Horn player Felix Klieser loves snow and the freezing cold, even if he doesn't get much of it at home in Hanover. Ever since his childhood, winter has been his favourite time of year - and not just for climatic reasons: "Even today, I'm an absolute Christmas fan and can't think of anything better than coming back from a walk in the snow to a warm house and slowly thawing out with a cup of hot chocolate. Little lights, tins full of biscuits, a visit to the Christmas market - this time of year is definitely my highlight!" enthuses the horn player.
The desire to record an album of Christmas music has therefore existed for many years. He often financed his studies by performing in the Christmas Oratorio. As is well known, the Advent season is always a boom time for brass players. Freely adapted from Bach: "Tönet ihr Pauken, erschallet ihr Hörner!" But the idea was repeatedly postponed, other recordings came along. It actually took 10 years with six albums released before he was able to fulfil this wish. In the meantime, Felix Klieser has built up an international career and has made the horn sound more frequently again as a soloist instrument on the big stages. It's time to fulfil a wish, as Christmas is also known for: And so the album title "A Golden Christmas" incorporates the colour of the horn not entirely by chance.
Felix Klieser has selected enchantingly beautiful melodies for his new album, which, like its predecessors, will be released by Berlin Classics. These include the heartfelt plea "Jesu, komm in meine Seele", an aria from Telemann's cantata "Machet die Tore weit", the old Advent carol "Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" and "Stille Nacht", which crowns every Christmas Eve. Alongside solemn carols such as "Adeste Fideles" or the yearning "Es kommt ein Schiff geladen", there are lively pieces such as the classic "Tochter Zion", a melody from Handel's oratorio "Judas Maccabäus", or the old English carol "Deck the Halls".
The composers range from the North German Baroque master Dieterich Buxtehude to the British composer John Rutter, who was born in 1945. The album thus covers a wide range and includes different eras and styles. Felix Klieser receives musical support from the first-class Wiener Concert-Verein. Founded in 1987 by members of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the chamber orchestra upholds the tradition of Viennese classical music on the one hand and cultivates contemporary repertoire on the other. It is the perfect line-up.
The experienced arranger Wolfgang Renz, with whom Felix Klieser had already worked on his album "Beyond Words", was chosen to arrange the works. As was the case with J.S. Bach, the so-called "parody method" is used to create completely new pieces and contexts from works that have already been composed. This is why Bach's Christmas Oratorio is also a must on this album and is represented on the new album with two arias: "Schließe mein Herz dies selige Wunder" and "Grosser Herr und starker König".
Felix Klieser succeeds in transferring baroque arias, choral works and songs so sensitively to the horn that his instrument literally sings the melodies and its multi-layered tone colours effectively imitate the human voice. He has already demonstrated this masterfully on his aria album "Beyond Words". He uncompromisingly trusts in the universal language of music and its effect. "The idea is that everyone can develop their own ideas while listening to the music," says Felix Kieser. "That's the exciting thing about it: there's no 'right and wrong'. Everyone associates something different with the music." Even without knowing the text or the symbolism, you can simply enjoy this music and feel a sense of security with the swaying 12/8 time of the aria "He shall feed his flock" from Handel's oratorio "The Messiah" or the "Abendsegen" from Humperdick's opera "Hansel and Gretel".
"A Golden Christmas" is intended to act as a light in dark times and put us in a festive mood. This was no easy task, as the recordings were made in the middle of summer in Vienna, which made it impossible to imagine snowy winter landscapes, candles and open fires. But the musicians knew how to help themselves: "We brought some Christmas decorations with us, unwrapped some biscuits and off we went," reports Felix Klieser with a grin, providing an audio guide to this album.
