As an Irish choir we are incredibly proud that the eighteen brilliant Christmas carols, hymns and songs presented here have all been written or arranged by Irish composers. Exploring and supporting Irish music is something that New Dublin Voices always does, but we are hoping that doing it on a CD for Christmas – the time of year when the public appetite for listening to choirs is at its peak – will really help to bring these composers and their wonderful music to an even wider audience. There are old favourites here, some in fresh new settings, as well as pieces that are wholly new. All but two are products of the 21st century, ten are settings of medieval texts, and thirteen are premiere recordings. All will appeal in ways that either embrace belief or transcend it, all are worth listening to again and again.
“For five years now, multi-award-winning chamber choir New Dublin Voices has given outstanding Christmas concerts in venues around Dublin and further afield, notably in the NCH John Field Room and in the Draiocht Arts Centre, but also in the Solstice in Navan and in numerous churches and other venues.
Now, a little taste of the way New Dublin Voices does Christmas is available to own and take home on CD. Christmas with New Dublin Voices grew out of all the nice comments and positive feedback which greeted us at the end of all those Christmas concerts over the years. The CD includes many audience favourites, including beautiful, unusual settings of familiar carols, like “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” and “The Wexford Carol”, much-loved carols like “Good King Wenceslas” and “Once in Royal David’s City”, and Christmas songs like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”.
In short there is a huge mix, something for everyone, with every track another great expression of Christmas through music. A perfect gift!”
Recorded in St. Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, Dublin
The debut CD of one of Ireland’s best and most exciting chamber choirs, this album had one rule: every track had to have a “B” in it! This means the Beatles are rubbing shoulders with Brahms and Benjamin Britten is neighbours with a barbershop quartet!
“Our young choir, which turns five in 2010, has thrived on presenting a highly successful series of single-idea concerts. These have included programmes devoted to the music of particular countries, or to reflections on childhood, or – with the Irish premiere of James MacMillan’s Cantos Sagrados – to the intense portrayal of life under an oppressive regime.
It was only with our catch-all 2009 concert “Something Beginning With B”, when we took a break from the notion of the single-idea programme, that we realised we had the perfect ingredients for a great and diverse debut CD. It didn’t matter if the “B” was for a composer or title or genre, whether it was Brahms, Benedictio, or barbershop. Once there was a “B”, it was in!
Enjoy!
As an Irish choir we are incredibly proud that the eighteen brilliant Christmas carols, hymns and songs presented here have all been written or arranged by Irish composers. Exploring and supporting Irish music is something that New Dublin Voices always does, but we are hoping that doing it on a CD for Christmas – the time of year when the public appetite for listening to choirs is at its peak – will really help to bring these composers and their wonderful music to an even wider audience. There are old favourites here, some in fresh new settings, as well as pieces that are wholly new. All but two are products of the 21st century, ten are settings of medieval texts, and thirteen are premiere recordings. All will appeal in ways that either embrace belief or transcend it, all are worth listening to again and again.