Of course some people would rather just listen to their favorite of the three tenors instead of the three and two of the three offer up their own such project. Undeniably the most popular ensemble in opera history, this is a great starting point as Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti take us through major classics including “Silent Night,” “Ave Maria,” “White Christmas,” “Amazing Grace” and “Winter Wonderland.” The album also features songs in different languages and from different cultures, giving it a nice blend of the tried and true with rarer gems. Here is a look at some of the best holiday albums from the world’s greatest opera singers. Other tracks from this largely contemporary collection include the popular title piece, Carol of the Bells (as heard in the film Home Alone), by Mykola Leontovych, Eric Whitacre’s Lux aurumque and Cecilia McDowall’s Of a Rose.It’s holiday season and that calls for holiday music.īut why settle for listening to your favorite tunes with any old voices when you can have some of finest in history to take you through the merry times. With five traditional carols interspersed (Wassail Song, All in the Morning), the disc opens and closes with Pilgrim Jesus and Advent Antiphons by one of the UK’s best living choral composers, Bob Chilcott. The Sixteen’s Carol of the Bells matches the group’s usual impeccable standards under its director, Harry Christophers, who has devised a clever recipe of music that sounds warmly festive but shuns the obvious. In addition, Owens has recorded Christmas Bells: Organ Music from Belfast Cathedral. A strong alternative is the recently formed adult Belfast Cathedral Choir in their debut album for Resonus, A Belfast Christmas: first-class singing, conducted by Matthew Owens, in choices by Philip Ledger, John Rutter, Elizabeth Poston and others. This is the choice for anyone who wants carols they recognise.
Grandeur is achieved by the organ, played by Matthew Martin. Their In the Bleak Midwinter has a particular distinction: for once, the men and boys sing in a resonant empty chapel, without the acoustic muffle of a congregation. An exception is those Nine Lessons and Carols stalwarts, the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, directed by Daniel Hyde. The collegiate choir offerings, thwarted by not being able to practise in lockdown, are mostly absent. By usual standards this year’s Christmas heap is small, but quality is high. A s surely as the first cuckoo arrives in spring, so the first festive CD lands around mid-August.
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