Music for the Holidays - Some knowledgeable ears share their eclectic picks

David Pegg, the director of music and the arts at Centenary United Methodist Church on Fifth Street, calls himself a "choral person." But when asked to recommend a recording that might find its way under your Christmas tree or that of a friend, music for choruses was not on his mind.

Instead, he suggested At Home With Friends (Sony Classics), a CD featuring classical violinist Joshua Bell.

"The variety of styles and ‘friends,' the creative arrangements, and the overall mood set by the music will make this CD the perfect holiday gift," Pegg said. "I have already given it to friends who agree that it's one of the best recently released (CDs). One cannot stop listening to it!"

Friends landed on my desk recently, and I share Pegg's enthusiasm about it. The CD is reported to have found its inspiration in musical soirees at Bell's Manhattan home at which musicians, actors, comics and writers share their art. The accent is on eclecticism: Bell performs everything from classics of the Great American Songbook to a piece for violin and sitar, teaming up with different artists during each track.

Bell's friends on the recording include two musicians who will perform with the Winston-Salem Symphony this spring: mandolin player Chris Thile (March 13, 14 and 16) and jazz trumpeter Chris Botti (April 10). Also featured are vocalists Kristin Chenoweth ("My Funny Valentine") and Josh Groban ("Cinema Paradiso").

I was most taken with Variant Moods, for violin and sitar (Anoushka Shankar), with Bell and his partner either locked in fast-and-furious unison lines or trading the most engaging of witticisms. The effect is mesmerizing -- and amounts to the most potent example of cross-cultural artistry I've encountered in some time.

Bell seems right at home in every style, embellishing longish melodic lines with flair and taste. And his friends always deliver in friendly fashion. For those who want a reminder of the season, Bell and Botti go out with a brief-but-swinging account of "White Christmas," the bonus track of a special edition of Friends.

Pegg's recommendation was one of several made by knowledgeable music people for this article. Here are some others:

□ Composer Shelley Olson called to tell me that her A Chanukah Cantata will receive its 10th-anniversary concert at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday in Davis Chapel at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The performers will include Olson (singing mezzo-soprano), soprano Amy Anderson and baritone Jason McKinney. Ray Ebert will play the piano.

So this holiday season would be as good a time any to add a Maju Music recording of Chanukah Cantata to your personal collection. (Order it at www.maju.com.)

A Chanukah Cantata has been performed all over, from the White House to Joel Coliseum.

Olson said that each of the cantata's eight central songs "brings a unique message of hope," with the work's central message being "the prayer for peace in Jerusalem and in the world."

□ Matthew Troy is the Winston-Salem Symphony's assistant conductor and education director. He recommended a CD he described as "kind of obscure but good," namely Dixit (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi).

This recording features Thomas Hengelbrock leading the Balthasar-Neumann Orchestra and Chorus in Handel's Dixit Dominus and Caldara's Missa Dolorosa. Troy described "an energetic recording featuring authentic Baroque instruments, which is very refreshing."

□ Matt Kendrick, a fine double-bass player of jazz, will be listening to at least one recording during the holiday season. This is Jingle Bell Jazz (Sony), which features such jazz greats as Miles Davis; Duke Ellington; Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock and Dave Brubeck.

"It is one swinging Christmas recording," Kendrick said by e-mail. "I enjoy it every year."

□ Stewart Carter, who is the chairman of the music department at Wake Forest University, suggested placing an Erato recording of Charpentier's music under the tree. This features William Christie leading Les Arts Florissants in In Nativitatem Domini Canticum and Messe de Minuit.

"It's a very nice recording," Carter said. "It has the advantage of combining Baroque style with Gregorian chant and charming folk Christmas carols, all put into the format of the Catholic mass. It's very nice Christmas music."

kkeuffel@wsjournal.com
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