Customer Reviews

Roderick Elms: Festive Frolic

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Each year I try and add new Christmas music to my CD collection. While I love the old standards, I also look for recordings that offer new and interesting ways of hearing the wonderful music associated with this time of year. One pleasant addition to my collection is this release from Naxos: FESTIVE FROLIC. It contains beautifully performed Christmas music with some interesting and original arrangements.

The collection gets its title from a piece composed by Roderick Elms who arranged most of the music contained in this collection. The piece is not a Christmas work per se, but fits well in the collection. The principal ensembles who perform the music are the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Stephen Bell and a group called The Joyful Company of Singers. Most of the music is familiar Christmas music, drawn from the English carol tradition. An overture of sorts "Fanfare da Festa" begins the CD and makes listeners anticipate the beautiful music that will follow. A rendition of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" performed by tenor Mark Wilde and the chorus leads us from Advent to Christmas. We then hear three carols familiar to British audiences ("Gabriel's Message, "Rocking" and "Angels from the Realms of Glory set to tune most Americans would associate with "Angels We Have Heard On High"). "The Cherry Tree Carol" and "Away In A Manger" sound similar to John Rutter/Cambridge Singers renditions and are performed with the same beauty and attention to detail. "Wassail Down The Wind" is almost an organ and orchestra fantasia of well known Yuletide music The liner notes mention that Elms wanted to make sure that the organ, an instrument that often accompanies Christmas music gets some attention of its own. The collection concludes with a number of Christmas carols and holiday music and concludes with its one secular piece, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer."

Like many Naxos recordings, the quality of this CD far exceeds its price. The music is performed well and it's interesting to listen to with it's at times traditional and other times original arrangements. I know I'll be enjoying it this Christmas and more than likely will for years to come.

Festival Frolic conjures up the light-hearted atmosphere of a traditional Christmas - some familiar tunes to new arrangements along with dramatic new pieces for organ. I'm always looking for new Christmas music and I'm going to start playing it at the beginning of Advent and carry on till Twelfth Night!