and Lawrence Zazzo's countertenor so exquisitely refined in
placement and presentation as to defy simple description. How wonderfully
the chorus sings "and his burden is light." I thought I was Messiahed-out
until I started playing this version. |
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The Young Messiah: Messiah
XXI (DTS DVD 7569)
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Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. I'd never suggest that authentic Handelian
forces lack soul, but once you hear Gladys Knight sing Handel's music with
surprising classical restraint, then indulge yourself in the likes of
Jeffrey Osborne, Roger Daltrey, Chaka Khan, and The Visual Ministry Gospel
Choir and Irish Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, ye shall be purified. This
Messiah does not look down; it simply moves us forward in time.
Narrator Aiden Quinn adds a generous helping of profundity, and conductor
Frank McNamara has a ball. As will you. |
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Christmas with José
Carreras: 1990 (Arthaus Musik DVD 101 407)
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Alas,
not even newfound fame as one of The Three Tenors could mask how much vocal
erosion the 44-year old Carrerras had already suffered by forcing his
essentially lyric instrument to encompass heavy operatic roles. Best when
singing lightly, albeit with little of his former sweetness, he cannot match
the magnificence of the setting, the Jesuit Church of Lucerne. Catch his "White Christmas" if you dare; snow was never so dramatic.
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- Jason Victor Serinus
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