Alice Giles - Christmas Music For Harp (2020) Hi-Res

Carlos Salzedo was the single most important figure in the history of the harp. He broke new ground in playing technique and discovered new timbres; he explored new sound worlds and brought forth new kinds of beauty; he took an instrument that was already magical and raised it to new virtuosic heights.

In 1938, Salzedo published two Christmas pieces: Concert Variations on Adeste Fidelis (O Come, All Ye Faithful) and an arrangement of Silent Night. A virtuoso transcription of Jingle Bells followed a few years later. These three works were so popular that Salzedo was asked to write more – a whole album’s worth, in fact, recorded by Salzedo himself on the Mercury label in 1956. For this disc, Australian virtuosa Alice Giles has recorded all of those pieces, plus two earlier Salzedo works: the ethereal Poem of the Little Stars and the gloriously joyous Recessional.

Completing this disc are four beloved Australian Christmas carols by W.G. James: Carol of the Birds, The Silver Stars are in the Sky, The Three Droversand Christmas Day, arranged by Alice Giles especially for this recording.

Alice Giles is celebrated as one of the world’s leading harpists, which a wide and varied international solo career that has taken her from London’s Wigmore Hall and New York’s Merkin, ‘92nd St Y’ and Carnegie Halls, to Mawson Station in Antarctica. A guest artist at numerous international festivals, Alice has also appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Zürich, and all the major Australian symphony and chamber orchestras. She has given master classes in many of the world’s major music institutions including the Juilliard School, Salzburg Mozarteum and London’s Royal Academy.