Die vielleicht schönste Weihnachtsplatte dieses Jahres ist dem Label Winter&Winter zu verdanken. Die Sopranistin Susanne Ryden und das Ensemble Bell'Are Salzburg beschenken uns am "Christms Eve" mit Arien aus dem 17. Jahrhundert von Komponisten, wo Buxtehude, Schmelzer und Fux noch die bekannteren sind.. Aber auch Franz Tunder, Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter, und Philipp Friedrich Böddecker haben Musik geschrieben, die durchaus einmal als Abwechslung zu Altmeister Bach dienen kann. In historischer Aufführungspraxis wunderbar musiziert und hervorragend aufgenommen ist es eine willkommene Bereicherung im Bereich der Alten Musik

This attractively packaged CD, distributed by Allegro imports, offers thirteen beautyful baroque selections thats together recount story of Christmas. Composed in various parts of Germany in the 17th century, the works are performed by the giften Swedish soprano Susanne Ryden and baroque Violinist Annegret Siedel's fine Bell'Arte Salzburg original instrument ensemble.
Beginning with Dietrich Buxtehude's setting of a text from the gospel according to John, the CD includes vocal and orchestral music by Rosenmüller, Schmelzer, Schildt ond others. Most of the pieces are engagingly lyrical; there is little of the knock-me overvirtuosic writing, that distinguishes much composition from the baroque period. The eclogical red and green cardboard packaging - no breakable plastic here - offer translations, but lacks notes on the performers or ensemble. For the record, Susanne Ryden, who has performed with such early msic greats as Christopher Hogwood, Renè Jacobs and Joshua Rifkin, Nicola Mc Gegan aund Roy Goodman, has a winning, clear soprano voice, that she employs with consummate ease and skill. The results, when backed and interspersed with instrmental playing of the first rank, make for a delightful listening experience......
Hihgly recommended.

It would be churlish of a record company with a name like Winter & Winter not to put out a Christmas disc. But Munich-based Winter & Winter is not churlish and has issued an excellent recording entitled SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHRISTMAS EVE. It does pretty much what it says on the box, presenting Christmas tunes by Buxtehude and Biber plus a host of other composers I wish 1 knew more about: Schmelzer, Fux, Tunder, Reichwein, Aufschnaiter er al. Bell'Arte Salzburg is a lively, intelligent band, joined on most 'tracks by Susanne Ryddn, a soprano with a crystal-pure voice whose light vibrato is extremely attractive. The product is a '24 bit recording with no processing', the audio equivalent of a free-range turkey, and sounds as clean and healthy as it ought to.

Dieses wunderschön aufgemachte Album ist die definitive Alternative zum alljährlichen Weihnachtsoratorium von Bach. Dass auf die Musik aus den süddeutschen und österreichischen Musikzentren des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts spezialisierte Ensemble Bell'Arte Salzburg hat zusammen mit der Sopranistin Susanne Rydén zu Weihnachten eingespielt. In historischer Aufführungspraxis musiziert, und -- wie bei Winter & Winter üblich.-- exzellent in einer Villa in Italien aufgenommen, sind diese Arien von Komponisten wie Buxtehude,-Rosenmüller, Schmelzer u.a. genau das richtige für einen schmuckvollen, festlichen Weihnachtsabend. (pb)

The unpretentious tones of soprano Susanne Ryden lift this chintzy seasonal disc from also-ran to a definite maybe. Add to Ryden's vocal charms a prograrnrne that combines the predictabie line-up of Buxtehude, Tunder and Rosenrnüller with the more off-beat choices of Leuttner, Schildt and Esterhazy and you have something really rather tempting. Alas the disc is rather poorly recorded with Ryden's accornpanying violins and gambas sounding as though they're halfway out of the door. AP

Baroque music from traditional carols to ceremonial liturgical music by Buxtehude, Biber and many more unfamiliar names. Admirably sung by the Swedish early music specialist Susanne Ryden.
FIONA MADDOCKS

A stylishly performed musical stocking filled with unexpected seasonal delights. Most Baroque Christmas collections contain at least some old favourites - Corelli's Christmas Concerto, the 'Pastoral Symphony' from Messiab, the Sinfonia from Bach's Cbristmas Oratorio and so on - but not this one. In this dip into the 17th-century Christmas repertoires from German-speaking lands there is not a single piece that has received more than a handful of recordings, and many that must be enjoying their first. Indeed, for some of these composers this may well be their first outing on record at all.
Apart from the three short sonatas by the Austrians Biber, Schmelzer and Fux, all the pieces are for solo voice and instr-uments, a type of ensemble then much favoured in Germany and Austria. The richly expressive results it often yielded are not so evident here (try Easter for that), but this is attractive music nevertheless. Perhaps not surprisingly, the composers from the southern end of the region - Rosenmüller, Aufschnaiter, Esterhäzy, Leuttner - tend towards the rural pipe and drone effects and slightly sentimental,-jullabies familiar from Italian Christmas mus ic; while those from the rotestant north '- Buxtehude, Tunder, Schildt show a preference for building their music around appropriate chorale melodies. Most striking to my ears were Esterhazy's exquisutely touching lullaby 'Cur fles Jesu', Boedecker curiously episodic 'natus est Jesus', making effective use of the well-known tune 'Joseph, lieber Joseph mein'; and a boisterous dance-song by Reichwein, a mystery man about whom I have so far discovered nothing (the booklet offers no information other than texts). There is also an odd-man-out in the work by the 18thcentury composer Reichard, clearly a work from a different age but pleasingly responsive to text.
The performances are enjoyable and stylish.. The instrumental playing shows involvement and warmth, though the latter is undermined by a somewhat unlovely recorded sound, while Susanne Ryd6n's singing is a treat, technically secure, beguiling of timbre and never failing to convey an apt sense of innocence and joy. Despite a few signs of hurried recording, this is a good buy,and not just for christmas. Lindsay Kemp

Die vielleicht schönste Weihnachtsplatte dieses Jahres ist dem Label Winter&Winter zu verdanken. Die Sopranistin Susanne Ryden und das Ensemble Bell'Are Salzburg beschenken uns am "Christms Eve" mit Arien aus dem 17. Jahrhundert von Komponisten, wo Buxtehude, Schmelzer und Fux noch die bekannteren sind.. Aber auch Franz Tunder, Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter, und Philipp Friedrich Böddecker haben Musik geschrieben, die durchaus einmal als Abwechslung zu Altmeister Bach dienen kann. In historischer Aufführungspraxis wunderbar musiziert und hervorragend aufgenommen ist es eine willkommene Bereicherung im Bereich der Alten Musik

This attractively packaged CD, distributed by Allegro imports, offers thirteen beautyful baroque selections thats together recount story of Christmas. Composed in various parts of Germany in the 17th century, the works are performed by the giften Swedish soprano Susanne Ryden and baroque Violinist Annegret Siedel's fine Bell'Arte Salzburg original instrument ensemble.
Beginning with Dietrich Buxtehude's setting of a text from the gospel according to John, the CD includes vocal and orchestral music by Rosenmüller, Schmelzer, Schildt ond others. Most of the pieces are engagingly lyrical; there is little of the knock-me overvirtuosic writing, that distinguishes much composition from the baroque period. The eclogical red and green cardboard packaging - no breakable plastic here - offer translations, but lacks notes on the performers or ensemble. For the record, Susanne Ryden, who has performed with such early msic greats as Christopher Hogwood, Renè Jacobs and Joshua Rifkin, Nicola Mc Gegan aund Roy Goodman, has a winning, clear soprano voice, that she employs with consummate ease and skill. The results, when backed and interspersed with instrmental playing of the first rank, make for a delightful listening experience......
Hihgly recommended.

It would be churlish of a record company with a name like Winter & Winter not to put out a Christmas disc. But Munich-based Winter & Winter is not churlish and has issued an excellent recording entitled SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHRISTMAS EVE. It does pretty much what it says on the box, presenting Christmas tunes by Buxtehude and Biber plus a host of other composers I wish 1 knew more about: Schmelzer, Fux, Tunder, Reichwein, Aufschnaiter er al. Bell'Arte Salzburg is a lively, intelligent band, joined on most 'tracks by Susanne Ryddn, a soprano with a crystal-pure voice whose light vibrato is extremely attractive. The product is a '24 bit recording with no processing', the audio equivalent of a free-range turkey, and sounds as clean and healthy as it ought to.

Dieses wunderschön aufgemachte Album ist die definitive Alternative zum alljährlichen Weihnachtsoratorium von Bach. Dass auf die Musik aus den süddeutschen und österreichischen Musikzentren des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts spezialisierte Ensemble Bell'Arte Salzburg hat zusammen mit der Sopranistin Susanne Rydén zu Weihnachten eingespielt. In historischer Aufführungspraxis musiziert, und -- wie bei Winter & Winter üblich.-- exzellent in einer Villa in Italien aufgenommen, sind diese Arien von Komponisten wie Buxtehude,-Rosenmüller, Schmelzer u.a. genau das richtige für einen schmuckvollen, festlichen Weihnachtsabend. (pb)

The unpretentious tones of soprano Susanne Ryden lift this chintzy seasonal disc from also-ran to a definite maybe. Add to Ryden's vocal charms a prograrnrne that combines the predictabie line-up of Buxtehude, Tunder and Rosenrnüller with the more off-beat choices of Leuttner, Schildt and Esterhazy and you have something really rather tempting. Alas the disc is rather poorly recorded with Ryden's accornpanying violins and gambas sounding as though they're halfway out of the door. AP

Baroque music from traditional carols to ceremonial liturgical music by Buxtehude, Biber and many more unfamiliar names. Admirably sung by the Swedish early music specialist Susanne Ryden.
FIONA MADDOCKS

A stylishly performed musical stocking filled with unexpected seasonal delights. Most Baroque Christmas collections contain at least some old favourites - Corelli's Christmas Concerto, the 'Pastoral Symphony' from Messiab, the Sinfonia from Bach's Cbristmas Oratorio and so on - but not this one. In this dip into the 17th-century Christmas repertoires from German-speaking lands there is not a single piece that has received more than a handful of recordings, and many that must be enjoying their first. Indeed, for some of these composers this may well be their first outing on record at all.
Apart from the three short sonatas by the Austrians Biber, Schmelzer and Fux, all the pieces are for solo voice and instr-uments, a type of ensemble then much favoured in Germany and Austria. The richly expressive results it often yielded are not so evident here (try Easter for that), but this is attractive music nevertheless. Perhaps not surprisingly, the composers from the southern end of the region - Rosenmüller, Aufschnaiter, Esterhäzy, Leuttner - tend towards the rural pipe and drone effects and slightly sentimental,-jullabies familiar from Italian Christmas mus ic; while those from the rotestant north '- Buxtehude, Tunder, Schildt show a preference for building their music around appropriate chorale melodies. Most striking to my ears were Esterhazy's exquisutely touching lullaby 'Cur fles Jesu', Boedecker curiously episodic 'natus est Jesus', making effective use of the well-known tune 'Joseph, lieber Joseph mein'; and a boisterous dance-song by Reichwein, a mystery man about whom I have so far discovered nothing (the booklet offers no information other than texts). There is also an odd-man-out in the work by the 18thcentury composer Reichard, clearly a work from a different age but pleasingly responsive to text.
The performances are enjoyable and stylish.. The instrumental playing shows involvement and warmth, though the latter is undermined by a somewhat unlovely recorded sound, while Susanne Ryd6n's singing is a treat, technically secure, beguiling of timbre and never failing to convey an apt sense of innocence and joy. Despite a few signs of hurried recording, this is a good buy,and not just for christmas. Lindsay Kemp