Graham Ross invites you to explore the highly individual conception of traditional carols offered by twentieth-century British composers, and notably the most eminent among them, Benjamin Britten. Arranged around his famous Ceremony of Carols is a selection of wonderful choral settings with and without organ, each of which in its own way testifies to the meticulous care Britten brought to these musical gems, most of them deriving from English folk tradition and heard alongside pieces by three older masters whose music had left its mark on the composer of Peter Grimes: John Ireland, Frank Bridge, and Gustav Holst.
BENJAMIN BRITTEN [1913-1976] · Venite exultemus Domino for mixed choir and organ (4'11) · Te Deum in C for mixed choir and organ (7'40) · Jubilate Deo in C for mixed choir and organ (2'30) · Deus in adjutorium meum intende from This Way to the Tomb for mixed choir a cappella (4'37) · A Hymn to the Virgi for solo SATB and mixed choir (3'23) · A Hymn of St Columba for mixed choir and organ (2'01) · Hymn to St Peter Op. 56a for mixed choir and organ (5'57) FRANK IRELAND · The Holy Boy for mixed choir a cappella (1941) (2'50) FRANK BRIDGE · Music, when soft voices die H. 37 for mixed choir a cappella (3'26) GUSTAV HOLST [1874-1934] · This have I done for my true love Op. 34 No. 1, H. 128 for mixed choir a cappella (5'25) BENJAMIN BRITTEN [1913-1976] · The Sycamore Tree for mixed choir a cappella (1'30) ANONYMOUS · The Holly and the Ivy Traditional folksong, arranged for mixed choir a cappella (3'36) BENJAMIN BRITTEN [1913-1976] · Sweet was the song the Virgin sung from Christ's Nativity for soprano and mixed choir a cappella (2'45) A Ceremony of Carols Op. 28 Version for mixed choir and harp arranged by Julius Harrison · 1. Procession (1'18) · 2. Wolcum Yole! (1'21) · 3. There is no rose (2'27) · 4a. That yongë child (1'50) · 4b. Balulalow (1'18) · 5. As dew in Aprille (0'56) · 6. This little babe (1'24) · 7. Interlude (4'00) · 8. In freezing winter night (3'34) · 9. Spring Carol (1'14) · 10. Deo gracias (1'05) · 11. Recession (1'26) · A New Year Carol Op. 7 No. 5 from Friday Afternoons arranged for mixed choir and harp (2'17)
