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Performances of carols both ancient and modern have become central to the celebration of Christmas.
The choral music on this disc includes Holst’s surprisingly neglected Christmas Day, as well as music by Leighton, Joubert, Mathias, Gardner and Rutter.
The nostalgic mood of Howells’s evergreen carol anthems is echoed in Finzi’s In terra pax, which recalls the pealing of bells at midnight on a frosty Christmas Eve.
The City of London Choir, which enjoys an enviable reputation as a “leader among non-professional choruses” (The Times), makes its Naxos début with this delightful recording.
Gustav Holst: Christmas Day
Christmas Day
John Joubert: There Is No Rose, Op. 14
There is no Rose, Op. 14
William Mathias: Sir Christemas
Sir Christemas
Herbert Howells: Here is the little door
Here is the little door
Herbert Howells: A Spotless Rose
A Spotless Rose
Gerald Finzi: In terra pax, Christmas Scene, Op. 39
In terra pax, Christmas Scene, Op. 39
Peter Warlock: 3 Carols
No. 1. Tyrley, tyrlow
No. 2. Balulalow
No. 3. As I sat under a sycamore tree
Kenneth Leighton: A Hymn of the Nativity
A Hymn of the Nativity
John Rutter: What Sweeter Music
What sweeter music
John Gardner: Tomorrow shall be my dancing day, Op. 75, No. 2
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day
William Mathias: A Babe is Born, Op. 53
A Babe is Born, Op. 53
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Folksongs of the 4 Seasons
I. Children's Christmas song
II. Wassail song
III. In Bethlehem city
IV. God bless the Master
Christmas 2009
****
“The gem here is Finzi's In terra pax… From late in Finzi's life, it is suffused with English pastoral yearning, and baritone Roderick Williams sings beautifully in the outer sections.”
4th December 2009
****
“...an outstanding account of one of the minor masterpieces of 20th-century English music.”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
Christmas Day
