New Classical Tracks: The Warmth of Christmas from the Sunny South

Seraphic Fire – Candlelight Carols (SFM)

A soft blanket of new fallen snow. Icicles dangling from the roof. Twinkling colored lights shining through a frosted windowpane. These are all signs that the holiday season is upon us. But what if you live somewhere warm like Miami? "When you live in South Florida there are really very few natural cues that it's the holiday season," says Patrick Dupré Quigley. "There's no snow, there's no falling of leaves, palm trees don't really change color. So for many people in the region, the Seraphic Fire Christmas concert is sort of a nostalgic way of reconnecting with perhaps their colder and more seasonal roots."

Patrick is the conductor, founder and artistic director of the Miami chorus, Seraphic Fire, which performs 50 concerts each year, including several sold-out Christmas concerts.

But if you don't have tickets for this year's concerts, don't worry. Seraphic Fire has captured the timeless beauty of its holiday performance on its latest release. "Candlelight Carols was a collaboration we had last year with the harpist Jackie Kerrod, who is really one of the great practitioners of her instrument in the U. S.," Patrick says. "It is a mixture of old and new, some new arrangements of carols, some older pieces that were written specifically for harp and chorus, and some other ones that we arranged specifically for that disc. It is the third of our Christmas discs and I think it is perhaps one of the more angelic recordings that we have. There is something particularly ethereal that the harp adds to this repertoire. And we were so very, very lucky to be able to work with somebody of such talent, like Jackie.

"In putting together this disc of music for chorus and harp, there was a very traditional route that we could have gone," Patrick continues. "But we felt it was important to feature the music of living composers because we need to continually add to the repertoire of music for the season. What we were hoping with this disc, was to provide a real comforting warm experience for the listener but at the same time, introduce people to new and exciting repertoire that was written for this specific holiday period."

One of those contemporary composers featured on Candlelight Carols is Jake Runestad of Minneapolis. "He composed 'Sleep Little Baby Sleep' for us," Patrick says. "We've recorded a number of world premieres of his and this was a set of three pieces we commissioned from him about three years ago for Christmas. This was the middle work of the three and a really incredible piece. It has all the charm of 'Silent Night,' but with the brilliance that Jake brings writing for the voice."

Each year, Abbie Betinis composes an original carol as part of a long-standing family tradition that dates back to her great-grandfather. One of her original arrangements also found its way onto this new collection of carols. "Her setting of 'In the Bleak Midwinter' … it's actually Holst's tune — Abbie's arrangement for harp and chorus is pretty stunning in the effects that she is able to get, particularly in her musical portrayal in the falling of snow. It's one of these sort of icy, chilly, but brilliant moments of composition that I think people will really, really react to."

The title of Seraphic Fire's third Christmas album comes from John Rutter's "Candlelight Carol," which closes out this recording. It's a piece that truly reflects the mood Seraphic Fire wants to convey on this recording. "I think that there is nothing better than the first verse of that carol. When the sopranos come in on 'How do you capture the wind on the water?', it slowly grows in this undulating fashion up to this glorious soprano climax in the first eight bars. It was one of the first pieces I sang in honor choir as a freshman in high school. I remember it vividly and every time we sing it, it's incredibly affecting."

Patrick also has a soft spot for another Rutter carol on this recording. "I think the piece on the recording that brings the biggest smile to my face is 'What Sweeter Music,' the first choral piece on the album," he says. "It really is, in many ways, the summation of everything that follows. It puts together the feeling of what this disc is all about. As listeners experience that, it changes their mood and puts them into a place that sets them up for a really wonderful listening experience."

And, if you're in the mood for a few more familiar carols, Patrick says you'll find those on Candlelight Carols as well. "I think particularly the Huron Carol is unbelievably arresting in its use of simplicity and repetition to create a glorious sort of halo," Patrick says. "The arrangement of 'Still, Still, Still,' originally for choir and piano. A number of the people who are listening, who are themselves choral singers, will know that this piece is the equivalent of a cup of hot chocolate for singers. There's nothing better than singing this at Christmas."

Whether you're in the snowy north, or the sunny south, these Candlelight Carols are sure to warm your heart.

Enter for a chance to win a copy of this CD

This week on New Classical Tracks, you can enter for a chance to win a copy of Seraphic Fire's Candlelight Carols CD. Winners will be drawn at random. Be sure to enter by midnight CST on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.

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