Wolcum Yule

Andrew Lawrence-King, Anonymous 4, Johanna Maria Rose, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer

21,9932,49
(2 press reviews)
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Original Recording Format: DSD 64
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Many of the symbols and practices of the Celtic midwinter celebration known as Yule (probably several thousand years older than the festival of Christmas) have come down to us in a curious amalgamation of mythologies, pagan and Christian. Yule marks the time of the winter solstice, around 21st December—the longest and darkest night of the year, when the coming of spring seems a faint hope. To fortify that hope, the ancient Celts, who dwelt throughout Britain, held
a celebration of lights, to give power to the returning sun. They brought evergreens into their homes to symbolize life at the time when most of nature seemed dead and dark, and they gave and received gifts to represent wisdom gained from looking inward during the long winter nights. These symbols, and many other elements of ancient pagan ceremonies, were absorbed into the early Christian festivals, blending into a multi-layered expression of the universal cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

The traditional music associated with the mid-winter festival is also interwoven with threads of pre-Christian ritual and folk customs. The concerns of an ancient people dependent upon the whims of nature for food and shelter are expressed not only in imagery of the natural world, but even in the form of the songs themselves. The word “carol” (from Old French carole) originally meant a dance performed in a circle, the dancers also singing a verse with a recurring refrain. This was probably derived from ancient ritual dances with call-and-response chanting, used at magical ceremonies throughout the cycle of the year.

Even by the Middle Ages, the carol was not limited to the winter season; only much later
did the term take on its present meaning of a song for the Christmas season.

Tracklist

Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.
1.
Awake, and join the cheerful choir
04:13
2.
Good people all (vocal solo)
06:08
3.
The seven rejoices of Mary
03:46
4.
The Lamb (a cappella)
03:05
5.
A Scots Lilt (instrumental)
03:32
6.
Balulalow (vocal solo)
03:41
7.
Balulalow (a cappella)
01:40
8.
The holly and the ivy (a cappella)
03:16
9.
The Reel of Tullochgorum (instrumental)
03:48
10.
I saw three ships
02:58
11.
A Calendar of Kings (a cappella)
06:07
12.
Air: La fuar geimhreadh (instrumental)
04:13
13.
An teicheadh go hEigipt (vocal solo)
03:26
14.
A god, and yet a man?
01:30
15.
Grene growith the holy (a cappella)
03:56
16.
Wel, dymar borau gorau (Behold, here is the best morning)
03:17
17.
The Cherry Tree Carol (vocal solo)
02:40
18.
Can wassel (Wassail Song)
02:49
19.
A New Year Carol
02:13

Total time: 01:06:18

Additional information

Label

SKU

HMU907325

Qualities

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Channels

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Artists

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Composers

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Genres

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Instruments

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Original Recording Format

Producer

Robina G. Young

Recording Engineer

Brad Michel

Recording location

Skywalker Sound California

Recording Software

Pyramix

Recording Type & Bit Rate

DSD64

Release DateJuly 3, 2014

Press reviews

Audiophile Audition 5 out of 5

The four women of Anonymous 4 have never sounded as lovely. Working at Skywalker Sound, producer Robina Young and engineer Brad Michel have created an uncannily natural space in which the overtones float magically away as if they were sounding in response to the season.

Classics Today

Highlights are many. They include Peter Maxwell Davies’ uniquely affecting A Calendar of Kings. Basically, a fanciful harmonic journey through the wondrous imagery of George Mackay Brown’s poem. A mystical trip not through Eastern landscapes but through the poet’s own Orkney Islands. That’s full of wild and wonderful colors and startling effects that show off Anonymous 4’s rarely heard contemporary-music chops.

If it’s possible that there are listeners new to this group, here’s an easy way to get to know its matchless sound and enduring, engaging personality.

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