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With this ideal coupling, Stephen Layton and his choral forces are getting in early with Christmas and Britten centenary celebrations. A Ceremony of Carols is so associated with boys' voices, it comes as a shock to learn that it was conceived with women's voices in mind, even though Layton's soprano and mezzos affect a purity that sounds "boyish". Their intonation in the piquant harmonies of...
Britten's joyous cycle of nine carols is so closely associated with boys' voices that it comes as a surprise to learn that he conceived it for female choir - and very attractive it sounds in this version with the women's voices of Trinity College Choir, whose recessional "Alleluia" is as vividly captured as the contributions of harpist Sally Pryce. The Saint Nicolas cantata, with the City of...
*****
Although we tend to associate Britten's A Ceremony of Carols with the timbre of boy trebles, it was originally conceived for women's voices, and the mix of choirs on this recording makes for a performance that has lustre and potent atmosphere, heightened by the piquancy of Sally Pryce's harp playing. The coupling is another Christmas favourite, the cantata "Saint Nicolas", in which Stephen...
Britten: A Ceremony of Carols & Saint Nicolas - avvenire.it
Compie settant'anni e non li dimostra A Ceremony of Carols di Benjamin Britten (1913-1976); il segreto di questo elisir di eterna giovinezza risiede soprattutto nello spirito e nell'energia vitale con cui il compositore ha saputo infondere carattere universale a musiche che, pur attingendo a tradizioni secolari, sono in grado di...
Music Album of the Week
Unlike many of his contemporaries and forbears in the classical music world, Benjamin Britten loved writing pieces for children and amateur performers. Saint Nicolas and A Ceremony of Carols beautifully represent this area of the composer’s interest.
That a polished new recording of these works from the Hyperion label emphasizes adult and highly-trained performers over the...
Britten: A Ceremony of Carols & Saint Nicolas - The Mail on Sunday
My Christmas Album of the Year is yet another exceptional Hyperion offering, this one featuring two of Benjamin Britten's most readily accessible choral works: A Ceremony of Carols from 1942, and the cantata Saint Nicolas from 1948.
Stephen Layton, one of our finest choral conductors, directs his Trinity College Choir in the...