Christmas from Norway Lise Davidsen, Norwegian Radio Orchestra & Christian Eggen

• Adolphe Adam (1803 - 1856):
• 1Adam: O Helga Natt (Arr. Gamley & Hazell)04:53
• Engelbert Humperdinck (b. 1936):
• 2Humperdinck: Weihnachtslieder: No. 1, Weihnachten (Arr. Mackerras)02:49
• Franz Xaver Gruber (1787 - 1863):
• 3Gruber: Silent Night (Arr. Cullen)04:04
• Gustaf Nordqvist (1886 - 1949):
• 4Nordqvist: Jul, jul, strålande jul (Arr. Eggen)02:37
• Traditional:
• 5Traditional: Deilig er Jorden (Arr. Eggen)03:52
• Traditional:
• 6Traditional: Mitt hjerte alltid vanker (Arr. Eggen)04:37
• Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957):
• 7Sibelius: Julvisa, Op. 1 No. 4 (Arr. Eggen)03:00
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750):
• 8Bach: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, Cantata BWV 147: X. Jesu bleibet meine freunde (Arr. Hazell)02:55
• Max Reger (1873 - 1916):
• 9Reger: Schlichte Weisen, Op. 76: No. 52, Mariä Wiegenlied02:25
• Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893):
• 10Gounod: Ave Maria, CG 89a (After J.S. Bach: Prelude in C Major, BWV 846) [Arr. Sabatini]02:48
• Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903):
• 11Wolf: Mörike-Lieder: No. 25, Schlafendes Jesuskind04:01
• Traditional:
• 12Traditional: The First Noel (Arr. Henderson)02:56
• John Francis Wade (1711 - 1786):
• 13Wade: O Come All Ye Faithful (Arr. Gamley & Hazell)04:23
• Adolphe Adam:
• 14Adam: O Holy Night (Arr. Gamley & Hazell)04:59
• Total Runtime50:19

Info for Christmas from Norway

Lise Davidsen, the most in-demand soprano in the world right now, releases her new album, "Christmas From Norway". Hailed as “The living, breathing meteor of the current opera world” (The i Paper), Lise’s forthcoming album presents a delightful and personally-selected collection of traditional Norwegian Christmas music and classic festive favourites, spreading the warm glow of the Scandinavian Christmas spirit. Reflecting on the project, the soprano expresses her long-standing desire to create this album. Lise says, “For Scandinavians, Christmas serves as a beacon of light in the midst of a lengthy winter. Perhaps that is why we embrace it so wholeheartedly.”

The opera sensation is also set to perform at the prestigious Last Night of the Proms 2023 on September 9. After her “legendary performance” (Evening Standard) and “tour de force of glorious singing” (The Guardian) in Verdi’s ‘Don Carlo’ at the London’s Royal Opera House this summer, Lise will now headline the UK’s most popular classical event alongside cellist and label-mate Sheku Kanneh-Mason and accompanied by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, and BBC Singers. Following last year's cancellation due to the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth, the soprano is looking forward to closing the BBC Proms, describing the event as “the closest classical singers and musicians get to a sports event or a rock concert”.

Critics have lauded Lise Davidsen's soaring soprano voice, comparing it to a "God-given instrument"(The Times), “with multiple shades of colour… midnight ink; honeyed gold; burgundy as burnished as her silk dress.” (The Daily Telegraph) comparing her performances to “watching a Roger Federer serve: there’s elegance, grace, apparently effortless fluidity…” (Bachtrack).

Christmas From Norway is an album particularly close to Lise’s heart – the holiday season not only being the singer’s favourite time of the year but also embodying her vision for music: breaking barriers and making it accessible to all without losing the craft. “Christmas is how I got into music” she recalls. “We listened to all kinds of music: choral music, popular music, and Norwegian songs.” A time when everyone can feel welcome to experience the beauty of classical music, even if they do not understand it fully at first, as she confessed “I’ve been in that situation myself a million times, wondering what’s going on… I’ve fallen asleep. I’ve not understood things. Classical music is for everyone, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to understand right away”.

For this album, the soprano draws inspiration from the classic albums of iconic predecessors on Decca Classics, such as Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson. The album features beautiful arrangements drawn from the label's archive, originally made for such legendary singers as Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price, and Renée Fleming.

Accompanied by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Soloists’ Choir, and National Opera Children's Choir, Christmas From Norway includes “songs we all know.” She adds, “I love that Christmas music has such reach.”

Highlights include "O Holy Night" sung in both Swedish and English, featuring Douglas Gamley's orchestration originally made for Pavarotti, and a beautiful adaptation of "Silent Night" by David Cullen, originally arranged for Kiri Te Kanawa. The timeless "Ave Maria" showcases Leontyne Price's iconic version recorded with Herbert Von Karajan in Vienna on her legendary Christmas album. “I find those recordings wonderful and so Christmassy,” says Lise, expressing her admiration for these famous performances that have left an indelible mark on the festive music landscape.

Lise Davidsen, soprano
Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Christian Eggen, conductor

Lise Davidsen
Rarely has a young singer made such an enormous impact on the classical music industry as Lise Davidsen. A superb talent, the Norwegian soprano shot to prominence in summer 2015 when she was crowned winner of both the Operalia and the Queen Sonja competitions. Soon after she made triumphant debuts with Glyndebourne Festival, Opernhaus Zürich, Wiener Staatsoper, Aix-en-Provence Festival, BBC Proms and Wigmore Hall. In May 2018 Lise Davidsen signed an exclusive recording contract with Decca Classics, becoming the first Scandinavian dramatic soprano to sign to the label since Birgit Nilsson and the first Norwegian singer to join Decca since Kirsten Flagstad. Her self titled debut album was released on 31 May 2019. The 18/19 season sees Lise Davidsen making her hugely anticipated Bayreuth debut as Elisabeth in a new production of “Tannhäuser” conducted by Valery Gergiev. The role is also a vehicle for her returns to Opernhaus Zürich and Bavarian State Opera Munich. Other highlights include her debut as Liza in Tchaikovsky’s “Queen of Spades” at Stuttgart State Opera and a company debut with Royal Opera House Covent Garden London in their “Ring” cycle. On the concert platform she makes a highly anticipated return to the BBC Proms with Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem” together with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrés Orozco-Estrada as well appearing at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko and a programme of Strauss songs. Further performances throughout the season include “Vier letzte Lieder” with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Stavanger Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; an open air concert with Oslo Philharmonic; her debut as Sieglinde in “Die Walküre” with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis and with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Edo de Waart; Wagner’s “Wesendonck Lieder” and Mahler’s “Rückert-Lieder” with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra; and solo recitals with James Baillieuat Opernhaus Zürich and Schubertiada Vilabertran. Recent operatic successes include the title role of “Ariadne auf Naxos” at Aix-en-Provence Festival, Wiener Staatsoper and Glyndebourne Festival; Agathe in a new production of “Der Freischütz” at Opernhaus Zürich; Cherubini’s Medea at Wexford Festival; Santuzza in “Cavalleria rusticana” and Sancta Susanna in Oslo; and Isabella in “Das Liebesverbot” at Teatro Colon. Other engagements include her house debuts with Bavarian State Opera as Ortlinde “Die Walküre” and at Frankfurt Opera for its “Ring” cycle both in 2016. On the concert platform she was an Artist in Residence with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in 17/18 season where her appearances included an open-air concert, Verdi’s Requiem and “Wesendonck Lieder” as well as recital performances. Other recent concert engagements include her BBC Proms debut with John Storgards and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Strauss Songs op. 27 songs with the Oslo Philharmonic; Verdi’s Requiem with the Philharmonia Orchestra London; Danish National Symphony Orchestra; and Deutsch-Skandinavisches Jugendorchester; Wagner’s “Wesendonck Lieder” with the Randers Chamber Orchestra; Strauss’s “Vier letzte Lieder” with Oslo Philharmonic; George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Bucharest; and Copenhagen Philharmonic; and Freia in “Das Rheingold” with Odense Symphony Orchestra. A dedicated recitalist she made a hugely acclaimed London recital debut with James Baillieu in the Rosenblatt Recital Series at the Wigmore Hall London and with Helmut Deutsch at Bergen International Festival. Lise Davidsen’s talent has attracted serious attention since the outset of her musical training. A 2014 graduate of the Opera Academy in Copenhagen, she has studied under Susanna Eken, previously gaining a degree from Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen. In 2015 she was crowned winner of both the Operalia and the Queen Sonja competitions. Her breakthrough performances won her the First Prize, the Birgit Nilsson Award and the Audience Prize at the Operalia competition in London as well as the prize for the best performance of Norwegian music and the Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship at the Queen Sonia International Music Competition. In 2018 she was the recipient of the Queen Ingrid Honory Grant. In 2018, Lise Davidsen was presented with the prestigious Young Artist of the Year Award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards.

This album contains no booklet.