A Ceremony of Carols: Britten, Praetorius, McDowall, Weir, Dove Choir of The Queen's College Oxford, Lucy Wakeford, Laurence John & Owen Rees

• Judith Weir (b. 1954):
• 1 Drop down, ye heavens, from above 01:49
• Michael Praetorius (1571 - 1621):
• 2 Es ist ein Ros entsprungen 02:32
• David Blackwell (b. 1961):
• 3 Lo, how a rose e’er blooming 03:43
• Michael Praetorius:
• 4 Resonet in laudibus 03:16
• Jonathan Dove (b. 1959):
• 5 The Three Kings 04:31
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28:
• 6 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Procession 01:28
• 7 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Wolcum Yole! 01:26
• 8 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: There Is no Rose 02:29
• 9 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: That yongë child 01:49
• 10 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Balulalow 01:27
• 11 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: As dew in Aprille 01:01
• 12 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: This little Babe 01:27
• 13 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Interlude 04:10
• 14 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: In Freezing Winter Night 04:06
• 15 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Spring Carol 01:05
• 16 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Deo Gracias 01:06
• 17 A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Recession 01:48
• Michael Praetorius:
• 18 In dulci jubilo 02:55
• Dobrinka Tabakova (b. 1980):
• 19 Good-will to men, and peace on Earth 02:27
• Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179):
• 20 O virga ac diadema 05:18
• Michael Praetorius:
• 21 Geborn ist Gottes Söhnelein 01:01
• Toby Young (b. 1990):
• 22 The Owl 01:54
• Michael Praetorius:
• 23 Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern 01:21
• Cecilia McDowall (b. 1951):
• 24 Now may we singen 03:15
• Michael Praetorius:
• 25 Puer natus in Bethlehem 05:17
• Total Runtime 01:02:41

Info for A Ceremony of Carols: Britten, Praetorius, McDowall, Weir, Dove

The juxtaposition of old and new which lies at the heart of much Christmas music lends this recording by the mixed-voice Choir of The Queen’s College Oxford its theme. The repertoire ranges in period from Hildegard of Bingen to pieces composed during the last few years. The central work – Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols – vividly encapsulates the intersection of ancient and modern, setting medieval and Renaissance texts, and drawing on plainchant as musical inspiration, while – in its series of fresh, vivid, and sharply-etched miniatures – eschewing the sentimentality which had become attached to Christmas and its music. Three centuries earlier, such combinations of old and new were just as apparent in the vast Christmas output of Michael Praetorius, the principal Lutheran composer of his age. Through works ranging from dramatic double-choir settings to the simplest harmonisations of chorales, this recording explores Praetorius as transmitter of older Christmas texts and and melodies. The links between Praetorius’s time and ours are represented in the pairing of Praetorius’s Es ist ein Ros entsprungen and David Blackwell’s exquisite reimagining of the same carol, Lo how a rose e’er blooming. An Advent chant forms the basis of Judith Weir’s haunting Look down ye heavens from above which opens the recording, while Cecilia McDowall’s Now may we singen perfectly captures the exuberance of its medieval text and Jonathan Dove’s The Three Kings evokes the strangeness of Dorothy L. Sayers’s transformation of the story of the Magi.

The Choir of Queen’s College, Oxford
Owen Rees, conductor
Lucy Wakeford, harp
Laurence John, organ

No biography found.

Booklet for A Ceremony of Carols: Britten, Praetorius, McDowall, Weir, Dove