Sony Classical Announces Extended Edition of Jonas Kaufmann's It's Christmas with Seven New Songs
Jonas Kaufmann: It’s Christmas!
Extended Edition with Seven New Songs
Available October 29, 2021 on Sony Classical – Preorder Now
New Single Out Now – Trois anges sont venus ce soir – Listen Here
In 2020, Jonas Kaufmann’s recording of It’s Christmas! was an outstanding success that captured the spirit of the holiday season. Now the album has been extended to include seven newly recorded songs and will be re-released on October 29, 2021 on Sony Classical ahead of Kaufmann’s highly anticipated concert tour this winter.
“The wonderful success of my first Christmas album, and the pleasure that it gave not just me personally but others, too, has lured me into returning to the studio this year to pay tribute to another holiday musical genre – intimate Alpine Stubnmusi – that for someone like myself, who grew up in Bavaria and Tyrol, invariably evokes the holiday spirit,” said Jonas Kaufmann.
One of the new tracks is available now as a single – the French Trois anges sont venus ce soir with a string ensemble – Listen Here. This song was brought to Kaufmann’s attention by his friend and fellow opera singer, Ludovic Tézier. The additional new tracks are six short gems are accompanied by Kaufmann’s Chiemgau colleague Stefanie Irányi in “original Stubnmusi scoring” for dulcimer, harp, violin, clarinet and double bass:
Der englische Gruß
Auf, ihr Hirtensleut
Als Maria übers Gebirge ging
Zu Bethlehem geboren
Jetzt fangen wir zum Singen an
Mariä Wiegenlied
Christmas has always had a special meaning for Kaufmann. As a child, he landed on the front page of a Munich newspaper – at the age of eight – after describing his family’s lively, musical Christmas Eve so vividly that he won a school prize. The songs he has chosen for It’s Christmas! reflect those happy memories and the pleasure of the Christmas holidays, ranging from grateful worship to the joy of celebrating with family and friends.
The album features a rich selection of carols from several countries and time periods, including traditional German holiday songs (O du fröhliche, O Tannenbaum, Still, still, still) that the young Kaufmann sang around the Christmas tree with his family every Christmas Eve, English carols (What Child Is This?, In the Bleak Midwinter) and beloved carols popular around the world such as O Holy Night. The album concludes with a selection of Kaufman’s favorite Christmas pop songs: Let It Snow!, Winter Wonderland, The Christmas Song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and White Christmas.
The instrumentalists for the album were carefully selected based on their suitability, and include Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, the Bachchor Salzburg and the St. Florianer Sängerknaben, all conducted by Jochen Reider, as well as harpist Florian Pedarnig and the Cologne Studio Big Band, conducted by Wieland Reissmann. Star trumpeter Till Brönner makes cameo appearances on Let It Snow! and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
The new It’s Christmas! (Extended Edition) album is due for release on October 29th as a limited 2-CD deluxe edition with comprehensive booklet, as a 2-CD set, as a limited edition, 2-LP vinyl and as a digital album.
Performances in support of the release include Weihnachten mit Jonas Kaufmann, a TV special devoted to the tenor, featuring several guest artists, broadcast at 22:15 p.m. on Christmas Eve, on the German TV station ZDF. Those in Europe will also have the opportunity to celebrate the holiday season with Jonas Kaufmann on tour, with performances in Mannheim, Munich, London, Düsseldorf, Hannover and Vienna.
It's Christmas (Extended Edition) Track List
CD 1:
1 Engel haben Himmelslieder / Gloria in excelsis Deo 2 Süßer die Glocken nie klingen 3 In dulci jubilo 4 Kommet, ihr Hirten 5 Tochter Zion 6 Ihr Kinderlein, kommet 7 Alle Jahre wieder 8 Was soll das bedeuten? 9 Vom Himmel hoch, ihr Englein, kommt! 10 Lasst uns froh und munter sein 11 Leise rieselt der Schnee 12 Morgen, Kinder, wird's was geben 13 Es ist ein Ros entsprungen 14 Macht hoch die Tür 15 Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier, BWV 469 16 O du fröhliche 17 Still, still, still 18 O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf 19 Kling, Glöckchen, klingelingeling 20 Es wird scho glei dumpa 21 Maria durch ein Dornwald ging 22 Im Woid is so staad 23 Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her 24 O Tannenbaum 25 Stille Nacht 26 Der englische Gruß 27 Auf, ihr Hirtensleut 28 Als Maria übers Gebirge ging 29 Zu Bethlehem geboren 30 Jetzt fangen wir zum Singen an 31 Mariä Wiegenlied 32 Still, still, still
CD 2:
1 Adeste fideles 2 Cantique de Noël (Minuit, Chrétiens) / O Holy Night 3 Trois anges sont venus ce soir 4 Gesù bambino 5 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 6 In the Bleak Midwinter 7 Nu tändas tusen juleljus 8 Entre le boeuf et l'âne gris 9 What Child Is This? 10 Silent Night 11 White Christmas 12 Jingle Bells 13 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 14 Winter Wonderland 15 The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) 16 Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 17 All I Want For Christmas Is You
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