The positive plethora
of Christmas music available on CD these
days ensures that there is something
out there for everyone whichever direction
your musical taste may take you. The
choice does however make for a good
deal of duplication with endless recordings
of the evergreen carols by everyone
from Kiri Te Kanawa to your local cathedral
choir.
It is therefore quite
refreshing to come across a new recording
- in this case very new as the Naxos
team have turned it round inside two
months since its mid-September recording
- that tries to come up with something
outside the realms of the immediately
familiar. True, not all of the music
is of a quality that will grant it immortality
amongst the all-time seasonal classics
but there are several delights that
are sure to bring a good deal of festive
cheer.
Chief amongst these
delights are the contributions of the
seemingly indefatigable Philip Lane.
His Overture on French Carols
and setting for narrator and orchestra
of Clement Clarke Moore’s cheekily charming
poem ’Twas the Night before Christmas
are enchanting additions to the bulging
Christmas repertoire.
It is somewhat appropriate
that the Overture on French Carols
was inspired by a Christmas visit to
Bayeux. Lane weaves a tapestry of perennial
French carols including Il est né
le divin enfant, Patapan
and Noël nouvelet into a
skilfully orchestrated five minute concert
overture that deserves to find its way
into the concert programmes of amateur
as well as professional orchestras.
The star of the show
however is the Moore setting, narrated
by Stephen Fry in his familiar, erudite
tones. This is music that is as warming
as a steaming glass of mulled wine and
as cosy as a fresh Yule log on the fire.
The composer points out that he wrote
the piece upon realising that there
was no setting of the poem for narrator
and orchestra, although maybe it also
crossed his mind that Howard Blake’s
The Snowman has virtually monopolised
the narration element of Christmas concert
programmes for many a year now.
Lane does not set out
to create anything as ambitious as the
Blake in his six minute setting, deliberately
keeping the music to the length of time
it takes to read the poem. Yet despite
its comparative brevity the music is
every bit as delightful as Blake’s classic
and is likely to warm many a Christmas
heart, both young and old.
Philip Lane is also
behind two of the other notable curiosities
in John Carmichael’s fleeting Sleighride
to Thredbo, a brief musical picture
of a ski resort in the composer’s native
New South Wales and Doreen Carwithen’s
On the Twelfth Day. Originally
written to accompany a short film based
around The Twelve Days of Christmas
this twenty minute reconstruction slightly
remodels the music in an attempt to
make it more suitable for the concert-stage.
The film went on to receive an Oscar
nomination although without the visual
element the music struggles to sustain
its over-lengthy duration.
Elsewhere Anthony Collins’
arrangement of Liszt’s Christmas
Tree Suite is another pleasant curiosity
whilst the Massenet is beautifully played
by solo cellist Matthew Lee.
The Christmas Overtures
of Otto Nicolai and Coleridge-Taylor
fail to hit the spot despite the best
efforts of the BBC Concert Orchestra
and Barry Wordsworth to inject enthusiasm
into what is somewhat uninspired music.
Overall however, this does not detract
from a largely appealing CD that is
worth its modest price tag simply for
the pleasure of the Philip Lane contributions.
Orchestra, singers
and conductor are on good form throughout
and the recording lives up to the increasingly
consistent standards that we have come
to expect from Naxos.
Christopher Thomas
see also review
by Dominy Clements
for details 
Stephen Fry (narrator) 
