Looking for some new music this holiday season?

If you, like me, have had more than enough of holiday music on the radio, of which I will be writing more about in this space later this week, I have a couple of Canadian discs available that might just cure you of that sugar-coated musical overload.  One is Christmas-themed and the other is not; both are by groups of Ontario musicians who know their market niche and do a nice job of filling it every now and then with new recordings.

The Elora Festival Singers scored a major Christmas hit a number of years ago when they recorded The Mystery of Christmas for the Naxos label.  It proved to be a popular disc, combining superb artistry and sound with a collection of carols both familiar and not quite so familiar.  When it was first introduced, it was marketed as their "Disc of the Month", which meant it sold for a limited time for about $5 a disc.  The price-point won many listeners over, of course, but the disc was worth far more than that and is still a best-seller in the Naxos catalogue each holiday season, albeit at regular price.

Those heady days of $5 Naxos discs are long-gone, of course, but the Elora Festival Singers are back again this season with a new collection of Christmas music every bit as appealing as the first.  Entitled The Wonder of Christmas, the music ranges from much-loved settings to new works, from polyphony to more straightforward melodies;  the timeframe covers the Middle Ages to modern day.

The track listing begins with the very familiar Once in Royal David's City and continues on through My Dancing Day, What Child is This? The Holly and the Ivy and ending with the ever-popular The First Nowell.  Composers range from Britten and Adolphe Adam to more contemporary composers such as Paul Halley and John Tavener.

Once again the choir is directed by Noel Edison and accompanied on several tracks by organist Michael Bloss.  The sound is full with a nice acoustic, and the choir is simply one of the best anywhere.

The Elora Festival Singers are not just known as a Christmas choir, of course.  In fact, their highly-acclaimed Naxos disc of Eric Whitacre's music was nominated for a major recording award in 2010.  But once again this season, they bring their special warmth and style to the music of the season with outstanding results.

The second disc I want to highlight this season is even more local than Elora; The Gallery Players of Niagara are back with a brand-new disc entitled Transformation to celebrate their 20th anniversary.  The group performs regularly in Niagara and beyond, and in fact their Glissandi Christmas concerts were held this past Friday and Saturday evenings in Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines.

The Gallery Players comprises several musicians on this new recording including Artistic Director Margaret Gay on cello; Douglas Miller on flute; Carol Lynn Fujino on violin and Patrick Jordan on viola.  Added on some tracks are James Mason on oboe; Peter Shackleton on clarinet; Julie Baumgartel on violin; and Leslie De'Ath on piano.  On Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe, Op. 48 which concludes the disc, the Eybler Quartet and Brett Polegato are featured.

In addition to Dichterliebe, the disc also features Beethoven's Sonata Op. 24 "Spring Sonata" and Ravel's ravishing Le tombeau de Couperin.  If you're thinking these must be transcriptions, you are absolutely right.  Patrick Jordan transcribed the Beethoven for flute, violin, viola and cello; Trevor Wagler transcribed the Ravel for oboe, clarinet, violin, cello and piano; and Patrick Jordan transcribed the Dichterliebe for baritone, string quartet, classical guitar and double bass.

What I love about this disc is the luminous sound and clarity of the transcriptions, bringing an entirely new focus to these time-honoured classical works.  While the Beethoven works beautifully, I loved the joie de vivre inherent in the Ravel transcription, capturing all the gallic charm of the original in a small chamber setting.  With the Robert Schumann Dichterliebe, the work just sparkles with the wonderful baritone of Brett Polegato and the Eybler Quartet.

Gallery Players patrons might recall Polegato and Co. performed the Dichterliebe at a concert last January at Rodman Hall Arts Centre in St. Catharines.  Now that performance has been preserved on this new disc for those who were there or wish they had been.

Polegato has never been a stranger to his native Niagara, having returned as recently as this past fall for a recital for the Department of Music at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts at Brock University.  He brings added cachet to this new disc, and the lightness of his baritone works especially well on the Dichterliebe.

The recording, made at Humbercrest United Church in Toronto earlier this year, has a nicely balanced sound with a beautiful acoustic.

If you want more information on either disc or want a copy for yourself, you can go to www.elorafestival.com for The Elora Festival Singers disc, or www.galleryplayers.ca for The Gallery Players of Niagara disc.  Alternatively, you can order either disc through my website at www.finemusic.ca or by emailing me directly at music@vaxxine.com.

Enjoy the gift of music this Christmas!

December 21st, 2014.