For a beleaguered record industry, holiday albums remain the closest thing to a sure bet for labels and artists. Big stars, crossover acts and British cathedral choirs all vie to put their stamp on a relatively narrow canon of seasonal favorites, with varying degrees of success and taste.
But that’s not to say Christmas music must lack surprise or adventure. Take our Album of the Week, a new collection by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Among its cornerstones is Arnold Schoenberg’s extraordinary, seldom-heard Friede auf Erden (“Peace on Earth”), a work for chorus and orchestra that, like Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, is a call for peace and brotherhood. Written in the dense, exploratory tonal idiom that Schoenberg adopted in his post-Wagnerian period (think Gurreleider) the piece gives any chorus all it can handle, but it’s not taxing for the listener, and comes with a still-relevant message.
The rest of the choir’s program straddles several centuries of Christmas carols, with standout selections by Britten (A Boy was Born), Mendelssohn (Rejoice, O ye people), Bach (In dulci jubilo) Vaughan Williams (The Truth Sent From Above) and three by Michael Praetorius, including the beloved Es ist ein’ Ros’ entsprungen. Perhaps most striking is Anton Webern’s Dormi, Jesu, which at 1:30, is all concision and pithiness.
The segues between pieces are often striking and invite you to hear the music afresh. The mixed voice Clare College choir, under the direction of Graham Ross, is in full, clear voice throughout.
Lux de Caelo: Music for Christmas
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge; Dmitri Ensemble
Harmonia Mundi
Available at Arkivmusic.com