Listen to "In dulci Jubilo" and savour the joyous musicianship of the Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble with Mattias Wager on organ, Anders Åstrand and Daniel Saur percussion.
Enjoy "Den signade dag" in tasteful interplay between singer Maja Lundbäck and percussionist Anders Åstrand.
Daniel Pettersson on keyfiddle further endorses the Swedish folk-music tone of the music in "Bereden väg för Herran".
The celebration of Christmas has for us all a deep and special significance requiring music, which not only induces a feeling of well-being but also reflects the majesty and glory of the occasion. This we have aimed to achieve with this recording. Here we include music which has been specially composed, including in parts improvisations, folk melodies, music from varying parts of the world and different epochs.
We are glad to also have a couple of our favourite musicians on this album:
Mattias Wager on organ ("Organ Treasures" on SACD)
Anders Åstrand and Daniel Saur from Global Percussion Network (also on SACD) on subtle percussion and Daniel Pettersson on key-fiddle.
"A Star is Shining" is a somewhat different, but still an easy-listening Christmas album, but it is not 100% focused on music that has only connection to Christmas - but with the depth and feeling that suits the time of Christmas.
The album is also partly international, with a couple of English Christmas Carols, and music from USA, Germany and Denmark.
With this SACD-multichannel album, we really want to transfer the cosy feeling of being in Luleå Cathedral that is located very high up north in Sweden !!
Listen to music samples
01. Nativity Carol (John Rutter) Organ: Mattias Wager | 04. Bereden väg för Herran/In dulci jubilo (Trad. from Boda, Sweden 13th century/Wittenberg 1533), Keyfiddle: Daniel Petterson, Organ: Mattia Wager, Percussion: Anders Åstrand and Daniel Saur | 08. Betlehems stjärna (Star of Bethlehem), (Ivar Widén) |
| 09. Det brinner en stjärna (A Star is Shining), (Otto Olsson), Organ: Mattia Wager | 17. Stilla Natt (Silent Night), (Franz Gruber arr. David Wikander) |
01. Nativity Carol (John Rutter) Organ: Mattias Wager 4´01
02. Gabriel's Message (Basque Carol arr: David Willcoks) Soprano solo: Christina Fridolfsson 2´56
03. Gammal Julvisa (God's Son is Born), (Trad. arr. Otto Olsson) 3´52
04. Bereden väg för Herran/In dulci jubilo (Trad. from Boda, Sweden 13th century/Wittenberg 1533), Keyfiddle: Daniel Petterson, Organ: Mattia Wager, Percussion: Anders Åstrand and Daniel Saur 4´21
05. O Magnum Mysterium (Morten Lauridsen) 6´00
06. Den signade dag (The Blessed Day), (Trad. from Öjebyn, Sweden), Soprano solo: Maja Lundbäck, Percussion: Anders Åstrand and Daniel Saur 2´17
07. Det brinner en stjärna (A Star is Shining), (David Wikander) 2´35
08. Betlehems stjärna (Star of Bethlehem), (Ivar Widén) 2´18
09. Det brinner en stjärna (A Star is Shining), (Otto Olsson), Organ: Mattia Wager 3´45
10. Jul, jul, strålande jul (Christmas, Radiant Christmas), (Gustaf Nordqvist) 2´52
11. Candlelight Carol (John Rutter), Organ: Mattias Wager 4´26
12. Christmas Cradle Song (Alfred Hollins), Organ solo: Mattias WAger 3´15
13. Det är en ros utsprungen (Lo, how a Rose e´er blooming), (Michael Pretorius/Jan Sandström), Solo quartet: Christina Fridolfsson, Kerstin Eriksson, Anders Kristofersson, Ewerth Richardsson 3´59
14. Det är en ros utsprungen (Lo, how a Rose e´er blooming), (14th century/Colonge 1599), Soprano solo: Maja Lundbäck, Keyfiddle: Daniel Pettersson) 0´57
15. Förunderligt och märkligt (Strange is to Say), (Carl Nielsen) 2´10
16. Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (Lo, how a Rose e´er blooming), (Hugo Diestler, from Weinachtsgeschichte, op. 10) 2´36
17. Stilla Natt (Silent Night), (Franz Gruber arr. David Wikander) 3´32
2 Reviews Hide Reviews Show Reviews
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Great
Great Christmas album, beautifully recorded.
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The top of the list of sacred Christmas music
Having enjoyed this recording for a couple seasons now, I can say this SACD rises to the top of the list of sacred Christmas music I pull out each year. The sheer beauty of the vocal arrangements are matched by the multi-channel playback that whisks the listener to a delightfully introspective place. The tastefully sporadic inclusion of the organ is used only as the 5th voice in sonorous 4-part harmony. I cannot claim to be a music critic by trade, but this ranks as one of the highest quality SACD recordings I've heard.
