Wainwright, J: Christians, awake, salute the happy morn

As the season of turkey and stuffing looms in our minds, there could be no more homey a disc for Christmas than this unusual collection championing the village genius of local composers, whose settings of carols and hymns kept the congregations warm all those years ago - a time when the commercial excesses of today's Christmas were unknown. Modern clichés about community values have nothing in comparison to the humble pride and unity of villagers and townsfolk who gathered to sing settings that were the labour of love and skill on the part of the local composer or choirmaster ... or even excise officer! The foibles and fondness of community life combine here with all manner of interesting tastes in compositional technique, be it idiosyncratic fugal treatment or instrumentation designed to keep busy whatever musicians could be mustered.<br>&nbsp;<br> The organ on the recording dates from 1789 and the old temperament is used.

The Huddersfield Choral society has one of the longest and most fruitful relationships with Handel’s famous Messiah than perhaps any other chorus in the world: they first performed it in concert during their inception year of 1836, and have continued to do so annually since 1860 with concerts the world over as well as in their hometown of Huddersfield.

Recorded live in concert in December 2010, this new recording combines the famous ensemble with the Northern Sinfonia and four world-class professionals, under the direction of Jane Glover CBE. The disc begins with John Wainwright’s ‘Christians Awake’, a traditional addition to the Messiah programme at their concerts in Huddersfield.

Also available on Signum is the Huddersfield Choral Society’s performance of Mozart’s 1787 arrangement of the work, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dame Felicity Lott, Philip Langridge and others under the direction of Sir Charles Mackerras (SIGCD074).

A collection of well-loved traditional Carols performed by the critically-acclaimed Truro Cathedral Choir, directed by Robert Sharpe.

Features all the Carols regularly sung at Truro Cathedral’s Nine Lessons and Carols and Midnight Mass services.

First recordings of two new carols by leading British composers Gabriel Jackson and Howard Skempton, commissioned by Truro Cathedral.

Includes Regent producer Gary Cole’s blues-inspired arrangement of Away in a Manger.

As a follow up to the hugely successful Hymns Album, Huddersfield Choral society now release 26 Christmas favourites. As with the Hymns Album, the HCS are conducted by Joseph Cullen and joined by a brass ensemble for a selection of these ever popular carols.The Huddersfield Choral Society has an international reputation as the UK's leading choral society, producing a unique and full-bodied 'Huddersfield Sound'.Two previous hymn and carol albums were released in 1985 [for EMI]; both received gold discs for achieving over 100,000 sales.