Recorded at the Paterskirche in Kempen, Germany, in 1994, the all-male Chanticleer ensemble (featuring five countertenors), brings the consummate musicality and professionalism to this recording that we associate with any Chanticleer production. "Sing We Christmas" emphasizes classical pieces, not the typical holiday carols; rather, Charles Ives, Gustav Holst and Herbert Howells represent the twentieth century, while Handl, Victoria, Praetorius and Bach offer "Hodie Christus Natus Est," "O Magnum Mysterium" and "In Dulci Iubilo," the latter a German dance song with four separate settings (it was common practice for composers to adapt a popular song, rather than write their own) from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods. |
