De Maistre - Christmas Harp [CD]

The sound of the harp, one of the oldest musical instruments in the world, has always been associated with that of other worlds and of heavenly spheres, long assuring it a place in the list of instruments that are used to perform Christmas music. This explains why Xavier de Maistre has called his new solo album "Christmas Harp" and selected pieces from various areas of the repertory extending from large-scale orchestral works to famous Christmas carols all arranged for solo harp. Xavier recorded and arranged himself the famous "Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-93). To be heard from The Nutcracker is also "The Waltz of the Flowers" in a harp transcription by the young Russian harpist and composer Alexander Boldachev. "Christmas Harp" features beautiful harp transcriptions and concert variations of the Christmas Carols Jingle Bells, Carol of the Bells, O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree), Adeste fidelis, We three Kings of Orient are, It came upon the Midnight clear, Angels we have heard on High and O little Town of Bethlehem as well as a transcription of the Ave Maria by Franz Schubert (1797-1828). Most of these arrangements and variations for harp are written by Carlos Salzedo (1885-1961), who was one of the leading composers for the harp and one of the best harpists of 20th century. Besides the harp transcriptions of the famous Christmas songs by Salzedo, Xavier also recorded Salzedo's short fantasies based on Provençal, Catalan, Basque and Neapolitan Christmas carols. Particularly delightful is Salzedo's concert variations on the carol O Tannenbaum, where he may be said to pull out all the stops in his desire to show how much music lies hidden in this number's apparently simple twelve bars.