I Know It's Not Christmas But....

On a couple of occasions I've postponed posting about the next disk on the shelf because it has been a disk of Christmas related music and I only feel like playing such offerings in the month of December. I'm making an exception with this one though since the music itself doesn't have anything overtly Christmassy within it, at least to secular English ears. The title is A Venetian Christmas - Music By G.Gabrieli and De Rore, performed by the Gabrieli Consort and Players directed by Paul McCreesh. The stated concept is to recreate the first mass of Christmas in St Mark's as it might have been celebrated in venice around 1600. Having said that it can be enjoyed at any time of the year, I have made a habit over the last few years of playing it as afternoon fades to twilight on Christmas Eve ( now that it no longer seems compulsory to spend those hours in a pub with rather too much liquid refreshment ) The music evolves over eighty minutes through a mix of plainchant, choral settings, instumental interludes on solo organ and from period instrument ensemble and ambient sound with church bells. it has the feel of a genuine service and the choral works of Gabrieli and De Rore fit perfectly with the chants which were researched from original Venetian sources. Now, where are the mince pies ?