2016 - NML Team Picks: Our Favorite Albums of the Year

We know that the sheer size of Naxos Music Library can feel a little overwhelming, and that with so many amazing new releases joining the database it can be easy to miss out on an album that would have become a favorite. Even those of us on staff, who spend our weeks in the site, can find it hard to keep up with every new title.

Nevertheless, we have found quite a few favorite releases over the course of 2016, and we would like to share them with you. This is of course no exhaustive list of what we've loved, but these were the albums we found ourselves returning to time and time again. Some of these will be Grammy nominees, or critical favorites you'll see on many year-end lists. Others will be those hidden gems we dug up ourselves and really want you to hear and love as much as we do. Either way, we encourage you to not let these slip by unconsidered.

We've created a playlist of some of the highlights of these favorite albums, which you can find by clicking the appropriate banner in NML. If you are within your institution's wifi network, you might also be able to go directly to the playlist by clicking HERE.

Full albums can be reached by clicking one of that album's tracks in the playlist, or by copying and pasting any of the catalog IDs below into the keyword search in NML.

We know that 2016 has been a weird year for most of us, but it has not been short on excellent music. Enjoy!

1.

Oliver Davis
Dance
Kerenza Peacock, violin; Royal Philharmonic; Paul Bateman
Signum - SIGCD469

2. 

Michael Daugherty
Tales of Hemingway / American Gothic / Once Upon A Castle

Zuill Bailey, cello; Nashville Symphony; Giancarlo Guerrero

Naxos - 8.559798

3.

Bruno Bavota
Out of the Blue

Bruno Bavota

Dorian Sono Luminus - DSL-92206

4.
Ulvi Cemal Erkin
Symphony No. 2 / Violin Concerto / Köçekçe

Istanbul State Symphony; Theodore Kuchar

Naxos - 8.572831

5. 
Aaron Copland
Billy the Kid / Rodeo
Colorado Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Litton
BIS - BIS-2164

6. 
Skylark
Crossing Over

Skylark; Matthew Guard

Dorian Sono Luminus - DSL-92200

7. 
Emil Tabakov
Symphony No. 8 / 5 Bulgarian Dances
Bulgarian National Radio Symphony; Emil Tabakov
Toccata - TOCC0365

8.
Jennifer Higdon

Cold Mountain

Santa Fe Opera; Miguel Harth-Bedoya
Pentatone - PTC5186583

9. 

Tenebrae

Music of the Spheres

Tenebrae; Nigel Short

Signum - SIGCD904

10. 
Pyotr Il'Yich Tchaikovsky

Serenade in C Major / Souvenir de Florence

The Russian Virtuosi of Europe

Orchid - ORC100052

11. 
Samuel Adler

Symphony No. 6 / Cello Concerto

Royal Scottish National Orchestra; José Serebrier

Linn Records - CKD545

12. 
Sadie Harrison
The Rosegarden of Light
Cuatro Puntos; Ensemble Zohra
Toccata - TOCC0342

13.
Christopher Rouse

Odna Zhizn / Symphony No. 3 (After Prokofiev)

New York Philharmonic Orchestra; Alan Gilbert
Dacapo - 8.226110

14. 

Michael Nyman

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Nashville Opera; Dean Williamson

Naxos - 8.660398

15. 
Sergey Prokofiev

Works for Violin and Piano

Franziska Pietsch, violin; Detlev Eisinger, piano

Audite - Audite97.722

16. 
Christine Brewer / Paul Jacobs
Divine Redeemer

Christine Brewer, soprano; Paul Jacobs, organ

Naxos - 8.573524

Label in the Spotlight: NMC Recordings

  

NMC Recordings is a record label and registered charity, established in 1989 to record and promote the best in British contemporary classical music. It releases around ten titles per year – divided between the main, full-price label, and Ancora, the mid-price label dedicated to reissuing important recordings previously released on other labels. NMC operates a non-deletion policy, so its catalog stands as an archive of British contemporary music. The quality of the catalog, which now has over 170 recordings by 200 living British composers, is reflected in the numerous awards and outstanding reviews NMC has received over the years. 

 According to NMC, they "arose almost more by chance than by design. Imogen Holst and Colin Matthews had set up the Holst Foundation in 1984 with the aim of supporting the work of living composers. A significant concert of contemporary music at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1987, funded entirely by the Foundation, attracted a full house, but was not broadcast and so was heard by only 800 people. This led Colin Matthews to propose that recordings were the ideal way to reach a larger audience. The Holst Foundation has been the major funder of NMC ever since our inception in 1989."

To hear the NMC Recordings sampler, access NML, go to the Playlists section, and select the Label in the Spotlight folder under the Themed Playlists tab. You can also access it via the rotating banners. If you are on your institution's premises, you may also be able to access it if you CLICK HERE.

Opening Notes: Christmas 2016 - New Release Playlist

We've sifted through all the new releases for this Christmas season, and we're highlighting our favorites. Some of these are obscure works that may be unknown to you, while others are fresh takes on standard repertoire. If you're like us and are constantly craving something new to enjoy, take a spin through these tracks to get a taste of what is now available to you in NML. And if you hear something you love, click on the cover art in the player window to be taken directly to the full album!

To hear the playlist, access NML as usual, go to the Playlists section, and select the Opening Notes folder under the Themed Playlists tab. If you are on your institution's premises, you may also be able to access it if you CLICK HERE.

Joan Javits, Phil Springer, Tony Springer

Santa Baby
The King's Men
Choir of King's College, Cambridge - KGS0017

John Francis Wade
Adeste Fideles

BYU Choruses and Orchestra

BYU Music Group - YCD0516HLN

James Whitbourn

Missa Carolae: Gloria

Westminster Williamson Voices; James Jordan

Naxos - 8.573715

George Frideric Handel

Messiah, Part I: Ev'ry Valley Shall Be Exalted
Toronto Symphony; Andrew Davis
Chandos - CHSA5176-77

Jakub Jan Ryba

Czech Christmas Mass, "Hail, Master!": Záver

Czech Madrigalists Choir, Orchestra; F. X. Thuri

Naxos - 8.578342

P.I. Tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker: Overture

St Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre; Valery Gergiev

MAR0593

Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych
Carol of the Bells
Essential Voices USA
Sono Luminus - SLE-70006

J.S. Bach
Christmas Oratorio: Schlafe, Mein Liebster

Dunedin Consort and Chorus; John Butt

Linn - CKD499

Traditional (arr. A.G. Madsen)
Veni, Veni Emmanuel
Cocal Group Concert Clemens; C. Seyer-Hansen
Orchid - ORC100062

Franz Xaver Gruber
Stille Nacht

Septura

Naxos - 8.573719

Peter Warlock
Bethlehem Down

Magdalen College Choir, Oxford; Daniel Hyde

Opus Arte - OACD9022D

 Traditional

The Saviour's Work

The Sixteen; Harry Christophers

Coro - COR16146

Roy Wood
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
The King's Men
Choir of King's College, Cambridge - KGS0017

Felix Bernard

Winter Wonderland

Philharmonic Symphony; Richard Hayman

Naxos - 8.578340

P.I. Tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker: Divertissement: f. Mother Gigogne
Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra; Dmitri Kitayenko
Oehms Classics - OC448

Claude T. Smith

Symphonic Prelude on Adeste Fidelis

CSU Northridge Wind Ensemble; Lawrence Stoffel

Mark Records - 51710-MCD

George Frideric Handel

Joy to the World

BYU Choruses and Orchestra
BYU Music Group - YCD0516HLN

Traditional

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Carol Mastrodomenico; Gloriae Dei Cantores

Paraclete - GDCD128

Arcangelo Corelli

Christmas Concerto: V. Allegro - Pastorale ad libitum

Les Violons du Roy; Bernard Labadie

ATMA Classique - ACD22742

J.S. Bach
Christmas Oratorio: Nun seid ihr wohl

Dunedin Consort and Chorus; John Butt

Linn - CKD499

George Frideric Handel

Messiah, Part III: I Know That My Redeemer Liveth

Musica Fiorita; Daniela Dolci

Pan Classics - PC10351

Adolphe Adam

Cantique de Noel (O Holy Night)

Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea

Somm - SOMMCD0161

Henry John Gautlett

Once in Royal David's City

Neuer Knabenchor Hamburg; Jens Bauditz

Rondeau - ROP6125

Samuel Scheidt

A Child Is Born In Bethlehem

The Sixteen; Harry Christophers

Coro - COR16146

Each month, Naxos Music Library presents a new release playlist for our subscribers to enjoy. We know that a database of over 1.9 million tracks can be a bit daunting, so we'd like to highlight some of the amazing music that has become available to you just this month. Let it kickstart discovery!

December 2016 - Featured Playlist: The Happiest Holidays

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it’s time to indulge in Christmas music of all kinds. We can only speak for ourselves, of course, but when it comes to the holidays, genre biases fall to the wayside, and we find ourselves listening to anything and everything. Well, if Nickelback ever puts out a Christmas album, we will have to politely pass on that. But we digress…

Enjoy this hand-picked, diverse collection of tunes as you indulge in the season. Obviously, Christmas reigns in the world of holiday music, but if you instead celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Mawlid al-Nabi, Festivus, or anything else this month, we wish you and your loved ones a wonderful season together celebrating The Happiest Holidays.

To hear the playlist, access NML as usual, go to the Playlists section, and select the Playlist of the Month folder under the Themed Playlists tab. If you are on your institution's premises, you may also be able to access it if you CLICK HERE.

1. Angela Morley – Snowride
2. Leopold Mozart – Divertimento in F Major, "The Musical Sleigh-ride"
3. Frederick Delius – Sleigh Ride
4. Peter Il’yich Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker Suite: I. Overture Miniature (arr. L. Weninger)

5. Gian Carlo Menotti – Amahl and the Night Visitors: Medley 

6. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Christmas Overture
7. Traditional / Robert Bennett / Robert Shaw – Many Moods of Christmas, Suite No. 1: III. Patapan
8. Joan Javits / Phil Springer / Tony Springer – Santa Baby

9. Shira Kammen – Nou Is Yole Comen (arr. B. Branch)
10. Traditional / Simeon Bigney – Bring A Torch / I Saw Three Ships
11. Traditional – Joy to the World (arr. L. Robertson)
12. John Francis Wade – Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)

13. John Henry Hopkins Jr. – We Three Kings (arr. P. Knight)
14. Adam Saunders – Fairytale Sleighride
15. Jefferson Mcconnaughey – Christmas Fancy on Bring A Torch
16. Cécile Chaminade – Le Noel des Oiseaux

17. Traditional – Angels from the Realms of Glory
18. Johann Sebastian Bach – Christmas Oratorio, Part I: Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die tage
19. James Whitbourn – Missa Carolae: Gloria
20. Traditional / Alexander Courage – A Christmas Garland 

Each month, Naxos Music Library presents a themed playlist for our subscribers to enjoy. We know that a database of over 1.9 million tracks can be a bit daunting, so we'd like to highlight some of the amazing music that is available to you. Let it kickstart discovery!