A Christmas Concert with Robert Shaw

A Christmas Concert with Robert Shaw

VOX-NX-3027CD (Vox Classics, CD)

ADD
Stereo
DIGITALLY REMASTERED (27 October 2023)

Playing time: 78'40"
Tracks: 20
Booklet pages: 12
℗ 1976 Vox Productions Inc / 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
© 2023 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Main country of recording: United States of America
Country of manufacture: Germany
Reviewer: Keith Bramich
Review of A Christmas Concert with Robert Shaw published on 27 November 2023

Louise Seidel, soprano (track 2)
Atlanta Symphony Chorus (tracks 1-12 and 20)
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (tracks 1-3 and 6-20)
Robert Shaw, conductor

traditional, arranged for choir and orchestra by Alice Parker (born 1925):

1 O come, O come, Emmanuel

traditional, arranged for soprano, choir and orchestra by Alice Parker:

2 So Blest a Sight

traditional, arranged for choir and orchestra by Alice Parker:

3 Dormi, Jesu! Mater ridet

traditional, arranged by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621):

4 Lo, how a rose e'er blooming

traditional, arranged for choir by (Robert?) Shaw:

5 Coventry Carol

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):

Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 (1734)
6 Part II: Break forth, O wondrous morning light
7 Part IV: Jesus, guide my beginning

Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (1749)
8 Dona nobis pacem

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869):

L'Enfance du Christ, Op 25 (1854)
9 Part II: The Shepherd's Farewell

attributed to John Francis Wade (1711-1786), arranged by Alice Parker for choir and orchestra:

10 Adeste fideles (1751)

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741):

Gloria in D, RV 589 (1715)
11 Gloria in excelsis Deo
12 Et in terra pax

Johann Sebastian Bach:

Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 (1734)
13 Part II: And there were Shepherds

Georges Bizet (1838-1875) arranged for orchestra by Ernest Guiraud (1837-1892):

L'Arlésienne Suite No 2 (1879)
14 Farandole

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) arranged for orchestra by Erich Leinsdorf (1912-1993):

15 Es ist ein Ros' entsprunge[n] (11 Chorale Preludes Op 122 No 8)

Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007):

Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951)
16 Introduction, March and Shepherd's Dance

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936):

Trittico botticelliano, P 151 (1927)
17 L'adorazione dei Magi

Antonio Vivaldi:

Violin Concerto in F minor, Op 8 No 4 ('Winter' from 'The Four Seasons') (published 1725)
18 Allegro non molto
19 Largo

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759):

Messiah, HWV 56 (1741)
20 Part II: Hallelujah

The art of the Christmas carol extends back to the Middle Ages, producing a richly varied tradition that continues to the present day. This programme highlights the evolution of Christmas music: from early monastic carols such as the original plainchant of O come, O come, Emmanuel; through the beautiful sixteenth-century melodies Lo, how a rose e'er blooming and the Coventry Carol; to the mighty splendours of later eras as exemplified by J S Bach, Vivaldi and Berlioz, with Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah reigning supreme. This classic VOX recording featuring the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Robert Shaw was originally issued on the 2-LP set Nativity in 1976. The Elite Recordings for VOX by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

Recorded December 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.