Slatkin, Battle: A Christmas Celebration (FLAC)

Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: EMI Classics
Size: 236 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste fidelis)
Composed by John Francis Wade
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Cantique de Noel for voice & orchestra, “O Holy Night”
Composed by Adolphe Adam
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella (“Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle”)
Composed by Christmas Traditional
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Fum, Fum, Fum (Catalan)
Composed by Christmas Traditional
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming), for chorus
Composed by Michael Praetorius
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Ellens Gesang III (“Ave Maria”), song for voice & piano, D. 839 (Op. 52/6)
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle, Barbara Allen
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Gésu Bambino
Composed by Pietro Yon
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Medley (Three English Carols): I Saw Three Ships / The First Nowell / The Holly and the Ivy
Composed by Michael Gibson
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Away in a Manger
Composed by James R. Murray
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (Silent Night)
Composed by Franz Xaver Gruber
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (adapted by W. H. Cummings from Mendelssohn’s Festgesang for the Gutenberg Festival)
Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Maria Wiegenlied (Mary’s Lullaby: “Maria sitzt am Rosenhag”), song for voice & piano (or orchestra), Op. 76/52
Composed by Max Reger
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Zither Carol
Composed by Christmas Traditional
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with Robert Wolinsky, George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# I Wonder As I Wander
Composed by John Jacob Niles
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Mary Had A Baby
Composed by Christmas Traditional
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Rise Up, Shepherd
Composed by Christmas Traditional
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)
Composed by Christmas Traditional
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Ave Maria, for voice & piano (or other vocal arrangements; after Bach’s Prelude No. 1 from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1)
Composed by Charles Gounod
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

# Work(s) Finale and Reprise: Veni, Veni, Emmanuel / It Came Upon a Midnight Clear / O Little Town of Bethlehem / Silent Night / O Come All Ye
Composed by Michael Gibson
Performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s
with George Mims, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Battle
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

Pure Joy

In a world where disturbing things are all too common, Christian scripture guides us to dwell on that which is lovely. Kathleen Battle’s blessed voice is most certainly one of those lovely things.
I bought this CD in the early 1990’s, and I am here to buy it again because I have worn out the original with scratches, etc. I only listen to it during the Christmas season, but I enjoy it enough to hear it all year.
The ‘Christmas Celebration’ CD should be enough to convince you to also purchase Kathleen’s ‘A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert’. Ms. Battle’s wonderful soprano voice is joined by that of the mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, and the blending is more than memorable. There are a couple of songs which are on both CD’s, but you’ll want to hear both. In fact, the video of the PBS special is also available, and I recommend buying all three. You won’t regret it.
Some of my favorite selections from ‘Christmas Celebration’ include ‘Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabelle’ and ‘Fum, Fum, Fum’, both of which are from a culture different from my own. I found such glimpses into unfamiliar favorites to enhance my own enjoyment of the Christmas season, as long as all of my traditional American favorites were included. They were. “I Wonder As I Wander” and “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful” are there among the other favorites.
This CD’s music is the kind that sets a wonderful Christmas mood. It can establish memories that say “Christmas” in the memories of children for life. Along with other classics like ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ and ‘The Nutcraker’ (from your favorite orchesta) and George Winston’s ‘December’ and a few others, you will slowly be able to assemble a Christmas music library that will stay with you for life.