Tripoly Souls Ceremony (2019)

The juxtaposition of old and new which lies at the heart of much Christmas music lends this recording by the mixed-voice Choir of The Queen’s College Oxford its theme. The repertoire ranges in period from Hildegard of Bingen to pieces composed during the last few years. The central work – Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols – vividly encapsulates the intersection of ancient and modern, setting medieval and Renaissance texts, and drawing on plainchant as musical inspiration, while – in its series of fresh, vivid, and sharply-etched miniatures – eschewing the sentimentality which had become attached to Christmas and its music.

CEREMONY make their Relapse Records debut with their highly ambitious new album, 'In the Spirit World Now'! The album sees CEREMONY at the height of their creative output, as the always-evolving Rohnert Park quintet take various influences from post punk and rock to create one of the summer's most compelling and infectious records.

The four coronations of the twentieth century were enormous and extravagant. Replete with festive pageantry, these ceremonies were joyful celebrations of British music, employing tremendous forces. Choirs from across London and beyond were marshalled to provide a chorus of over 400 voices; a full-size symphony orchestra was squeezed into Westminster Abbey, whilst bands of fanfare trumpeters led the pomp and celebration.

Old Souls presents masterworks of Beethoven, Dvořák, Wolf and Kreisler in new arrangements for flute and strings, played by a group of outstanding young musicians. Guy Braunstein’s arrangements display these well-known pieces in a fresh new light, while simultaneously expanding the flute repertoire and showcasing the exceptional possibilities of the instrument, here played by Gili Schwarzman. Braunstein and Schwarzman are joined by violinist Susanna Yoko Henkel, violist Amihai Grosz and cellist Alisa Weilerstein. While the arrangement of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata Op. 23 entails a thorough recomposition of the original, the performances of Dvořák’s “American” String Quartet, Wolf’s “Italian” Serenade and Kreisler’s Syncopation stay closer to the source, with the flute taking up the role originally played by the first violin.