Glňria: Weihnachtslieder aus Deutschland und aller Welt
MDR Radio Choir/Philipp Ahmann
rec. 2022, Orchesterprobensaal de MDR, Augustusplatz, Lepzig, Germany
GENUIN GEN22797 [59]
Christmas music from around the world with an emphasis on German melodies is, I sense, an attractive idea even for those who may not have travelled to Germany to see the amazing Christmas markets. I did once. I took in a few choirs during that chilly late Advent week, and found it very uplifting, with its really memorable spiritual and Christmassy atmosphere. This disc has gone some way to let me recapture much of that feeling.
And it is not just Christmas music. Advent texts are here as well, and it all comes from the pen of composers across a divide of four hundred years. Two settings are especially noteworthy, suitable for Advent and quite beautiful: Trond Kverno’s Ave Maris stella, and Franz Bieble’s memorable Ave Maria set with great simplicity and atmosphere.
A number of pieces will most likely be new to you, like the swaggering Als ich bei meinen Schafen wacht (When I watched over my sheep), one of three arrangements by Guido Kaiser. Nor is the Australian carol The Three Drovers by William Grant James familiar, or the beautiful Russian carol Eta notsch swjataja (This holy night) arranged by Reiko Füting. English-speaking listeners may know Boris Ord’s ubiquitous Adam lay ybounded, performed here in a slightly pedestrian manner, but perhaps not The Magic of Winter, a rather luscious piece by the American Kent Carlson. Max Reger’s beautiful Mariä Wiegenlied (Mary’s lullaby) is, however, well known also as a solo song.
Other countries represented are Poland with Józef Świder’s delightfully simple Do szopy hej, pasterze (To the barn, shepherds, hey), Belgium with François-Auguste Gevaert’s lively Le petit Jésus, and Scandinavia with the more solemn Bethlehems Stjärna (Star of Bethlehem) by the Swede Alice Tegnér. Allmuth Behrendt’s booklet essay tells us a little about the composers, and takes us speedily through the Christmas story as in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, matching it up with the eclectic choice of music.
The choir, going by the photograph in the middle of the booklet, seem to consist of about fifty voices. That could make it a little unwieldy, but the sound is wonderfully balanced, light when necessary, and the diction is clear in each language. Philipp Ahmann achieves sympathetic shading of dynamics and thoughtfully shaped phrasing. The chosen pieces tend towards the slow and more meditative, perhaps a little too much. Even the final piece Glňria by the Spanish composer Ponç Pons Gimenéz is very tuneful but not particularly vibrant.
Sadly, there are no English translations, although the English pieces are also given in German. That takes away some of the interest and enjoyment, given that much of the music is little known. Even so, the disc may well give much pleasure, and the repertoire will be new to many listeners.
Gary Higginson
Contents
John Francis WADE (c.1711-1786) Adeste Fideles
Niels Wilhelm GADE (1817-1875) Barn Jesus I en krybbe lĺ
William Garnet JAMES (1892-1977) The Three Drovers
Anonymous arr. Guido KAISER (b. 1953) Als ich bei meinen Schafen wacht
Anonymous arr. Reiko FÜTING (b. 1970) Eta notsch swjataja
Boris ORD (1897-1961) Adam lay ybounden
Max REGER (1873-1918) Mariä Wiegenlied
Erhard MAUERSBERGER (1903-1982) Weihnacht
Józef ŚWIDER (1930-2014) Do szopy hej, pasterze
Alice TEGNÉR (1864-1943) Bethlehems Stjäna
Dirk Janszoon SWEELINCK (1591-1652) O Kerstnacht schooner dan de dagen
François-Auguste GAVAERT (1828-1908) Le petit Jésus
Kent CARSON (b. 1971) The Magic of Christmas
Vic NEES (1936-2013) Leise rieselt der Schnee
Heinz Martin LONQUICH (1937-2014) Unser Lieben Frauen Traum
Folk song arr. Guido KAISER Susser die Glocken nie klingen
Trond KVERNO (b. 1945) Ave Maris stella
Anton REINTHALER (b. 1950) In diesen dunklen Tagen
Traditional arr. Guido KAISER O Tannenbaum, du tragst ein’grünen Zweig
Franz BIEBL (1906-2001) Ave Maria
Ponç Pons GIMÉNEZ (b. 1987) Gloria
Published: November 14, 2022
