Es Stot ein lind in Himmelrich

Originally recorded in 1998,this album promises Christmas music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance from the Freiburg Cathedral. It doesn't fully connect on either count,and it's not in any sense a historically accurate performance,but it works well for what it is: an unusually varied and attractive boychoir release. The selection of music ranges as far forward as the eighteenth century,and the booklet (in German,English,and French) explains that since a key manuscript pertaining to this particular cathedral was destroyed in a fire in the 1870s,the program instead draws on works from various sources. There is English,French,and Italian music as well as German,and all of it is both festive and unusual for a children's choir. The program consists of old German melodies juxtaposed with English carols and exotic instrumental sounds. The sound,as usual with boychoir music,is very sparse,with light percussion accompaniment at most for the German songs,most of which date back to the late Middle Ages. The later pieces represent survivals of older traditions; the French works,by Nicolas Chédeville (1705-1782),feature a hurdy-gurdy,while the Canzone dei zampognari (track 13) are bagpipe pieces. The Freiburger Domsingknaben,or Freiburg Cathedral Boy Singers,have an exceptionally pure sound,and the appearance of the rougher instruments makes a sudden and unexpected effect; everything is perfectly controlled by the small Freiburger Spielleyt ensemble. There is a nice setting of In dulci jubilo from the late fifteenth century,but most of the music is unfamiliar. The studio recording renders the choir with absolute clarity; of the many available recordings by German children's choirs,this is one of the finest sonically. Texts are given in German,or in the original language (English,French,or Latin) with German translation,and the presentation is German-friendly: the abbreviations Q,K,and T in the tracklist stand for Quelle (source),Komponist (composer),and Text,and M apparently means Musik. ~ James Manheim,All Music Guide