Free Postage! A Danish Christmas. CD.

Free Postage!

Offering 77 minutes of music and a 28-page booklet with Danish and English texts, A Danish Christmas is an anthology comparable to the best full-price releases. Insightful notes by Andrew Smith explain the significance of carols in the traditional Danish Christmas celebrations, helpfully setting the scene for this celebratory collection. Here is elegantly appealing music by composers famous (Carl Nielson's tender, "My Heart Always Wanders"), unfamiliar (Egil Harder's "The Christmas Tree With Its Decorations") and unknown--for many of these carols derive from the folk tradition. "Praise Be To You, Jesus Christ" is one of four carols to feature exquisite soprano singing from one of Musica Ficta's excellent soloists, though the majority depend purely upon the ensemble's finely balanced choral sound. Formed in 1996 by composer and conductor Bo Holton, this group are splendidly accomplished, whether it be with simple monophonic lines, or the more complex and thrilling polyphony of "What A Great Throng And Noise". They have also recorded a programme of church music by Ockeghem, which includes a fine Requiem.