Dashing!

 

Volumes One through Five.

Dashing, Sounds of the Season, is a series of recordings from Navona Records dedicated to new Christmas works. There is wide range of genres covered in each of the volumes as well - choral, orchestral, chamber, jazz, and solo outings. From the last type, harp, guitar, piano, cello, violin, and voice are featured.

Of the orchestras and choruses, mostly Czech-based ensembles perform, although appearances by the London Voices, Vox Futura, Hope College Orchestra, Stanbery Singers, and the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra also pop up. The soloists come from around the world as well.

The repertoire generally covers familiar carol arrangements, although original works are played too. I can't say I am familiar with any of the names of composers or arrangers on hand, but in general the music is pleasing. As with any series of this sort, some pieces are more enjoyable than others; for example, Solomon's Sleigh Ride from Vol. 2 is strangely dark, but the minor-keyed medley Christmas Wanderer from Huff in the same volume works better for me.

So too the performances. I like the Pavel Kühn choir from the later volumes compared to the more amateur-sounding Stanbery Singers from the early volumes. The solo instrumental performances are very close sounding, bearing forth every aspect, warts and all. The orchestras are generally very good, and these are perhaps my favorites. A few classical arrangements are included as well, but not many; I think I caught only Bach and Suk from the combined entries.

The five volumes range from 50-59 minutes in length, and the programming mixes up the different types of styles. These work best as background music, although consistency of volume changes based upon who is performing.

This series of music is fine, and some are better than others, but if you need a hearty mix of Christmas music, these are nice recordings. As far as I know, volumes 1-5 can only be found on streaming and digital downloads; no physical media is available.

Recordings
Dashing, Vol. 1 (51 minutes)
Dashing, Vol. 2 (50 minutes)
Dashing, Vol. 3 (59 minutes)
Dashing, Vol. 4 (51 minutes)
Dashing, Vol. 5 (55 minutes)

Label: Navona
Year: 2016-2024