Composer: Victor Hely-Hutchinson, Engelbert Humperdinck, Max Reger, Richard Strauss, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performer: Elsa Benoit, Sarah Romberger
Orchestra: Deutsche Radio Philharmonie
Conductor: Pietari Inkinen
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: SWR Music
Catalogue: SWR19131CD
Release: 2023
Size: 650 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Humperdinck: Hänsel & Gretel: Overture
02. Strauss: Wiegenlied, Op. 41 No. 1
Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66
03. Ballet Suite
04. Strauss: Serenade in E flat major for Winds, Op. 7
Humperdinck: Hänsel & Gretel
05. Evening Prayer and Dream Pantomime
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
06. March of the Toy Soldiers
07. Reger: Mariä Wiegenlied, Op. 76 No. 52
Hely-Hutchinson: A Carol Symphony
08. Allegro energico – Oh Come All Ye Faithful
09. Scherzo – Allegro molto moderato – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. Andante quasi lento e cantabile – The First Nowell
11. Allegro energico come prima – Here We Come A-Wassailing – Oh Come All Ye Faithful
For many people Christmas time has come when the broadcasting stations start playing the specific music everybody knows and hears each year. However, not always music performed around Christmas has originally been composed for Christmas too. Especially our earliest and therefore most emotional memories are closely related to this festivity. The music we associate with these emotions does not necessarily have to be Christmassy, but should intensify and reflect those feelings. In December 2022 the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie under chief conductor Pietari Inkinen performed a festive concert in the main broadcasting studio of the Saarländischer Rundfunk in Saarbrücken. Entitled “Festklänge” (Festive Sounds), the concerto was a compilation of Christmas music and music associated with Christmas, featuring the soprano Sarah Romberger and the mezzo-soprano Elsa Benoit as soloists. It contains next to Hely Hutchinson’s excerpts from Humperdinck’s opera Hansel and Gretel as well from Tchaikovskys’ The Nutcracker.