O Holy Night

by London Choral Sinfonia, Michael Waldron

Overview

Despite its traditional-sounding title, O Holy Night was one of the more innovative releases of the 2019 holiday season. The youthful new London Choral Sinfonia and its director, Michael Waldron, announce their intention to create a new kind of Christmas program, with five familiar carols, in mostly time-honored arrangements, serving as a kind of framework, with the interstitial spaces filled in by contemporary works of various kinds. The contemporary pieces don't really link to the traditional ones, and for CD listeners figuring out what's going on is made more difficult by the brutal combination of white text on a beige background in the graphics. The result is that the shifts between familiar carols and challenging contemporary idioms may seem abrupt. The upside is that the individual performances are full-throated and strong, and the album brings together a good deal of bracing modern Christmas music that might not be easily found in other contexts, like John Ireland's O Holy Boy and Thomas Wilson's nifty neo-medieval There is no rose. The traditional carols, too, receive rousing performances, delivered in full color by Orchid Classics, working at St. Matthew's Church, Baywater, London. A holiday album for those who like a bit more substance. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	11/15/2019
Label:	Orchid Classics
UPC:	5060189561100
Rank:	234517

Tracks

1. O come, O come, Emmanuel
2. Sir Christ¿¿mas
3. Lullay my Liking
4. Silent Night
5. Once in Royal David's city
6. Adam Lay Ybounden
7. Alma Redemptoris Mater
8. A Christmas Carol
9. O Come, all ye Faithful
10. There is no rose
11. The Child of Light
12. Coventry Carol
13. Love came down at Christmas
14. We Three Kings
15. No Small Wonder
16. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
17. The Holy Boy
18. O Holy Night
19. Tomorrow go ye forth
20. Lo, He comes with clouds descending

Album Credits

Performance Credits

London Choral Sinfonia   Primary Artist,Choir/Chorus,Ensemble,Orchestra
Michael Waldron   Primary Artist,Conductor
Dominic Kraemer   Vocals
Sam Pantcheff   Bass (Vocal)
Charlotte Ashley   Soprano (Vocal)
Katherine Watson   Soprano (Vocal)
Nick Pritchard   Tenor (Vocal)
Zoe Brookshaw   Soprano (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Max Pappenheim   Arranger
Rachel Lindley   Recording Manager
P. Cappeau   Text
Traditional   Composer
William Mathias   Composer
Felix Mendelssohn   Composer
John S. Dwight   Text Translation
Adolphe Adam   Composer
David Willcocks   Arranger
John Francis Wade   Text,Composer
Jonathan Rathbone   Composer
Charles Wesley   Text
Christina Rossetti   Text
Carol Canning   Composer
Andrew Carter   Arranger
Frederick Oakeley   Text Translation
Robert Saxton   Text,Composer
Henry John Gauntlett   Composer
Cecil Frances Alexander   Text
Adrian Peacock   Producer
Thomas Wilson   Composer,Composer
John West   Arranger
Gabriel Jackson   Composer
Thomas Olivers   Composer
George Hall   Liner Notes
Paul Wigmore   Text
Humphrey Clucas   Composer
Peter Warlock   Composer
John Hopkins   Text
Paul Edwards   Composer
Algernon Charles Swinburne   Text
Richard Pantcheff   Composer
Herbert S. Brown   Text
David Hinitt   Engineer
Peter Maxwell Davies   Composer
John Ireland   Composer
William G. Rothery   Text
Hugo Bernard   Photography
Jason Mason Neale   Text Translation
Martin Neary   Composer
Charlotte Machin   Photography
Michael Waldron   Liner Notes