Our Review
It?s December 4, 2008, and you are sitting in the Center for Faith and Life in Decorah, Iowa, awaiting the start of Luther College?s annual holiday celebration. The impressive venue holds 1,600 seats in the main hall, and you have a treasured spot in the first row.
The choirs and orchestra of Luther College are in place, the lights dim, and the music swells. Your eyes get misty?and your skin gets goose-bumply?as the familiar, nostalgic wave of holiday music rushes over you, performed by wide-eyed, optimistic, talented, and exuberant-yet-deadly-serious college-aged artists. In truth, your seat is much better than being stuck in the front row; you are actually watching this event through a concert DVD (of a PBS production), and through the magic of technology, you are able to fly through the concert hall, enjoy close-ups of featured soloists, the accompanists, and other performers, and drink in the venue?s magnificence from the occasional bird?s-eye view. The program tonight combines classical magnificence with gospel greatness, and the artists are a delight.
My favorite pieces? I love the Nordic Choir?s Carol of the Birds, which includes very well-executed piano (Craig Courtney) support, and the Luther Ringers mesmerize with their glorious and nicely controlled bell-ringing on Sing We Now of Christmas. I am also a sucker for I Saw Three Ships, performed by the combined choirs here; it brilliantly incorporates discrete bell-ringers throughout the choirs. Nicely done!
If I were a curmudgeon, I would voice a mild complaint that the acoustics are a bit muddier than I?d like for a choral presentation; on the other hand, I have no doubt that the sound is what one would hear, seated in the Center for Faith and Life. It?s often the price you pay for a live recording. Thankfully, this production chose not to include lengthy interludes of audience clapping at the close of each selection; the DVD simply transitions smartly into the next piece. Overall, audience noise is minimal. At ?intermission,? about 31 minutes into the DVD, narrators spend about four minutes describing Luther College and its noteworthy musical tradition. Although Luther College has an inspirational story to tell, the promotional piece does split the otherwise smooth flow of an amazing concert (the information is also included as a DVD ?extra,? where it more appropriately belongs).
Luther College: Night of Glory, Dawn of Peace is a wonderful holiday DVD. If you did not have the good fortune to be in Decorah, Iowa, last December, now is your chance to experience something special. This is a first-rate performance; I tip my hat to those in charge of Luther College?s music programs. Bravo!
--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)
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From the liner notes:
Presented by the Luther College Department of Music
December 4-7, 2008, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
Conductors and Ensembles
Craig Arnold, Artistic Director, Nordic Choir
Daniel Baldwin, Symphony Orchestra
Linda Martin, Cantorei
Frederick Nyline, Christmas Brass and Percussion Ensemble
Sandra Peter, Aurora, Cathedral Choir
Timothy Peter '86, Collegiate Chorale, Norsemen
Gregory Peterson '83, Luther Ringers
College Organist: Gregory Peterson '83
Faculty Accompanists: Du Huang, Jacquelyn Venter Ridder
Luther Department of Music
Christmas at Luther: Night of Glory,
Dawn of Peace
(DVD)
Artist link
Label: Luther College Department of Music
Genre: Classical
Release: 2008
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Angels, from the Realms of Glory |
| I was Glad |
| Comfort Ye My Peopole (from Messiah) |
| Candlelight Carol |
| Carol of the Birds |
| Sing We Now of Christmas |
| I Saw Three Ships |
| Winds Through The Olive Trees |
| Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones (from An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts) |
| Gloria (from Lord Nelson Mass) |
| About Luther College |
| Rise Up Shepherd and Follow |
| Go Tell It On The Mountain |
| Before The Marvel of This Night |
| Farandole (from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2) |
| Silent Night |
| Wonderful Peace |
| Nation Shall Not Lift Up A Sword Against Nation (from Dona Nobis Pacem) |