Christmas CDs

[StephenO]

Does anyone have any particular favourite Christmas CDs? Amongst the carols, oratorios and Nutcrackers, which CD/s do you most look forward to playing as the festive season approaches?

For me it has to be Paul McCreesh's wonderful recording of Michael Praetorius's Lutheran Mass on Archiv and Richard Hickox's disc of Vaughan Williams's Christmas music on Chandos.

[VodkaDilc]

One of my favourites is a collection of carols + Britten's Ceremony of Carols, sung by the Christ Church Oxford Choir under Francis Grier. It was recorded in the early 1980s by ASV, when the choir was particularly strong and the selection of mainly 20th century carols is masterful.

[Roehre]

The last couple of years I listened to (among others) the following pieces of Christmas music (not in a specific order), and I will listen to a selction of it this year again:

JSBach Weihnachtsoratorium plus cantates for advent, New years day and Epiphany ; Magnificat
CPEBach: Magnificat
Saint Saens: Oratorium de Noël
Honegger; Cantate de Noël
Martin: Le Mystère de la Nativité; Chansons de Noël
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols; Hodue; First Nowell
Liszt: Weihnachtsbaum
Beethoven: Glück, Glück zum neuen Jahr (2 canons for 3 voices)
Lutoslawski: Polish Carols
Nicolai: Weihnachtsouvertüre
Penderecki: Symphony no.2 "christmas"
Bax: Christmas Eve on the Mountain
Busoni: Nuit de Noël
Corelli: Christmasconcerto
Britten: A Ceremony of Christmas Carols; A Boy is born
Messiaen: La nativité du Seigneur
Bruch: Gruss an die heilige nacht
Wolf; Christnacht
Hely-Hutchinson: Carol Symphony
Finzi: Dies natalis
Carl Davis: A Christmas Carol (after Dickens)
Bridge: The Christmas Rose
Arnold: Song of Simeon
Mendelssohn: Vom Himmel hoch (choral cantate)
Pierné: L'Enfant de Bethléhem
Schönberg: Weihnachtsmusik
Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ
Charpentier: Messe de Minuit
Respighi: Lauda per la nativita del Signore

[verismissimo]

I get out many of Roehre's list at the beginning of Advent and put them away again around Twelfth Night. Rather inappropriately, I always play the Berlioz on Christmas morning.

Just ordered: the LPO/Jurowski "live" Xmas concert of Bach, Mendelssohn and VW.

[MickyD]

I have a real mixed bag of favourites - I like to listen to William Christie's charming Charpentier recordings of Christmas music, then Peter Holman's disc of Christmas music for parish churches from Hyperion, and when I feel really sentimental I unashamedly revel in Stephen Layton/Polyphony's John Rutter collection.

[verismissimo]

A few in my pile and not on Roehre's list:

Handel: Messiah Part 1
MA Charpentier: Pastorale sur la Naissance de NS J-C
Liszt: Christus
Poulenc: Christmas Motets
Wolf: Schlendes Jesuskind and Nun Wandre Maria
Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel (!)
JS Bach: Cantatas for Christmas 63, 91, 110, 191, 40, 57, 121, 64, 133, 151, 28, 122, 152

[Mr Pee]

Finzi's "In Terra Pax" is my favourite Christmas related piece. Magical.

[Anna]

I really didn't mean to embed that Wizzard! I just also love the cheesy Christnas music as well as the classical.

[VodkaDilc]

Micky- I agree with you about the Peter Holman disc. You've made me want to go and play it now! Wonderful stuff! After listening to that I find I never want to hear the 'hymn book' version of While Shepherds Watched again.

[BBMmk2]

Black Dyke Band's Christmas Carol; Js Bach: Christmas Oratorio; countless carols, numerous Crhistmas songs eg 'Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day'

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The Rutter/Collegium CDs are mostly excellent, particularly the earlier ones when the Cambridge Singers sounded younger and fresher.

[hmvman]

Every year, while present wrapping, I play my LP of VW's Fantasia on Christmas Carols. Guildford Cathedral Choir with the Pro Arte Orchestra conducted by Barry Rose (1966 EMI recording). The disc also has Warlock's 'Bethlehem Down' and 'Adam lay y-bounden' as well as VW's 'And all in the morning' and 'Wassail Song'. A delight. The other side of the LP has Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony but I never play that as I'm not keen on it.

This year I'm looking forward to playing some other Warlock Christmas songs having recently been given a CD of them.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony - that's quite a well-constructed piece, but it's more of a divertimento that a symphony. It's rather like Edward German's Welsh Rhapsody in that it's basically a medley, but with some music development. I like them both. :) Not in the same league as the VW though.

[hmvman]

Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony - that's quite a well-constructed piece, but it's more of a divertimento that a symphony. It's rather like Edward German's Welsh Rhapsody in that it's basically a medley, but with some music development. I like them both. :) Not in the same league as the VW though.

I really should give it (the Hely-Hutchinson) another go sometime!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Mine's on one of the LPs Frau Alpensinfonie wants me to get rid of. :(