Phoenix Chorale's New Christmas Album Drops This Month

Bringing together the same engineering team that recorded the Phoenix Chorale's Grammy Winning recording All Night Vigil, The Phoenix Chorale will release THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM, October 13, 2023 worldwide.

 

This will be the first recording featuring Phoenix Chorale's Artistic Director Christopher Gabbitas, and the first partnership with Signum Classics. The album will be available for purchase and digital download beginning October 13. Visit lnk.to/PhoenixChoraleChristmas for all streaming and purchase options.

 

THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM is the Phoenix Chorale's 7th album and was recorded earlier this year by Blanton Alspaugh, Producer, John Newton, Engineer. Alspaugh and Newton are the same producing and engineering team from Soundmirror who recorded Phoenix Chorale's All Night Vigil, which won the GRAMMY for "Best Choral Performance" in 2016. (Chandos Label)

 

THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM has a sense of place, clearly identifying the Chorale as both American and from a border state with Mexico.There is Hispanic influence in the repertoire choices, which include Catalan folksongs as well as Hispanic Renaissance music. 

 

THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM features a commissioned piece from Cecilia McDowall, Trinity Triptych, which celebrated the 2021 centenary of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, (Phoenix Chorale's home in Downtown Phoenix,) as well as two pieces from local composers, Tom Peterson's original composition, A Quiet Chamber and Kira Zeeman Rugen's arrangement of traditional Irish Wexford Carol, both recorded for the first time.

 

The album also includes several songs originally arranged for the famed King's Singers, which have been newly adapted for the Phoenix Chorale by Christopher Gabbitas, himself a former King's Singer.

 

PHOENIX CHORALE

THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM

TRACK LIST

 

Veni veni Emmanuel - Trad. arr. Philip Lawson b.1957

 

El Niño Querido – arr. Goff Richards / Christopher Gabbitas

Claro Abril Resplandeçio – arr. Goff Richards / Christopher Gabbitas

Nit de Vetlla – arr. Goff Richards / Christopher Gabbitas

Holly Sheppard, mezzo soprano

 

Resonet in Laudibus – Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594)

 

Trinity Triptych: O Magnum Mysterium - Cecilia McDowall b.1951

Trinity Triptych: O Nata Lux- Cecilia McDowall b.1951

Trinity Triptych: O Virgo Virginum- Cecilia McDowall b.1951

In honor of the Centennial Celebration of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Phoenix, AZ)

 

Beata Dei Genitrix – Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599)

 

A Quiet Chamber – Tom Peterson (b. 1985)

 

Christ the Appletree - Stanford Scriven (b.1988)

 

Wexford Carol– Traditional Irish, arr. Kira Zeeman Rugen

 Lies'l Hill, soprano | Gabriel Frongillo, tenor

 

La Peregrinaçion – Ariel Ramirez (1921-2010), arr. Peter Knight / Christopher Gabbitas

 

Gaudete – Traditional, arr. Brian Kay / Christopher Gabbitas

 

In the Bleak Midwinter - Gustav Holst 1874-1934 arr. Alexander L'Estrange b.1974

 

Winter Wonderland – Felix Bernard (1897-1944), arr. Alexander L'Estrange

 

Sleigh Ride - Leroy Anderson 1908-1975 arr. Alexander L'Estrange b.1974

 

The Christmas Song – Mel Tormé (1925-1999) and Robert Wells (1922-1998), arr. Peter Knight / Gabbitas

 

Jingle Bells – James Pierpont (1822-1893), arr. Ben Parry

 

Noche de Paz - J. Mohr/F.,Grüber, arr. James,Burton (text: Ariana Iniguez – Alto in Phoenix Chorale)

 

ABOUT THE PHOENIX CHORALE: The Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale, led by Artistic Director Christopher Gabbitas since 2019, is regarded as one of the finest choral ensembles in North America of the western classical tradition. All of the 28-voice ensemble's members are professional singers who currently reside in Arizona.

 

Founded in 1958 as the Bach & Madrigal Society of Phoenix and subsequently known as the Phoenix Bach Choir, the Phoenix Chorale became a fully professional choir in 1992.

 

Previous Phoenix Chorale conductors have included Millicent Wesley, Wallace Hornibrook, Dan Durand, Vance George, Anders Öhrwall, Jon Washburn, and Charles Bruffy.

 

Phoenix Chorale's digital audience continues to grow through radio broadcasts, performance videos, and streaming services like Spotify, where the Chorale maintains a listenership of over 35,000 fans each month. The Chorale's recordings have spent over 20 weeks on the Billboard Charts and have earned a total of ten Grammy nominations and three Grammy wins.

 

Annually, the Chorale's video and audio recordings reach over one million listeners around the world. The Chorale is ensemble-in-residence at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Phoenix. For more information visit phoenixchorale.org.

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