Christmas is without any doubt the most
popular feast of the year. It is not
a specifically Christian feast any more.
Commercial exploitation, all too visible
in shops, starting as early as the beginning
of fall, is all too evident. The popularity
of this season is also reflected by
the number of 'Christmas discs' which
flood the market every year. From an
artistic point of view many of them
are of dubious quality and have little
or nothing to do with the real meaning
of Christmas.
In the early Christian
church the birth of Jesus wasn't specifically
celebrated. In the New Testament there
are no indications whatsoever that Christmas
was given specific attention. The congregation
gathered together on the first day of
the week, because it was the day of
Christ's resurrection. For the early
church every Sunday was Easter, so to
speak. In the Eastern-Orthodox Church
Easter still is the main feast of the
church year, but over the centuries
Christmas has gradually taken over that
position in the churches of Western
Europe. This is reflected in stories
and carols which have more to do with
popular piety than with the actual story
of Jesus' birth as told in the Bible.
The church didn't do anything to suppress
this development. On the contrary, folk
tales and Christmas carols were excellent
instruments to spread the teachings
of the Church among common people, in
particular those with little or no education.
As a result a whole repertoire of carols
came into existence, some of which are
international in character. But most
countries also have their own particular
carols, with their own texts and music.
The set of four discs
reviewed here is a reissue of recordings
from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In comparison with the garbage which
is presented every year as 'Christmas
discs' it is a model of good taste and
creative programming. The music selected
here is only a small portion of the
large amount of music connected in one
way or another with Christmas. The repertoire
goes from the 12th to the 20th century.
It is presented in no chronological
or geographical order, which means that
one goes from the Middle Ages to the
romantic period within a couple of minutes.
The advantage is a maximum of variety;
the disadvantage is that people who
don't like 19th or 20th century music
have to keep the remote control of their
CD player to hand to skip those items.
Not that there is very
much music of those centuries: the largest
part of this repertoire was written
before 1800 as the tracklist shows.
There are two reasons for this. The
first is that the Taverner Consort,
Choir & Players are ensembles specialized
in renaissance and baroque music and
their interpretations are based on historical
performance practice; obviously this
has influenced the choice of repertoire.
The second is that in the 19th and 20th
centuries not that much music was written
for Christmas - or any Christian feast,
for that matter. Composers were usually
not in the service of a church and therefore
they were not expected to compose music
for the highlights of the church year.
On top of that a growing number of composers
can hardly be considered believers like
their pre-1800 counterparts. And Christmas
music written in the last two centuries
is often scored for much larger forces
than the Taverners.
Of course there are
many recordings with Christmas music
of the renaissance and baroque era in
the catalogue. But this set still has
a lot to offer. First of all it contains
pieces which are hardly known. Composers
like De Vidales, Pascha, Flecha or Osiander
are not exactly household names, not
even in programmes with early music.
And I am pretty sure that there are
no discs in the catalogue with music
by Bendinelli and Thomsen. Interesting
also are the pieces by American composers
of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
This is as yet a little explored part
of music history, although Paul Hillier
has recorded music by William Billings.
This repertoire suites the Taverner
Consort well, just as the music of the
Middle Ages and renaissance. The singers
of the ensemble are all very experienced
in this kind of repertoire, and are
also well-known as members of other
ensembles and as soloists. This repertoire
receives completely idiomatic performances.
That is not always
the case in German or French baroque
music. Music by Praetorius has fared
better in the hands of, for instance,
the Gabrieli Consort and Players or
Musica Fiata. And the best performances
of music by Charpentier come from Les
Arts Florissants or Le Concert Spirituel,
to mention the most well-known ensembles.
But the performances on these discs
of the pieces by these two composers
are alright. I am not very happy, though,
with the split of Praetorius' sacred
concerto 'In dulci jubilo' into two
on disc 2.
The strength of these
discs is the performance of either rare
repertoire or rather well-known repertoire
in different - one may assume often
original - versions. The most popular
Christmas carol of our time is 'Silent
Night', often sung in a most distasteful
way, but here it is presented in its
original scoring for two voices with
guitar and choir. And even the hymn
'Hark! the herald angels sing' which
no British Christmas celebration can
do without, is sung here in a version
which differs from what one usually
hears today.
A couple of things
should be noticed. On the positive side:
Latin texts in medieval English music
are pronounced in an anglicized way
- historically fully justifiable. As
far as I can tell pieces are performed
completely - no stanzas seem to be cut.
That is a bad habit of many recordings,
which Andrew Parrott hasn't copied,
thankfully. This means that a simple
four-part chorale like 'Christum wir
sollen loben schon' by Lucas Osiander
lasts 3 minutes - which is risky as
many people, in particular non-Germans
who haven't grown up with chorales like
this, don't like them very much. But
one should really give it a try – there’s
good chance that one will start to like
them, especially as performed here.
It doesn't help, though
- and here we come to the negative side
- that the booklet fails to provide
any lyrics. As I don't know the original
releases I can't tell whether they have
been omitted in this reissue, but it
is a shame, as most of these lyrics
are hardly known. Clifford Bartlett
has written a good essay with a general
overview of the repertoire on these
discs, but more detailed information
about the music and the composers would
have been very useful. I would also
have liked to know more about the performers
of every item - only the 'soloists'
are mentioned - and the instruments
they use. Not everyone will recognize
the folk instruments in the Gloria by
the Czech composer Edmund Pascha. And
I am curious to know what piano was
used in the two pieces by Liszt. There
are some errors in the tracklist as
well, which I have corrected as far
as possible with the help of the information
given at Amazon.com. But some things
remain a mystery, for instance why some
pieces are referred to as 'anonymous'
here and 'traditional' on Amazon or
vice versa. That isn't exactly the same.
A more careful editing of the booklet
would not have gone amiss.
As I said before these
discs are a model of good taste and
creative programming, and - I'd like
to add - generally outstanding performances.
For those who look for an alternative
for the popular and conventional Christmas
repertoire this is a set to look for.
I have listened to all four discs practically
at a stretch and have never been bored.
I am sure you will have a great time
listening to these discs in the last
weeks of the year.
Johan van Veen
Christmas Carols
CD 1: Festive Music from Europe and
America
William BILLINGS
(1756-1800)
Methinks I see an heav'nly host [02:59]
John FOSTER (1762-1822)
While shepherds watched their flocks
by night [05:23]
Joan CEREROLS
(1618-1676)
Serafin, que con dulce harmonia [07:29]
Francisco DE VIDALES
(?-1702)
Los que fuerren de buen gusto [04:16]
Michael PRAETORIUS
(c.1571-1621)
Magnificat super Angelus ad pastores
[09:16]
Marc-Antoine CHARPENTIER
(1634-1704)
In nativitatem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi
canticum (H 414) [13:39]
Edmund PASCHA
(1714-1772)
Christmas Mass in F: Gloria [11:52]
John Francis WADE
(1711?-1786)/arr Thomas
GREATOREX (1757-1831)
Adeste fideles [04:51]
William BILLINGS
A virgin unspotted [03:19]
CD 2: Nine centuries of seasonal music
Michael PRAETORIUS
In dulci jubilo a 16 (Pars 1) (1619)
[04:07]
Louis-Claude DAQUIN
(1694-1772)
Noël X (Quand Dieu naquit a Noël)
for organ, op. 2,10 [05:19]
Anton VON WEBERN
(1883-1945)
Dormi Jesu, op. 16,2 [01:12]
Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Weihnachtsbaum for piano (S 186): Adeste
fideles (S 186,4) [04:41]
Thomas TALLIS
(c.1505-1585)
Hodie nobis celorum Rex a 4 [03:25]
Henri MULET (1878-1967)
Noël (Byzantine Sketches for organ,
No 8) [03:42]
Tarquinio MERULA
(1594-c.1625)
Canzonetta spirituale sopra alla Nanna
(Hor ch'e tempo di dormire) [07:28]
anon (13th
c)
Angelus ad virginem [01:27]
Giovanni GABRIELI
(1554-1612)
Audite principes a 16 (1615) [06:18]
anon (16th
c)
Sweet was the song of the Virgin [02:35]
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN
(1098-1179]
O viridissima virga, Ave [04:10]
Franz LISZT
Weihnachtsbaum for piano (S 186): Die
Hirten an der Krippe (S 186,3) [04:27]
Malcolm BRUNO
(b.1952)
The burning babe [02:55]
Arnold SCHÖNBERG
(1874-1951)
Weihnachtsmusik [05:14]
anon
(15th c)
Lullay, lullow, I saw a swete semly
syght (harp) [02:29]
Michael PRAETORIUS
In dulci jubilo a 16 (Pars 2) (1619)
[03:42]
CD 3: The Carol Album I: Seven centuries
of Christmas music
anon (13th/15th
c)
Veni, veni Emmanuel [03:27]
Franz Xaver GRUBER
(1787-1863)
Stille Nacht [03:55]
trad
Il est né, le divin enfant [02:10]
anon
(15th c)
Nova! Nova! [01:41]
trad
Marche des rois [01:49]
trad
The Babe of Bethlehem (ed William Walker,
1835) [02:40]
anon (15th
c)
Verbum caro: Y la Virgen [01:42]
Jeremiah INGALLS
(1764-1838)
Redemption (Glory to God on high) [00:57]
anon (15th
c)
This endere nyghth [04:45]
Johann Sebastian
BACH (1685-1750)
O Jesulein süß, o Jesulein
mild (BWV 493) [02:03]
trad
Il est né, le divin enfant (instr)
[01:09]
trad
God rest ye merry, gentlemen [02:29]
anon (16th
c)
Swete was the song the Virgine soong
[02:36]
trad
Quem pastores laudavere [01:57]
trad
Quanno nascete ninno [01:59]
Mateo FLECHA Sr
(1481-1553)
Riu, riu, chiu (El lobo rabioso) [03:24]
PHILIPPE LE CHANCELIER
(13th c)
Gabriel fram heven-king [03:17]
Lucas OSIANDER
(1534-1604)
Christum wir sollen loben schon [03:02]
anon (16th
c)
The Coventry Carol (Lully, lulla, thow
littel tyne child) [03:22]
anon (16th
c)
Gaudete! [01:41]
anon (15th
c)
Verbum caro: In hoc anni circulo [02:21]
anon (15th
c)
Alleluya: A nywe werk is come on honde
[05:50]
trad
The Old Year now away is fled [01:51]
trad
Ding Dong! Merrily on high [02:02]
CD 4: The Carol Album II: Seven centuries
of Christmas music
Christopher TYE
(c.1500-1573)/Richard
ALISON (fl. 1592-1606)
While shepherds watched their flocks
by night [02:24]
John Henry HOPKINS
Jr. (1820-1891)
Three Kings of Orient (We three kings)
[04:18]
John Jacob NILES
(1892-1980)
I wonder as I wander [03:03]
anon (13th/14th
c)
Qui creavit celum (Song of the Nuns
of Chester) [04:11]
anon (15th
c)
Ther is no rose of swych vertu [03:58]
Cesare BENDINELLI
(c1542-1617)
Sonata for 3 trumpets after 'Joseph,
lieber Joseph mein' [01:51]
trad
All hayle to the dayes [04:04]
Sarum plainchant
Letabundus [03:44]
John JOUBERT (b.1926)
There is no rose of such virtue [02:41]
anon (17th
c)
Quelle est cette odeur agréable?
[04:33]
John Jacob NILES
Lullay, thou tiny little child [02:24]
anon (13th
c)
Procedenti Puero-Eya! novus annus est
[02:38]
Magnus THOMSEN
(17th c)
Sonata for 5 trumpets after 'In dulci
jubilo' [02:17]
trad
The Lord at first did Adam make [03:57]
trad
O du fröhliche! O du selige! [02:29]
trad (14th
c)
Lullay, lullay: As I lay on Yoolis night
[07:46]
Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY
(1809-1847)
Hark! The herald angels sing (with organ
interludes by
Samuel Sebastian WESLEY, (1810-1876))
[05:14]
The Taverner Consort, Choir and Players/Andrew
Parrott 
