This recording no longer in print. This album and individual tracks are available in digital format at online music platforms and streaming services.
Christmas Angelicus
“Christmas Angelicus” features acclaimed children’s choir, Chorus Angelicus, and adult chamber choir, Gaudeamus, in the presentation of holiday choral works under the direction of Paul Halley. This album is a beautiful evocation of the holiday season with traditional carols, majestic hymns, and glorious descants by composer Paul Halley. Recorded at The Mary Keane Chapel at Shaker Village, Enfield, NH and St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, CT by Grammy-award winning engineer, Tom Bates. This joyous celebration includes such traditional favorites as The First Nowell and The Twelve Days of Christmas as well as the more unusual Huron Carol and Torches. An outstanding cover design in full color by Kerry Gavin Studios completes this irresistible package.
The opening hymn, "Once In Royal David's City", is sung in procession. The first two verses will therefore sound distant and soft, as they were sung from the back of the chapel.
Track Listing
-
Once In Royal David’s City
05'06" -
Torches
01'33"Words: (Galician) Tr. J. B. Trend
Music: J. Joubert
-
Jesus Christ The Apple Tree
03'41"Words: Anon. New Hampshire, 1784
Music: E. Poston -
Joys Seven
03'12"Words: Trad. English
Music: Trad. arr. S. Cleobury -
Huron Carol
03'09"Words: Native American (Huron), tr. Jean de Brebeuf
Music: 16th cent. French
Arranged: Paul Halley -
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
03'45"Words: P. Brooks
Music: W. Davies -
The First Nowell
04'35" -
Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day
02'09"Words: Trad. English
Music: J. Gardner -
Nativity Carol
04'21"Words & Music: J. Rutter
-
The Twelve Days Of Christmas
04'05"Words: Trad. English
Music: Trad. arr. J. Rutter -
Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming
01'46"Words: Trad. German, Tr. T. Baker
Music: 16th cent., harm. M. Praetorius -
Personent Hodie
02'34"Words: Piae Cantiones 1582
Music: German 1360, arr G. Holst -
There Is No Rose Of Such Virtue
02'25"Words: Medieval
Music: J. Joubert -
O Come, All Ye Faithful
04'08" -
I Sing Of A Maiden
02'38"Words: Trad. English
Music: P. Hadley -
Sussex Carol
01'50"Words: Trad. English
Music: Trad. arr. D. Willcocks -
In The Bleak Mid-Winter
04'40"Words: C. Rossetti
Music: H. Darke -
Sir Christemas
01'44"Words: Anon. c. 1500
Music: W. Mathias -
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
03'02"Words: C.Wesley, T. Whitefield, M. Madam, others
Music: F. Mendelssohn
Descant: Paul Halley
Video
Reviews
from The Absolute Sound
“This is my favorite Christmas record of the last several years, which I got too late to make last year’s list. This label is part of Pelagos, a kind of Paul Halley boutique that publishes sheet music as well as recordings. Halley is the former organist of St. John the Divine in New York and a key member of the Paul Winter Consort; this record features the children’s and adult choirs he now leads in the Berkshires. Christmas Angelicus includes such classic modern carols as John Joubert’s “Torches”, Elizabeth Poston’s “Jesus Christ The Apple Tree”, and Harold Darke’s “In The Bleak Midwinter”, as well as modern arrangements of traditional tunes. It is all nicely sung, aside from a slight tendency to stress downbeats more than a subtle English choir would allow, and splendidly recorded in appropriate spaces. What earns it a place in the Pantheon, though, are the descants Halley wrote for four carols, in particular the one for “The First Nowell”, which soars above not just the last chorus but the entire last stanza, fresh, audacious, and thrilling, lifting the familiar carol into realms of glory (to borrow a phrase from another carol).”
- Michael Alan Fox
from The American Organist Magazine
“Christmas Angelicus features traditional carols in settings primarily by British composers of the 20th century. Several of the selections feature arrangements and descants by Paul Halley, and it is here that his background in jazz becomes apparent, as the warm and occasionally surprising harmonic progressions lend a fresh and contemporary air to some of the more familiar tunes. From the opening solo of “Once in royal David’s city” – performed processional style a la Kings College Choir, Cambridge – to the closing rendition of “Hark, the herald angels sing”, these lovingly performed and recorded treasures are likely to find a home near the top of just about anyone’s stack of holiday favorites.”
- Jennifer Kolmes
from The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians
"Diction and intonation are superb. The children and adults sing not only with coherence but with an admirable freshness of sound. Paul Halley’s descants and imaginative harmonizations are refreshing."
- Victor Hill
Credits
Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus
Directed by Paul Halley
Thomas Bogdan, Tenor
Bruce Fifer, Bass
Paul Halley, Organist
Elizabeth Allyn, Recording Accompanist
Produced by Tom Bates, Paul Halley & Margaret Race
Margaret Race, Executive Producer
Tom Bates, Recording Engineer
Katherine Leigh, Assistant Engineer
Choirs recorded at The Mary Keane Chapel, Enfield, NH
Organ recorded at St. Joseph Cathedral, Hartford, CT
Kerry Gavin Design, Art Design and Production
Margaret Race, Creative Supervision
© 1995 Paul Halley/Joyful Noise Inc.
Paul Halley, Joyful Noise Inc. Artistic Director
Margaret Race, Joyful Noise Inc., Executive Director
All Rights Reserved
Made in USA
