Xmas Carols

A good Christmas compilation should contain the following things: a selection of old classics to warm your cockles by the fireside, some of the classic pop titles that people always seem to find themselves singing along to in the pub on Christmas Eve, some carols and a handful of oddities to keep everyone on their toes. The Best Christmas Album in the World Ever manages to fulfil all these criterias.

Since 1999, three "Klazz Brothers" Kilian Forster (bass), Bruno Böhmer Camacho (piano) and Tim Hahn (drums) have stood for a refreshing and innovative fusion of classical music with jazz and world music. For their albums "Classic meets Cuba" and "Mozart meets Cuba", which were recorded with the Duo Cuba Percussion, the Klazz Brothers from Dresden received the ECHO Prize in the category "Klassik ohne Grenzen" several times. With their new CD "Christmas meets Cuba 2", the five musicians are following up on the success album "Christmas meets Cuba", released in 2010, which brought international and German Christmas carols to new musical life. With a mixture of jazz swing and Latin feeling, spirited zest for life, Cuban serenity and moody melancholy, the Klazz Brothers and Cuba Percussion have recorded such classics as "White Christmas", "Silent Night" and George Michaels "Last Christmas". And here and there, prominent guest singers such as Olvido Ruiz and Tom Gaebel give the songs another special flair.

Five centuries, seven languages, and six singers with 35 years of remarkable experience inform this rare collection of choral music. In the world-renowned King's Singers resplendent voices, ancient and modern choral music comes to life with all the blazing immediacy and timeliness of the gospel of the nativity. With 25 pieces of music–ranging from familiar works such as "Coventry Carol" to the obscure Tchaikovsky piece "The Crown of Roses"–the King's Singers move through this hallowed and festive set with the vocal mastery that only three-and-a-half decades of accomplished work together is capable of creating. A number of contemporary carols written in the last century by composers such as John McCabe, Philip Lawson, John Rutter, and others are balanced by pieces by Bach and a host of traditional works. Lawson's "You Are the New Day," performed with a string quartet, stands out as one of the more notable performances. Like most of their music throughout Christmas, it reminds listeners that the art of music often interprets divine aspects gladly realized here on Earth.