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Real Adriatic Store - The Baroque Christmas Album
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List Price: $11.98
Our Price: $11.98
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 days
Manufacturer: Archiv Produktion
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0028947757627
Label: Archiv Produktion
Manufacturer: Archiv Produktion
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Archiv Produktion
Release Date: 2005-10-11
Studio: Archiv Produktion
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Editorial Reviews:
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This compilation of re-issues, originally recorded in the 1990s and 2001 features music, by Bach, Charpentier, Gabrieli, Schütz, Corelli (the famous beloved "Pastorale") and Praetorius, all of it beautiful and just right for celebrating a festival of light, hope, worshipful praise, and jubilation. It is performed to perfection by several period vocal and instrumental groups, the latter tuned to various "authentic" pitches. Some of the pieces are excerpts from longer works, some are arrangements, such as four lovely French Christmas carols in an instrumental version by Charpentier, whose harmonic and contrapuntal complexity makes the simplicity of the melodies all the more touching. There are also two reconstructions by Paul McCreesh of Christmas services as they might have been heard during Gabrieli's lifetime at Saint Mark's in Venice and during Schütz's lifetime at the Dresden Hofkapelle. The program is arranged for utmost contrast between vocal and instrumental textures, speed, length, mood and character. Among the highlights are the devout, fervent, quite melancholy "O Jesu me dulcissime" by Gabrieli, who wrote for voices with the same luminous brilliance as for brasses, and Praetorius' "In dulce jubilo," which, with fanfares of trumpets and drums, makes a fittingly triumphant, glorious ending. --Edith Eisler
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: 5-PLUS Stars
Comment: There are not many things in life that I would describe as just Gorgeous -- but this album is definitely one of them. The selections, the arrangements, the production quality, all are clean, yet lush -- simultaneously light and rich. The effect is wonderful.
This may not appeal to hardest-core periodists, but for beautiful music lovingly performed, the album is very hard to beat. Not only rocketted to the top of my favorite holiday album list - it is already high on my favorite all-time list. It will NOT be getting put away with the rest of the Christmas albums. Year-round keeper!
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