The so-called “Christmas” concerto, as represented here in works by Giuseppe Torelli and Arcangelo Corelli, was a Baroque concoction intended for use in Christmas Eve services. (Corelli’s included the indication “Fatto per la notte di Natale”; Torelli’s, “in forma di Pastorale per il santissimo Natale”.) It was simply a concerto grosso that included a “pastoral(e)” movement, whose style (alla Siciliana) and instrumentation (featuring flutes or other winds) recalled the rustic music of shepherds abiding in the fields or celebrating in the villages. So the modern listener won’t find anything particularly Christmas-y in the music itself–nor in any of the other works presented here, except perhaps for Christmas-season associations with Handel’s Messiah (from which we hear only the Overture).
What we do have is a very respectable, finely executed concert of mostly very familiar and famous Baroque orchestral works that can be found on zillions of other recordings, the best of them performed with equal vitality, technical polish, and well-tempered ensemble. Which is to say that, if you like this sort of music, you won’t be disappointed in the performances by this world-class chamber orchestra, or in the clear, vibrant studio sound. What’s not so clear, however, are the program notes, some of which–such as recording details–are nearly impossible to read. There’s also a piece called Brandy for 4, described as “a fusion between Baroque and jazz”, tacked onto the end of the program. Written by composer/harpsichordist David Gordon, it derives from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, but, being that it is neither Baroque nor Christmas-related, and its style is so completely different from everything else on the program, its inclusion just seems random, a curiosity that would be more at home elsewhere.
