Medieval and Renaissance Christmas Music

We watched Mannheim Steamroller's A Renaissance Christmas yesterday morning as we were eating our traditional St. Nicholas Day sweet roll breakfast. We bought the VHS tape used a few years ago when we were really "into" Mannheim Steamroller, but even now that we've tired of the music a bit this video is fun to watch. It plays arrangements of early Christmas music against the background of a period-costumed Renaissance feast.

Chip Davis presents Renaissance Holiday has music performed by the London Symphony Orchestra Strings, Musica Anima Renaissance Consort, the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass and more.

Gregorian Chant by Schola of the Hofburgkapelle contains 22 tracks of seasonal church music and chant.

Creator of the Stars: Christmas Music From Earlier Times includes music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The group Pomerium is an a cappella vocal ensemble specializing in music of the Renaissance.

A Baroque Christmas is one of a set of 3 CDs of period music for the season. The Boston Camerata, directed by Joel Cohen, focuses on early music. This CD contains music of Monteverdi, Purcell, Charpentier's Messe de Minuit and more.

A Renaissance Christmas is another in the set just mentioned and includes music by Dufay and Praetorius among others. There are carols and varied church music here.

My favorite all-time Christmas "record" -I still have this LP- is A Medieval Christmas, the 3rd in the Boston Camerata set. This is delightful and perfect if you don't think you can stand Bing Crosby yet again. The music is varied with some serene chants along with some lively, dare I say danceable? tunes.

The Cardinall's Musick's CD containing Early Latin Church Music and Propers for Lady Mass in Advent is part 1 of The Byrd Edition "A comprehensive project to examine the works of one of England’s greatest composers - William Byrd (1539/40-1623)".

On Yoolis Night: medieval carols and motets by Anonymous 4 has 23 tracks of 13th-15th-century English plainchant, songs, motets and carols for the Christmas season. I love Anonymous 4 and am glad I have this CD to go with my other seasonal music.