Music for Advent and Christmas

[Jo498]

faulty folk etymology is as old as Aristotle (maybe even older), so as long as it's ben trovato, I am fine with it...

[Karl Henning]

Thread Duty

[Wakefield]

Thread Duty

Thanks for sharing, Karl! It's a nice piece and it's great to inaugurate this season with a work of yours. Anyway, its name puzzled me a little bit. "Kindly star" is a nice finding, but the ideas of shadow and star are almost contradictory. But probably I'm losing something? 

[aligreto]

Thread Duty

Inventive and beguiling music, as ever, Karl 

[Karl Henning]

Thank you both!

Thanks for sharing, Karl! It's a nice piece and it's great to inaugurate this season with a work of yours. Anyway, its name puzzled me a little bit. "Kindly star" is a nice finding, but the ideas of shadow and star are almost contradictory. But probably I'm losing something? 

It may be a bit oblique.  What I had in mind was the Star of Bethlehem, guiding the Wise Men from the East;  and I thought that it must shine so brightly that even in the night, it might cast shadows.

[North Star]

Thank you both!

It may be a bit oblique.  What I had in mind was the Star of Bethlehem, guiding the Wise Men from the East;  and I thought that it must shine so brightly that even in the night, it might cast shadows.

Good stuff, Karl.
But, wouldn't the wise men go in the light of the star, and not the shadows cast by it, if they see the star?

[Karl Henning]

Just so.  (Not least, because they are wise     )

[Rinaldo]

This is a wonderful disc:

[asin]B000028TXS[/asin]

[aligreto]

JS Bach Cantata BWV 61 for the first Sunday in Advent under Gardiner....





A somewhat low key Cantata overall with a beautiful soprano aria.

[aligreto]

JS Bach Cantata BWV 36 [Herreweghe]....





This is a wonderful performance, beautifully played and sung. One can sense a subdued celebration for the major event soon to come.

[aligreto]

JS Bach Cantata BWV 62...





BWV 61 [posted earlier] and BWV 62 were written ten years apart and it is interesting to compare the contrasting styles of the earlier BWV 61 written in the French style with the later BWV 62 which was written in the Italian style. BWV 62 is a more upbeat and celebratory Cantata compared with BWV 61.

[Wakefield]

And both of them are fantastic musical pieces!

Personally, I have a soft spot for this Gardiner's disk recorded on Archiv:

[asin]B00004YYPV[/asin]

Both cantatas are sung with an unbelievable level of fervor.

Of course, your post arrived just on time, as yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, both in Lutheran and Catholic calendars. 

[aligreto]

Personally, I have a soft spot for this Gardiner's disk recorded on Archiv:

[asin]B00004YYPV[/asin]

I am a huge fan of Garginer's Bach and I have the complete SDG single issues as well as all of those issued by Archiv.

[aligreto]

Preparation [musically] for Christmas usually begins with the Advent Cantatas by JS Bach above and of course Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, this time with Gergiev....

[aligreto]

Telemann: Cantata for Advent - Saget der Tochter Zion....





A very fine work, well performed and suitably celebratory in its opening and closing proclamations.

[aligreto]

JS Bach: Chorales for Advent [BWV 599-602] from the Orgelbuchlein played by Marie-Claire Alain....

[Elgarian]

Good stuff, Karl.
But, wouldn't the wise men go in the light of the star, and not the shadows cast by it, if they see the star?

If the wise men were walking close together in a straight line, and the bright star were fairly low in the sky, the first wise man would be lit by the light from the star, but his back would be in shadow. The second wise man would be in the shadow of the first; and the third wise man would be in the shadow of the second. Sadly under these conditions wise men numbers two and three would not of course be able to see the star while travelling.

This puzzled me at first. The persistence of the first wise man in hogging the light from the star seemed unfair; but then I realised that they must have taken it in turns to travel at the front, so as to give numbers two and three the chance to nod off on their camels in the quiet darkness of the shadows.

[aligreto]

Charpentier: Noels and Christmas Motets [Vol. 1]....





This was the first disc of Charpentier's music that I bought and it still remains a seasonal favourite; with gorgeous singing and beautiful instrumental textures. The Noels are very melodious and lilt along at a lively pace, in a dance like fashion; a lovely recording.

[aligreto]

Stokowski: Traditional Slavic Christmas Music....





....short but sweet.

[aligreto]

Not strictly music for Christmas; more of a tradition - Handel's Messiah. This Christmas I opted for the Christie version....