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):
• 1Drop down, ye heavens, from above01:49
• Michael Praetorius (1571 - 1621):
• 2Es ist ein Ros entsprungen02:32
• David Blackwell (b. 1961):
• 3Lo, how a rose e’er blooming03:43
• Michael Praetorius:
• 4Resonet in laudibus03:16
• Jonathan Dove (b. 1959):
• 5The Three Kings04:31
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28:
• 6A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Procession01:28
• 7A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Wolcum Yole!01:26
• 8A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: There Is no Rose02:29
• 9A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: That yongë child01:49
• 10A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Balulalow01:27
• 11A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: As dew in Aprille01:01
• 12A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: This little Babe01:27
• 13A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Interlude04:10
• 14A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: In Freezing Winter Night04:06
• 15A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Spring Carol01:05
• 16A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Deo Gracias01:06
• 17A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Recession01:48
• Michael Praetorius:
• 18In dulci jubilo02:55
• Dobrinka Tabakova (b. 1980):
• 19Good-will to men, and peace on Earth02:27
• Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179):
• 20O virga ac diadema05:18
• Michael Praetorius:
• 21Geborn ist Gottes Söhnelein01:01
• Toby Young (b. 1990):
• 22The Owl01:54
• Michael Praetorius:
• 23Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern01:21
• Cecilia McDowall (b. 1951):
• 24Now may we singen03:15
• Michael Praetorius:
• 25Puer natus in Bethlehem05:17
• Total Runtime01:02:41

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