Lise Davidsen: Christmas From Norway LP

For Lise, music is at the centre of everything she cherishes about the festive season.

‘Christmas is how I got into music, we listened to all kinds of music: choral music, popular music and Norwegian songs.’

In this album she brings to life the warm glow of the Scandinavian Christmas - a time when people come together out of the cold and singing is a tradition to be shared.

‘For Scandinavians, Christmas is the white light we need in the middle of a long winter. Perhaps that’s why we embrace it. And we really do embrace it.’

Lise is one of the most in-demand opera singers in the world. This campaign is an opportunity to share her unparalleled talent with a wider audience, and grow her reputation as a future legend of our generation.

Christmas from Norway was also inspired by the classic albums of her predecessors on Decca: Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson. Many of the arrangements are drawn from the Decca archive and were made for such singers as Leontyne Price, Renée Fleming, and many others.

‘I find those recordings wonderful and so Christmassy,’ says Lise about the festive albums made by the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Kiri Te Kanawa. ‘These are the songs we all know. I love that Christmas music has such reach.’

The album features the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Soloists’ Choir and National Opera Children’s Choir, and will be accompanied by a major tour in venues throughout Norway & Scandinavia, with a TV special.

Tracklist: 

Side A
1. O Helge natt (O Holy Night in Swedish, Adolphe Adam)
2. Weihnachten (Engelbert Humperdinck)
3. Silent Night (Franz Xavier Gruber)
4. Jul, jul, strålande jul (Gustaf Nordqvist)
5. Deilig er Jorden
6. Mitt Herte Alltid Vanker
7. Julvisa

Side B
1. Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring (J.S. Bach)
2. Maria Wiegenlied (Max Reger)
3. Ave Maria (J.S. Bach/Gounod)
4. Schlafendes Jesuskind (Hugo Wolf)
5. The First Noël
6. O Come All Ye Faithful
7. O Holy Night (Adolphe Adam)