Aggghhh... Christmas music in the stores. Here's an antidote to the mind numbing drivel we're all going to be exposed to endlessly over the next several weeks. Unlike the yearly onslaught of "stuff to avoid," here is one album to balance out your musical sanity.
Imagine Christmas, Various Artists from Sono Luminus (2017 (DXD) HERE
Sono Luminus, an independent recording label located 70 miles west of Washington in rural Boyce, Virginia, is a bastion for well-recorded high-definition releases from lesser known but still excellent artists. Recorded between January 2016 to June 2017 in their custom built studio, here are a dozen Christmas "classics" with a fresh treatment. Stylistically diverse to the extreme, occasionally a bit funky, and always musically interesting, these performances kept me happily engaged all the way through.
The various artists contributing on this album are world class artists from the classical, folk and Celtic music traditions. The music is stylistically diverse, from early music ensemble to jazz piano, from vocal ensemble to spoken word, from string quartet to lute. As the liner notes observe by way of illustration, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Cory Hill "brings a welcome charm to the track list, his spirited delivery illuminating and exploding the text with a concise cluster of percussion."
The performances are beautifully performed and captured within an embracingly natural acoustic. These are indeed the antidote to the cloyingly sweet renditions ubiquitously available, as well as to the mind-and-ear-numbing midi monstrosities that fill our public spaces this time of year.
So, cleanse your palate with something refreshing this year. I don't think you'll be disappointed. And if you're not sure, simply take advantage of NativeDSD's track list to sample the album with 60-second snippets per track.
For some more fun, I encourage you to check out the Sono Luminus catalog at NativeDSD for some interesting adventures in music and excellent sound quality. HERE
Sono Luminus' home recording studio is located in the nearly 110 year old former Emmanuel Episcopal Chapel boasting a 25 foot vaulted wood ceiling over a 35' x 65′ original heart pine floor, providing a beautiful natural acoustic.
Founded in 1995 as contract recording engineers, Sono Luminus adopted a simple philosophy of "less is more." Allowing for natural ambient acoustics, recorded dry, to determine optimal microphone placement, Sono Luminus focused on being a first choice for acoustic, classical and early music artists and ensembles. In 2005, after making recordings for independent and major labels, Sono Luminus launched its own label and started making recordings for its own release while continuing to provide contract engineering services for other labels. Their recordings are well worth checking out.
