DCD 059 - The DCD Holiday Special, Part 2

Part two of our holiday music special features selections from two recordings. "A Longwood Gardens Christmas" starts off episode #59 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast." Organist Michael Stairs performs two familiar selections, "O Christmas Tree," and an arrangement of "In dulci jubilo."

The centerpiece for the podcast is Janis Lusens' "Child of the Stars." This choral cantata borrows heavily from Lusens' Latvian musical heritage, as well as some traditional holiday melodies.

And remember -- you don't need an iPod to enjoy a podcast! You can download this program directly onto your computer, MP3 player or smart phone.

From the entire staff at DCD Records, we'd like to wish you a wonderful holiday season, and a safe and prosperous New Year.

- Ralph

This program we play:

O Christmas Tree
Chorale Improvisation on In dulci jubilo
Michael Stairs, organ
DTR

Janis Lusens - Child of the Stars (mvts. 2-4)
New York Latvian Concert Choir; Latvian National Symphony Orchestra; Andrejs Jansons, conductor
NYLCC

Paen on Divinum mysterium
Michael Stairs, organ
DTR

DCD 058 - The DCD Holiday Special, Part 1

Episode #58 of the DCD Classical 'Cast presents part 1 of our annual holiday music special. This program we feature music from four different labels, giving you something medieval, something modern, something traditional.... and something not.

You'll hear some familiar Christmas music played by Michael Stairs on the giant Longwood Gardens Aeolean organ. And you'll probably recognize the traditional melodies used in Peteris Aldins' "This Sacred Night."

Mary figures large in the Christmas story, and many early church services included sacred songs about the Virgin Mary in their Advent services (that's the part of the church calendar leading up to Christmas Day). We present a selection from the "Cantiguas de Santa Maria," a compilation commissioned by Alfonso X of Castille in the 1200's.

And to finish, we include some music from the Inner Voices's crossover release, "Christmas in My Dreams."

Happy Holidays!

- Ralph

This program we play:

Peteris Aldins: This Sacred Night
New York Latvian Concert Choir; Andrejs Jansons, conductor
NYLCC Records

Alfonso X: Rosas das rosas
Helena Ek, soprano
Musica Rediviva

I Saw three Ships; Silent Night
Michael Stairs, organ
DTR

Christmas in My Dreams, De King is Born Today
Inner Voices
Laurel Records

DCD 057 - Two from Laurel Records

In episode #57 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" we play music from Ernest Bloch and Nikolai Lopatnikoff, two 20th Century composers who are under-represented on the concert stage. Laurel Records is proud to have these works in their catalog, and we're happy to bring them to a wider audience.

Ernest Bloch enjoyed a great deal of success during his lifetime, both as a composer and as an educator. He served as the first Musical Director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, and taught Roger Sessions and George Antheil, among others. While his music is well-represented in recordings, with the exception of a few works, his compositions aren't regularly performed in the concert hall.

Like Bloch, Nikolai Lopatnikoff emigrated to the United States. Originally from Estonia, he moved to Germany before fleeing the Nazis first to England, then to America. Lopatnikoff was a contemporary of Rachmaninoff, and shared some of his Russian romanticism in his music. And Lopatnikoff was an educator as well, serving on the faculty of the Carnegie-Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh for a number of years.

- Ralph
This program we play:

Ernest Bloch: Concerto Symphonique for piano and orchestra, Mvt. 2
Michah Yui, piano; London Symphony Orchestra; David Amos, conductor
Laurel Records

Nikolai Lopatnikoff: Five Kontrasts for solo piano, Op. 71
Nanette Kaplan Solomon, piano
Laurel Records

Ernest Bloch: Concerto Grosso No. 2, finale
London Symphony Orchestra; David Amos, conductor
Laurel Records