  | Folk, Traditional, Popular Music | |||
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A
Wonderful Miscellany
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The music of Christmas is not just about JS Bach - whether his Christmas Oratorio or his cantatas - or about the other classical music described here. It is also about music which is made by ordinary people, in churches, at home, in the pub or wandering the streets. Having made this distinction I'd like to point out that it is pretty spurious. The chorales which Bach inserted between movements of his Magnificat were in effect public property, familiar tunes to his audience; and the contents of the collections of medieval and renaissance music described on this page make a mockery of distinctions between 'high' and 'low' art.
Christmas Matters wasn't sure at first where this disc and the following recording by the same performers belonged. They are both great examples of the way in which any barrier between 'classical' and 'popular' can be broken down at Christmas time. Of the two, 'While Shepherds Watched' has a more homespun character, suitable to the bucolic pastoral nature of much of the music. It is based around four versions of the famous Shepherds carol, along with 'Angels from the Realms of Glory' and two arrangements of 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'. We defy anyone to listen to this and not have a smile on their face from the first 'While Shepherds Watched', sung with good cheer and accompanied by a charming pastoral band. It seems cut from the same cloth as the Sacred Harp singing on 'Where Will You Be Christmas Day?' one of our best Christmas albums. Wesley's keyboard 'Rondo on God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' wouldn't sound out of place on the Vince Guaraldi Trio's classic album (also one of our best Christmas albums).
Similar to the previous recording, but this to us stretches the description given above of 'music made by ordinary people'. Certainly the carols here are part of our popular Christmas hymn book. But the treatment given to them, while it is true to the simple nature of the tunes, is more ornate than many performances you'll hear. As a large part of the enjoyment of listening to this album are the arrangements of familiar tunes like 'Joy to the World', 'Christians Awake..' and 'O Come All Ye Faithful'. Beautifully sung with a clear, simple directness, this record is a joy from start to finish.
The former singer of Steeleye Span presents a number of traditional songs and carols in a folk style. We haven't had this CD for long but it already feels part of our Christmas celebrations. If you're looking for familiar tunes but played and sung in a different way, this is a great recording to try out. Opener 'The Sans Day Carol' sets the tone: joyful, clear singing with understated accompaniment on interesting-sounding instruments. It's the accompaniments that give an edge to the arrangements. Particularly good are 'God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen', 'The Holly and the Ivy' and Sussex Carol 'On Christmas Night'. It's hard to pick just a few like this as the whole album is a great success.
This shares some repertoire with the excellent disc by The Sixteen, included on the Classical Christmas page. Here songs such as 'Drive the Cold Winter Away' have a more immediate, traditional sound, the voice right at the front of the mix and a driving rhythm. Before you get to these songs, set in the midst of the record, the disc opens with 'Gabriel from heven-king', a thirteenth century song with voice laid over the top of a bagpipe drone offering an extended introduction before the entrance of hurdy-gurdy and shawm, coming in with a bang and blasting out with thrillingly rough edges. This is a CD guaranteed to get us feeling in the Christmas spirit and longing for some spiced ale or mulled wine. 'Old Christmas' is one of the traditional English names for Father Christmas.
Another offering from Saydisc and one which groups the carols and songs into different themes. It takes a chronological and thematic journey through the Christmas season, beginning with 'Christmas Now is Drawing Near', three songs for Advent and moving on through songs for The Nativity ('Sweet Jesus Born'), Christmas Legends ('Down in Yon Forest'), Carols ('Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day'), Plenty and Poverty ('Cold Winter is Come'), The Christian Message ('Remember O Thou Man') and a Farewell to Christmas ('God Send You a Happy New Year'). It's a great way of grouping together some thirty songs and tunes and it's a disc to savour. The performances are crisp, lusty and brilliantly played and sung. Christmas Matters would not like to be forced to choose between these three wonderful recordings from Saydisc and we're glad we don't have to! This one is new for us in 2007 and we're looking forward to listening to it over Christmas.
There are plenty of collections of Christmas carols but this is the pick of them in our opinion. A quick look at the tracklist shows that it has all the favourites you'd expect from a traditional carol concert. The Sixteen have made a number of appearances in the lists on this site and they are one of the UK's most reliably good choirs. Sometimes carol collections can come across as being a bit overblown or sentimental. Here the relatively small size of the choir gives each of the carols a transparency and lightness that stops them cloying. It makes a nice contrast with Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band: the two versions of the 'Sussex Carol' are poles apart, but shine equally illuminating lights upon the music. This is one to put on in the evening on Christmas Eve with some mince pies and mulled wine.
One more album, similar to the one by The Sixteen above, but with a more varied content. Spanning some 500 years of Christmas music up to the present day, it includes music from the British Isles as well as from around Europe. It is based on concerts given by the Ex Cathedra Choir at Christmas time and the programme has the feel of a good performance. It begins with a shout, twentieth century composer William Matthias' 'Sir Christemas' (this being one of the traditional names of Father Christmas in England), includes a chorale from Bach's Christmas Oratorio and works by Tavener, Rutter and Tchaikovsky, amongst the traditional songs and carols. It's very well sung with a big choir and is a particularly well thought-out programme. Not available from Amazon, there's a good chance you could get hold of a copy from MDT where it's listed at £6. | ||||
