Re: What's your favorite Christmas CD?

Dear Listers:

As long-time recording producer for both Chanticleer and the Dale Warland
Singers, I would suggest some additional titles below:

In a message dated 11/29/03 9:55:37 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

>3. Chanticleer: Our Heart's Joy

That was our first Christmas CD (and still one of my favorites). There are
two more now: "Sing We Christmas" (recorded at a beautiful Baroque church in
Kempen, Germany), and "Christmas with Chanticleer" (featuring the wonderful Dawn
Upshaw singing with Chanticleer). There is also an early CD originally on
Harmonia Mundi entitled "Psallite!" and also a new DVD/video of a Public
Television produced performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Besides your
normal CD outlets, these are available directly from Chanticleer off of their
website: >http://www.chanticleer.org/recordings.htm<
>
>4. anything by Dale Warland Singers, but most especially those with
>Christmas vocal works composed for them by Stephen Paulus

You can hardly find a DWS CD that *doesn't* have a beautiful Paulus work
commissioned by them on it. DWS has a number of CDs with a Christmas theme and
music (including a number of reissues from when they were recording for Augsburg
press) and most all of them are available via the Gothic Record catalog, who
is now the DWS's recording label. One that doesn't get as much publicity as it
should is "December Stillness". It's not your "normal" collection of carols,
but significant and challenging choral music for Christmas from some superb
composers. The Gothic Records catalog is available online at
>http://www.gothicrecords.com/< Roger Sherman, the head of Gothic, is trying to make 
>that catalog
a one-stop shopping choice for great choral music and organ music. He carries
a number of labels besides his own, including the Cambridge Singers and even
some of Chanticleer as well.

Another CD on Gothic that I would recommend is by fellow lister Frank
Albinder's wonderful men's chorus: The Washington Men's Camerata, entitled "Sing We
Noel". It has become a best-seller for Gothic.

Disclaimer: other than it's my honor and pleasure to produce recordings for
these wonderful choral groups and a great number of others, I have no monetary
connection with the sale of these recordings.

Best wishes,
Steve

Steve Barnett
Composer/Arranger/Producer
Barnett Music Productions
[EMAIL PROTECTED]