John Mason Neale
John Mason Neale's hymn translations and carols remain staples of English-speaking worship and Christmas repertoire, from Good King Wenceslas to O come, O come, Emmanuel and other medieval texts he brought into common use.
An English Anglican priest and scholar, he translated a wide range of Western and Eastern Christian hymnody from Latin and Greek, giving congregations access to texts that had long sat outside ordinary English use. Original hymns sit beside those versions in the seasonal cycle, and his Christmas pieces still turn up in carol programmes and cathedral acoustics. On these discs his words appear among traditional carols and hymns that trace Advent through Easter and All Saints, carried by choir, brass and the familiar shapes of congregational song.
Compositions by John Mason Neale appear on
Christmas Around the Piano
Tony Gould offers reflective improvised solo-piano versions of familiar Christmas songs and carols. Played without hurry and coloured by personal memory, each tune is treated as living music rather than seasonal decoration alone.
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
The Choir of Ormond College, directed by Douglas Lawrence, presents a varied selection of twenty-eight Christmas carols. Familiar favourites sit beside Bach and Pachelbel organ pieces and twentieth-century settings.
Hymns For All Seasons
Sixteen further hymns from Cantus Choro, recorded in the grand acoustic of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne. The programme opens with Advent and follows the great events of the Christian year, with Norman Kaye at the organ and the Melbourne Brass Ensemble.
Ding Dong Merrily on High
A baker's dozen of well-loved traditional Christmas carols featuring children's and men's voices. Recorded in the magnificent acoustics of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne.
Move Two Mix: Music for the Contemporary Church
Move Two Mix gathers religious songs and hymns with music by Jim Minchin, marrying familiar sacred texts to jazz- and folk-inflected settings. First issued in 1968, this pioneering Melbourne recording brought contemporary idioms into church worship.