Welcome Christmas: Carols and Lullabies From Around the World Review
From across the United States have come composers and arrangers whose work contributes to this collection of Christmas music. These are carols from around the world brought together in arrangements that reflect an inherently American diversity and spirit. From Virgil Thomson’s camp meeting setting of "The Holly and the Ivy" and Steve Barnett’s swing version of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" to Randall Davidson’s homespun "Christ Was Born on Christmas Day" and Conrad Susa’s magnificent Carols & Lullabies, commissioned from Susa specifically for VocalEssence. Maestro Brunelle has chosen carols—both familiar and unfamiliar—tied to one another by their inventiveness, charm and beauty in one of the year’s most exciting new holiday discs. Read more...
Welcome Christmas: Carols and Lullabies From Around the World Specifications
British composer Benjamin Britten's Ceremony Of Carols is an Advent staple. In Conrad Susa's Carols & Lullabies - Christmas In The Southwest, the work now has an American companion piece. Initially inspired by festive Spanish-language songs that are typically sung in Arizona, the work incorporates traditional material from Catalonia, Puerto Rico, Castile, Andalusia, and Mexico. The lush yet spirited choral settings are splendidly sung by the VocalEssence Singers and underpinned by instrumentation that, like the Britten composition, relies heavily upon the harp. But Susa has also employed a marimba, a type of xylophone often heard in Mexican and South American music, which adds a deliciously subtle ethnic coloration. The balance of the program is devoted to well-known carols in arrangements by modern American composers. The entire album is an unexpected gem that soothes, exalts and pleasures the spirit. If there is any justice, it will become a beloved seasonal staple. --Christina Roden
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