The John Rutter Christmas Album brings together most of the composer's Christmas songs and carols as well as several of his festive choral arrangements, including a rousing "Joy to the World" and the energetic "I saw three ships". Most of the 23 tracks have been taken from extant discs on Rutter's Collegium label although two, "Dormi, Jesu" and "Sans Day carol", were recorded especially for ...
Stephen Hough's recording of Saint-Saëns' piano concertos comes as no surprise: he is our leading champion of once-lost pianistic causes--Scharwenka, Sauer and Mompou being among the composers he has brilliantly committed to disc. For all his fame, Saint-Saëns is a harder cause to champion than any of the above, since his music really is at times mere padding. But what those who deride him fail to ...