Just in Time for the Holidays

When we were kids, the holiday season got going … oh … when Thanksgiving ended. Not any more. For the most part these days, the lights go up and the stores start their sales far too early. But it’s never too early for beautiful music, and thanks to a personal friendship, BoomerCafé co-founder and publisher David Henderson has heard a recording that sounds perfect, even now.

I want to write a few words about the wonderful words, and marvelous music, in a new recording – “A Christmas Festival” – from famed English choral composer and conductor John Rutter.

I am biased and quite honored because John has been a friend for many, many years but I have always believed his music is the very best part of the holiday season.

“A Christmas Festival” features John conducting The Cambridge Singers, the Farnham Youth Choir, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was recorded in London at Cadogan Hall and Royal Albert Hall, and among the 20 tracks, it features several new, original compositions by John, including “Rejoice and Be Merry” and “New Year.”

Among the outstanding soloists on the recording, I was especially happy to hear the voice of mezzo-soprano Melanie Marshall, founder-member of the Cambridge Singers. Melanie’s version of “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” is beyond comparison for its nostalgic beauty.

“New Year” was written by John in 2006 as a seasonal tribute to The Queen, and the words, especially these days when we seem to need inspiration, are both inspiring and appropriate to the times we live in. Here’s a preview:

Turn your eyes to the light;
Cast away the works of darkness, let them go:
Turn your eyes to the light.
Turn your face to the sun,
Feel the warmth, the hope of new beginnings
With each new year.
The light was always there, if we could but see it;
And warmth was in the air, if we’d known how to feel.

Turn your ears to the sound;
Somewhere near, a voice is calling:
Hear the news,
Turn your ears to the sound.

New light, new hope, New Year.

“A Christmas Festival” will be available soon on iTunes, or online, or in the handful (sadly) of “record stores” that remain in business. It is on the Collegium label, #COLCD 133. “A Christmas Festival” will be officially released in America on October 14, and in the U.K. on October 27.

I have listened to an advance copy of “A Christmas Festival,” and the best single word to describe the recording is, Magnificent! It’s the kind of music that makes one feel … wonderful, hopeful, and inspired.

Filed Under: Baby Boomers • David Henderson • Featured Story

Tags: A Christmas Festival • Cambridge Singers • John Rutter • Royal Philharmonic Orchestra