This compilation draws Christmas music from several recordings conducted by the late Herbert von Karajan, but emphasizes two of them, both from the 1960s: a collection of Baroque Christmas pieces in a mostly pastoral vein, and an LP on which he and the Vienna Philharmonic backed the great African American soprano Leontyne Price. Neither of these recordings is easy to obtain these days, and Karajan aficionados may well be pleased to have them in a single package. Beyond that, the Price pieces, from her heyday, are gorgeous. ...
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This compilation draws Christmas music from several recordings conducted by the late Herbert von Karajan, but emphasizes two of them, both from the 1960s: a collection of Baroque Christmas pieces in a mostly pastoral vein, and an LP on which he and the Vienna Philharmonic backed the great African American soprano Leontyne Price. Neither of these recordings is easy to obtain these days, and Karajan aficionados may well be pleased to have them in a single package. Beyond that, the Price pieces, from her heyday, are gorgeous. They offer abundant indications of why this singer was a phenomenon well known before operatic circles, with easily accessible examples of her way of intentionally just missing the pitch with her vibrato and all of a sudden resolving the tension with a dramatically well-considered flash. Her voice stood out from the crowd absolutely, and these are great and quite neglected Christmas recordings. The Baroque pieces and the miscellaneous others likewise faithfully reflect Karajan's...
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