STANFORD MEMORIAL CHURCH is a tradition in itself. All those who visit the Church come away with a bit of its richness: the visual aspect of its windows, carvings, mosaics, and high arches; its peaceful setting in the middle of the campus with gently rolling and often cloud—covered hills as a backdrop; and the reverberation of choral and instrumental music. Add to this the tradition of the Christmas season and its wealth of beautiful music, and the result is an unforgettable experience. It is easy to understand why James Welch, who for four years served as Assistant University Organist at Stanford, has a deep appreciation for Christmas music at Stanford Memorial Church. Nothing gives a performer such as Mr. Welch greater pleasure than to share with friends the opportunity to enjoy favorite music in such a unique setting.
It was while at Stanford in 1973 that yet another tradition was begun: in honor of a close friend, Mrs. Mary Finlayson of Woodside, California, whose birthday falls on December 5, Mr. Welch chose to offer a “Birthday Concert” of Christmas music. Each December since that time, the Annual Birthday Concert has been held in the Palo Alto area, often including guest performers, two of whom are represented in this recording. Mr. Welch has written a number of new Christmas songs, all receiving their premiere performances at these concerts.
It is the sincere wish of the artist that this joyous tradition may continue and that all who hear this music will feel the special joy that only Christmas music can bring.
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 00:49:17
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | Wson806 |
| Qualities | |
| Channels | |
| Artists | |
| Composers | Bach, Busser, Elmore, JJ Kirkpatrick, Karg-Elert, Langlais, Pachelbel, Purvis, Schroeder, Traditional, Welch |
| Genres | |
| Analog Tape Machine | Studer A-80 RC Mk. II with custom modifications by John French and Ki Choi |
| Cables | JPS Labs Aluminata |
| Digital Converters | EMM Labs ADC-8 Mk. IV custom modified by Andreas Koch |
| Mastering Engineer | Analog Mastering: Stan Ricker at JVC Cutting CenterAnalog to High Definition DSD Digital Transfer – Bruce Brown at Puget Sound Studios |
| Mastering Room | Rupert Neve Analog Mastering Console |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Recording Engineer | 0 0 1 181 999 channel 8 2 1178 14.0 Normal 0 21 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Standaardtabel; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:JA;}Dave Wilson recorded the selections on this album using two AKG C-414 condenser microphones to capture a natural, ambient sound field with good frequency and time domain qualities. The omni pattern was used for all pieces except “Sleep, Baby, and Smile”, in which the figure of eight pattern was employed, and “And Holy is His Name," in which the C-414's excellent hyper-cardioid pattern was used to good effect. Side one was recorded December 5, 1976, and most of side two was recorded on December 4. 1978. “Sleep, Baby, and Smile" was recorded on December 4, 1977. An interesting comparison can be made between side one, which was recorded using Maxell UD recording tape, and side two, which was recorded using SM #250 Studio Mastering Tape. Audiophiles unaccustomed to the sound of this organ should expect an extremely warm, full sound. Spectrum analysis reveals very little output above 3KHZ, but with prodigious output in the vicinity of 32HZ. This album will reward subwoofer owners, while not threatening their tweeters. |
| Recording Software | Sonoma DSD Workstation, Merging Technologies Pyramix Workstation |
| Recording Type & Bit Rate | Analog to DSD64 |
| Release Date | October 18, 2014 |
Press reviews
Stereophile
“The recording is gorgeous … rich, suave, and nicely spacious with very wide dynamic range.”
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