- Audio CD (12 Nov 2007)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: CD
- Label: SonyBMG
- ASIN: B000W1V4AC
- Other Editions: MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 146,265 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Product details |
Track Listings
| 1. Karolju | |||
| 2. Polish Christmas Carols | |||
| 3. Retablo de Navidad | |||
| 4. 1. Latin | |||
| 5. 2. Swedish | |||
| 6. 3. French | |||
| 7. 4. Spanish | |||
| 8. 5. Little March of the Three Kings | |||
| 9. 6. Latin | |||
| 10. 7. Russian | |||
| 11. 8. Czech | |||
| 12. 9. German | |||
| 13. 10. Latin | |||
| 14. 11. Italian | |||
| 15. 1. Aniol pasterzom mówil (Angels to the shepherds came) | |||
| 16. 2. Hej! weselmy sie (Hey! we rejoice now) | |||
| 17. 3. Gdy sie Chrystus rodzi (When the Christ to us is born) | |||
| 18. 6. Gdy sliczna Panna (Our Lovely Lady) | |||
| 19. 7. Przybiezeli do Betlejem (Hurrying to Bethlehem) | |||
| 20. 8. W zlobie lezy (In a manger) | |||
See all 31 tracks on this disc
| |||
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
NB Before I start this review, I must declare an interest. I was singing with the Philharmonia Chorus when we recorded 'Karolju' last October, so this cannot be an objective review!
This is an enjoyable disc of choral and solo vocal Christmas music. Rouse's 'Karolju' is a tuneful contemporary American work for choir and large symphony orchestra, with a lighthearted Christmassy feel which gently parodies various national music styles e.g. Russian, Italian, Swedish etc. which was inspired by Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana'. It has been performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Zinman with some success, but this is the first commercially available recording. If you enjoy John Rutter's music, you will love this CD, which couples Rouse's music with other 20th century choral or solo vocal works.
This is an enjoyable disc of choral and solo vocal Christmas music. Rouse's 'Karolju' is a tuneful contemporary American work for choir and large symphony orchestra, with a lighthearted Christmassy feel which gently parodies various national music styles e.g. Russian, Italian, Swedish etc. which was inspired by Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana'. It has been performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Zinman with some success, but this is the first commercially available recording. If you enjoy John Rutter's music, you will love this CD, which couples Rouse's music with other 20th century choral or solo vocal works.
Format:Audio CD
This is a wonderful disc. Karolju is a work which should be performed more often and is a lost gem in many cases.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Sparklingly original traditional music
11 Dec 2007
Format:Audio CD
I was privileged to hear the world premier of Karolju in 1991 and for years replayed it from a tape I recorded from a radio rebroadcast. I am delighted that Karolju has been recorded and is now commercially available; it deserves a wide audience.
Karolju is a series of carol-like pieces composed by Christopher Rouse. Because the music is very much in the style of traditional carols, it might sound familiar to you, but these are all original "carols" composed as a suite. Ranging from brilliant color to sublime meditativeness, the half-hour suite captures both the celebratory and the solemn aspects of the season. Every December brings forth a new crop of Christmas music, most of it the same stuff that has been recorded already scores of times. In 2007's crop Karolju stands out as truly distinctive: outstanding music that is both perfectly suited to the season and genuinely original. A large part of its originality lies in its texts, which involve something of a surprise that I will not divulge here. Suffice it to say that Karolju could be the perfect musical marriage of singing and orchestration.
This recording is conducted by David Zinman, who conducted the premier and must surely know this music better than anyone other than Christopher Rouse himself.
The companion pieces, Polish Christmas Carols by Witold Lutoslawski and Retablo de Navidad by Joaquin Rodrigo, while lacking Karolju's color and brilliance, complement it nicely and give the entire CD a unity of style and tone.
I'm not a musician, so I can't pass judgment on this CD academically or technically. But I know what I like when I hear it. I have to believe that anyone who enjoys traditional Christmas music would thoroughly enjoy this recording. I can't recommend it too highly.
Karolju is a series of carol-like pieces composed by Christopher Rouse. Because the music is very much in the style of traditional carols, it might sound familiar to you, but these are all original "carols" composed as a suite. Ranging from brilliant color to sublime meditativeness, the half-hour suite captures both the celebratory and the solemn aspects of the season. Every December brings forth a new crop of Christmas music, most of it the same stuff that has been recorded already scores of times. In 2007's crop Karolju stands out as truly distinctive: outstanding music that is both perfectly suited to the season and genuinely original. A large part of its originality lies in its texts, which involve something of a surprise that I will not divulge here. Suffice it to say that Karolju could be the perfect musical marriage of singing and orchestration.
This recording is conducted by David Zinman, who conducted the premier and must surely know this music better than anyone other than Christopher Rouse himself.
The companion pieces, Polish Christmas Carols by Witold Lutoslawski and Retablo de Navidad by Joaquin Rodrigo, while lacking Karolju's color and brilliance, complement it nicely and give the entire CD a unity of style and tone.
I'm not a musician, so I can't pass judgment on this CD academically or technically. But I know what I like when I hear it. I have to believe that anyone who enjoys traditional Christmas music would thoroughly enjoy this recording. I can't recommend it too highly.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Christmas Carmina
19 Dec 2007
Format:Audio CD
Karolju is a tribute to the simplicity, rhythmic viability, and tune-catchiness of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" by one of America's top five composers, Christopher Rouse. Its movements are generally in major keys. Some are quiet, several are ho-ho Santa-ish, all are a joy to hear. Don't just buy them for Christmas--they're good any time of the year to get you out of your doldrums.
The Lutoslawski piece makes a fine contrast, being a bit more austere and reflective. The Rodrigo is yet another (short) contrast, with a definite Spanish character. The whole set is rounded nicely, beautifully recorded, lustily performed, and should belong on any tune-lover's shelf.
The Lutoslawski piece makes a fine contrast, being a bit more austere and reflective. The Rodrigo is yet another (short) contrast, with a definite Spanish character. The whole set is rounded nicely, beautifully recorded, lustily performed, and should belong on any tune-lover's shelf.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
CD
22 Dec 2008
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The assortment of foreign carols is fantastic. I esp. like the Polish and eastern European ones at the beginning. I had seen a review of it.last year in the Wall St. Journal and I kept it to remind me toorder this year.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
