Arsys Bourgogne, Pierre Cao - Chants De Noel Du Monde

Published Friday 23rd November 2012
Arsys Bourgogne, Pierre Cao - Chants De Noel Du Monde
Arsys Bourgogne, Pierre Cao - Chants De Noel Du Monde

STYLE: Choral
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 132691-
LABEL: Naive V5319
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

A rough translation of 'chants de noel du monde' would be 'Christmas songs from around the world' and that is indeed what we get. Leading French choir Arsys Bourgogne, considered to be among the best in Europe and conducted by the Luxembourg native Pierre Cao, present a collection of six centuries of Christmas songs sung in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin. From the opening "A Merry Christmas" to the closing "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" we get an enjoyable hour of excellent singing that covers a pleasing mix of the familiar (dare we say over familiar?) and the new. Arsys Bourgogne is a French choir and although the members sing well there are points where the pronunciation is not what we are used to. Where I come from Father Christmas is also known as Santa Claus where Claus sounds like "claws" but on this recording he is the more Germanic Klaus (to rhyme with "house") which is no doubt true to his Dutch origins but sounds odd in an American standard such as "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town". A minor point I know but I couldn't help noticing it as I listened. As well as travelling the world to find material we also cross the line - always blurred at Christmas - between sacred and secular. "Jingle Bells" and "White Christmas" are lovely songs in their very different ways but neither of them should be sung in a church service. However we also get plenty of spiritual food, including the spiritual "Go, Tell It On The Mountain" in Scott Warren's arrangement as well as such old faithfuls as "In Dulci Jubilo" (Michael Praetorius) and "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" (Grayston Ives). It is when Pierre Cao takes the choir over the seas and faraway that we meet the unusual songs that make this disc stand out. "Ninna-Nanna A Gesu Banbino" by Lavinio Virgili is worth hearing, as is Ernest Cervera's "En Belen Tocan A Fuego". So if you are looking for something less predictable for Christmas but still very well sung this is worthy of investigation.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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