AN ELY CHRISTMAS

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AN ELY CHRISTMAS - The Girl Choristers and Lay Clerks of Ely Cathedral - Sarah MacDonald (Conductor) - Aaron Shilson (Organ) - 802561052722 - Released: November 2018 - Regent REGCD527

  • Deck the hall - Welsh trad, arr Mark Armstrong
  • No small wonder - Paul Edwards
  • O holy night - Adolphe Adam, arr Sarah MacDonald
  • There is no rose - John Joubert
  • Come to Bethlehem - Peter Warlock, arr Maurice Jacobson
  • Away in a manger - Normandy trad, arr Alexander Berry
  • Glorificamus Deum - Annabel Rooney
  • Corpus Christi Carol - Richard Peat
  • The cherry tree carol - English trad, arr Sarah MacDonald
  • A Hymn to the Virgin - Edmund Rubbra
  • Sir Christèmas - Bernard Trafford
  • A Spotless Rose - Paul Mealor
  • Love came down at Christmas - Simon Lole
  • Follow that star - Peter Gritton
  • Adam lay ybounden - Matthew Larkin
  • What sweeter music - John Rutter
  • St Godric’s Hymn - Gary Higginson
  • Mater ora filium - Charles Wood, arr Harrison Oxley
  • A Christmas Blessing - Philip Stopford
  • The holly and the ivy - English trad, arr Sarah MacDonald
  • Away in a manger - William J Kirkpatrick, arr Gary Cole
  • My Lord has come - Will Todd
  • Three angels - Ben Parry

As soon as you hear the special arrangement by Mark Armstrong of Deck the hall which opens this new Christmas recording on the Regent label, you know that you're in for a treat full of pleasant diversions. As a matter of fact, the Sir Christèmas by Bernard Trafford, Three angels by Ben Parry, Glorificamus Deum by Annabel Rooney, St Godric’s Hymn by Gary Higginson, and the Adam lay ybounden by Canadian organist/composer Matthew Larkin are all first recordings. And some of conductor Sarah MacDonald's special arrangements are quite imaginative and effective, especially the innovative arrangement of The holly and the ivy. But most surprising of all and totally news to me, is that Regent Records owner, producer and recording engineer Gary Cole is quite a musician. His arrangement of Away in a manger, with the Girl Choristers singing the main melody and the Lay Clerks weaving a richly textured harmonic tapestry in the background is very nice and polished. Plus there's at least a handful more of carols on this disc that I myself had never heard before.

The recording captures very well the resonant acoustic of Ely Cathedral, and the blend of the high and low voices set against the rich sound of the pipe organ, played here by Aaron Shilson. So if you're looking for a traditional choral Christmas recording that blends the old with the new and provides a refreshing listening experience, this is it.

Jean-Yves Duperron - November 2018