Release Date: 12 January 2000
Label: Naxos - Nxc / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 636943462720
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: A Danish Christmas
Description
A Danish ChristmasJust spin theuniverse right round,just turneverything upside down,the earth as well -for it is false and hollow - but do not touch myChristmastide...Thus the secular poetof Danish Christmas, Peter Faber (1810-77) celebrates Christmas in 1850 in thecarol Sikken voldsom trcengsel og alarm (What a great throng and noise):a vivid and moving picture of provincial Copenhagen at the time. Faber, adirector of a telegraph company by day, makes reference to traditions and oldvalues. Together, these shape the celebration of an 'average' Danish Christmas,which he would not change for all the world. Yet many of these 'traditions'were recent innovations, often borrowed from Sweden and Germany, quicklyadopted as their own and given their own Danish colour. The Christmas tree, arecent introduction from Denmark's neighbour to the south, that was slow togain a secure place in Danish homes, was often decorated with strings of littleDanish flags, red and white Christmas elves and dozens of candles. In fact inScandinavia Christmas is a festival of light. Since ancient times, whenChristmas was a pagan feast linked to midwinter in January, the Scandinavianshave, in contrast to the Anglo-Saxons and southern Europeans, celebrated onChristmas Eve with a lavish family meal of rice pudding and beer, followed byroast pork, roast duck or stuffed goose, caramelised potatoes, red cabbage,jelly and other good things. After the meal, but before the guests leave thetable, the candles on the tree are lit, the assembled company join hands anddance around the tree. But the dancing would be unthinkable without carols. Inanother of Faber's popular and atmospheric portrayals of the middle-class home:From the top of thegreen tree comes the call Look little child,all is well,you know how tomarch,let little Sinehave her Christmasgift.The words demand thatthe song is sung whilst marching around the tree, awakening the impatience ofthe youngest children for material goods, the presents, which are undeniablycentral to a modern Christmas.Yet it is at this time that most Danes comeinto contact with what are, for many, undoubtedly the most treasured carols. Ofcourse one can go to church on Christmas Eve and sing there, but on the onehand church-going is not that prevalent amongst today's somewhat religiouslyambivalent Danes, and on the other you cannot choose what is sung in church.You can at home, and Danish families have personal favourites, often in aspecific order, from which they rarely deviate. Most often the religious carolscome first, and among these we find the great Danish hymnists.First and foremost N. F. S. Grundtvig (1783-1872) with the well-known Delkimer nu til Julefest (Bells ring out for the Christmas Feast), Velkommenigen Guds engle sm?Ñ ('Welcome again, God's little angels'), Et barn erf?©dt i Betlehem ('A child is born in Bethlehem'). Vcer velkommen Herrens?Ñr ('We welcome our Lord's new year') is almost an official proclamation ofthe new church year. Blomst
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Yaqi Yang; Margarita Parsamyan; Robynne Redmon; Minghao Liu; Frank Ragsdale; Kim Josephson; Kevin S
Vilmos Csikos; Olivier Lechardeur; Manon Lamaison
Tomas Cotik; Martingale Ensemble; Ken Selden
