Vancouver CDs make classically good cheer

Everything from musica intima’s transcendent vocal stylings to Bradshaw Pack’s divine operatic explorations promises seasonal bliss.

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      You’ve sourced your 100-mile turkey and farm-fresh sweet potatoes, staked out the craft fairs for locally made gifts, and planned your winter stay-cation. Why not extend the same devotion to all things local to your holiday music? Whether you’re looking for last-minute stocking stuffers or some seasonal cheer, the following selection of new albums from the Vancouver classical-music scene, spanning everything from traditional seasonal fare to thought-provoking contemporary compositions, is just what your carbon-neutral Santa ordered.

      musica intima: Into Light
      (ATMA Classique)
      Vancouver’s stellar vocal ensemble musica intima’s newest CD offering, named classical recording of the year at the 2010 Western Canadian Music Awards, is not strictly a Christmas album. Nonetheless, its collection of hymns and spiritually tinged works by a variety of contemporary Canadian composers, including R. Murray Schafer, Jocelyn Morlock, and Imant Raminsh, would make for a sophisticated December 25 soundtrack.

      What it sounds like: With musica intima’s uncanny ability to create a Zenlike state of transcendent beauty, think of it as the aural equivalent of a day at the spa.

      Wrap it up: Get it for the blissed-out hatha-yoga devotee of the family.

      (Available at musicaintima.org/.)

      Christ Church Cathedral Choir: Angels From Heaven Came
      (Independent)
      This album was culled from a 2002 Advent lessons and carols service recorded by the CBC, and from submissions to the CBC Choral Competition (in which the choir placed first in the biennial amateur division in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2006). Canadian composers including Diane Loomer, Jonathan Quick, Healey Willan, Matthew Larkin, and the choir’s director, Rupert Lang, composed five of the 13 works on the album.

      What it sounds like: Featuring unedited tracks recorded live in Christ Church Cathedral, this album feels like a warm and welcoming church service—without the long sermon.

      Wrap it up: This one’s perfect for the lapsed Anglican in need of a spiritual lift.

      (Available at the cathedral office; HMV (788 Burrard); Sikora's Classical Records (432 West Hastings); or on iTunes and Amazon MP3.)

      Elektra Women’s Choir: Chez Nous: Christmas With Elektra
      (Independent)
      Featuring highlights of Elektra Women’s Choir’s annual Chez Nous holiday concert, this CD features works ranging from familiar carols (and Benjamin Britten’s extended ,em>A Ceremony of Carols) to contemporary Canadian compositions by the likes of Jeffrey Enns, Edward Henderson, and Robert Buckley, among others. Special guests including A Touch of Brass, percussionist Sal Ferreras, and acoustic bassist Jody Proznick lend the album a home-for-the-holidays flavour.

      What it sounds like: Imagine having your closest friends and family gathered around a Yuletide log to sing holiday favourites—in tune.

      Wrap it up: Give this to the sullen Scrooge in your life who needs some help getting into the holiday spirit.

      (Available at elektra.ca/, cdbaby.com/, and iTunes.)

      Bradshaw Pack: Palimpsest
      (Skylark Music)
      Local composer Bradshaw Pack’s exploration of the divine in music, based on the oldest surviving opera, Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, made its debut in 2005 at the hands of Vancouver’s Standing Wave Ensemble, to which six additional players were added. An arrangement of works parsed from Johann Sebastian Bach, Claudio Monteverdi, and Anton Webern, anchored by compositions by Pack, it’s a sprawling piece that seeks to map the human relationship to music.

      What it sounds like: There is a quote by the philosopher Gottfried Leibniz in the liner notes of the album that hints at the intellectual nature of Pack’s project: “Music is a secret arithmetic of the soul unknowing of the fact that it is counting.”

      Wrap it up: Got an agnostic philosophy major on your list? This’ll do nicely.

      (Available at canadacd.ca/.)

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Bruce Hoffman

      Dec 2, 2010 at 2:30pm

      In case you are looking the new CD from Christ Church Cathedral Choir, "Angels From Heaven Came" is available at HMV (Burrard & Robson) and Sikora's (432 W Hastings St.)

      Jessica Werb

      Dec 2, 2010 at 2:56pm

      Thanks Bruce, I will amend that to the article.