ALBUM OF THE WEEK
CHARPENTIER
Pastorale de Noël, Grandes Antiennes “O” de l’Avent
Ensemble Correspondances, dir Sébastien Daucé
Harmonia Mundi HMC902247
Between 1684 and 1686, Charpentier presented performances of his Christmas “pastoral” to his patroness, Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise, whose court at her Parisian hôtel rivalled (if it took care not to outshine) that of Louis XIV. Each year, the composer made minor revisions to the second part of the work — a characteristic late-17th-century melange of oratorio and opera, imbued with the spirit of dance — and Daucé’s recording is the first to present all of the music Charpentier wrote, with the 1684 version given complete. The pastoral may be an unusual vehicle for the Christmas story (though it forms a significant part of Handel’s Messiah), but it suits the composer’s intimate vein to perfection. Daucé’s Ensemble Correspondances boasts immaculately stylish soloists in the soprano Caroline Dangin-Bardot, the high tenor Stephen Collardelle and the baritone Etienne Bazola, who blend easily in ensembles. This is state-of-the-art Charpentier, following traditions established by William Christie’s Les Arts Florissants. The “O” Antiphons for Advent — short, intense consort pieces proclaiming the coming of Christ — make an ideal coupling for those who fancy celebrating “Noël” in 2016. HC
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CHRISTMAS WITH ST JOHN’S
Carols by Rutter, Finnissy et al
Joseph Wicks (organ), Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, cond Andrew Nethsinga
Signum Classics SIGCD458
Under Nethsinga, St John’s Choir rides high among the Cambridge colleges. Its Christmas collection begins with the Shepherd’s Carol, by a former King’s (!) chorister, Bob Chilcott, but Nethsinga’s programming is eclectic while retaining a “traditional” core. Alongside classics — The Holly and the Ivy (arr Walford Davies), I Saw Three Ships (Simon Preston) and Cornelius’s Three Kings (Ivor Atkins) — there are superb 20th- and 21st-century carols by William Mathias, John Rutter, Michael Finnissy and Elizabeth Poston. HC
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LET THE ANGELS SING
European Carols and songs
Michala Petri (recorders), Danish National Vocal Ensemble, cond Michael Bojesen
OUR 6.220615
This is an oddity, but a delightful one. Any Christmas collection that begins with the magical Basque Gabriel’s Message sets me in a receptive mood. More than that, all 17 European carols (sung in English) are refreshed and made new by Bojesen’s ingenious but never overelaborate arrangements, and by the angelic sound of Petri’s recorders: sometimes soft and melodious, sometimes gleefully shrill. The choir’s singing is excellent – incisive, expressive and natural. DC
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A WELLS CHRISTMAS
Carols by Sargent et al
Wells Cathedral Choir, dir Matthew Owens
Resonus RES10176
This seasonal sequence is lively, attractive and rather pure. The carols are sung sometimes a cappella, mostly with an organ accompaniment by Jonathan Vaughn, who has two carol-voluntaries. Four carols — by Owens, Jefferson McConnaughey and Bob Chilcott (two) — are first recordings. Malcolm Sargent’s Czech Zither Carol, with its zing-zing-ing, is peculiarly felicitous. John Rutter’s Donkey Carol is apt to stick in the mind, but less affectingly so than Kenneth Leighton’s version of the French O leave your sheep. Nigel Simeone provides a scholarly essay on the development of the carol and the carol service. PD
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BACH
Christmas Oratorio
Soloists, Dunedin Consort, dir John Butt
Linn CKD499 (2 CDs)
This is a beautifully crafted performance of the six cantatas that constitute Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, with the director opting for the historically appropriate intimate scale. So no chorus, but two quartets of solo singers (three cantatas for each), and reinforcements of another quartet only in the choruses involving trumpets. There’s an easy flow to the tempos and the glowing singing of the arias is matched by deeply impressive instrumental obbligatos. SP
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