Britten; Saint Nicolas / A Ceremony of Carols Vocal & Song Signum

Britten; Saint Nicolas / A Ceremony of Carols

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SIG 649

Britten; Saint Nicolas / A Ceremony of Carols

Label Catalogue Number:
SIGCD649

Running Time: 71:09

Release Date: November 2020
Originally recorded in 2020

Composer
Benjamin Britten

Choral
Crouch End Festival Chorus

Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra

Conductor
David Temple

Producer
Isabella de Sabata

Engineer
Mike Hatch

Venue 18th January 2020
All Saints' Church, East Finchley, London

Venue 13th-14th March 2020
Alexandra Palace Theatre, London

Genre:
Vocal & Song

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BENJAMIN BRITTEN

Saint Nicolas, Op.42

Introduction

5:28

The Birth of Nicolas

2:20

III

Nicolas devotes himself to God

4:37

He journeys to Palestine

7:51

Nicholas comes to Myra and is chosen Bishop

6:41

Nicolas from Prison

3:04

VII

Nicolas and the Pickled Boys

6:12

VIII

His piety and marvellous works

4:57

The Death of Nicholas

6:51

A Ceremony of Carols, Op.28

10.

Procession

1:32

11.

Wolcum Yole!

1:20

12.

III

There is no Rose

2:38

13.

That yongë child

1:56

14.

Balulalow

1:22

15.

As dew in Aprille

0:59

16.

VII

This little Babe

1:28

17.

VIII

Interlude

4:09

18.

In Freezing Winter Night

3:42

19.

Spring Carol

1:09

20.

Deo Gracias

1:11

21.

XII

Recession

1:42

Total time: 71:09

Choral: Crouch End Festival Chorus

Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra

Conductor: David Temple

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Reviews

“… if you don’t know this delightful work [St Nicholas] scored for solo tenor, mixed choir, boy trebles, strings, organ, two pianos and percussion, this would be a fine place to make its acquaintance. The story-telling from the singers is admirably detailed, with fantastic diction coming from all quarters. It’s that same urgent projection of text, by the way, that makes the Crouch End Ceremony so special …”

Philip Greenfield – American Record Guide – January/February 2022

**** Excellent album

Thomas Deschamps – Classica magazine (France) – October 2021

“… Any chorister will appreciate this release for choral sound and blend. Without a doubt, an enjoyable listen and something of an accomplishment, given the fact that there are some remarkable versions in the market for both works.”

Leighton Jones – theclassicalreview.com – 7 December 2020

“… A Ceremony of Carols receives supremely enjoyable advocacy here… Temple directs with purposeful vigour, eliciting admirably spick and span, notably enthusiastic results from his choral and orchestral team (amateur and professional alike); Mark Le Brocq is an ardent exponent of the title-role. What’s more, there’s no disputing the infectious community spirit and festive splendour on display.”

Andrew Achenbach - Gramophone magazine - December 2020

Performance **** Recording ****

Daniel Jaffe – BBC Music magazine – Christmas 2020

“The pairing of Benjamin Britten’s cantata Saint Nicolas with his Ceremony of Carols is fairly common. Yet there’s a freshness to the performances the Crouch End Festival Chorus and BBC Concert Orchestra (conducted by David Temple) deliver in their recording of both works that’s special. Much of this owes to the purity of the Chorus’s and soloists’ singing in both pieces… Tenor Mark Le Brocq brings a bright tone – as well as excellent enunciations of text and terrific intonation – to his title-role solos.”

Jonathan Blumhofer – thesrtsfuse.org – 2 December 2020

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