This compilation draws Christmas music from several recordings conducted by the late Herbert von Karajan, but emphasizes two of them, both from the 1960s: a collection of Baroque Christmas pieces in a mostly pastoral vein, and an LP on which he and the Vienna Philharmonic backed the great African American soprano Leontyne Price. Neither of these recordings is easy to obtain these days, and Karajan aficionados may well be pleased to have them in a single package. Beyond that, the Price pieces, from her heyday, are gorgeous.

This sequel of the highly successful CHRISTMAS ALBUM VOL. 1. Features legendary classic interpretations of baroque music: for the first time one single CD combines all four Christmas concertos from Corelli, Locatelli, Manfredini and Torelli with Vivaldi's Winter, the Bach Air and Pachelbel's Canon. Nothing is more redolent of a Berlin-style Christmas than the timeless sound of Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic, making this the ideal gift to brighten the winter season.

The sentimental and idyllic picture generally summoned up by Christmas concerti, especially those of the Baroque period, does not altogether reflect musical reality in Italy. Whereas today’s listener imagines joyful music composed in a pious time, the musical landscape portrayed in the concerti of the Italian Baroque composers was altogether richer and more colourful. This can be seen from the selection of Baroque concerti on this disc, which were either written directly for Christmas celebrations, or — as in the case of the concerto by Pez — could be used as Christmas music.

The chamber orchestra Cappella Istropolitana was founded in 1983, taking its name from the Roman Istropolis, the city on the Danube that is the modern Bratislava, a name that had been perpetuated in the renowned Renaissance Universitas Istropolitana. The orchestra has appeared throughout the world and has won distinction in the recording, broadcasting and television studios, working often under distinguished conductors in a comprehensive repertoire; it has more than ninety CDs to its credit. In 1991 the City Council appointed the orchestra Chamber Orchestra of the City of Bratislava.

Francesco Manfredini was born in the austerely beautiful Tuscan town of Pistoia in 1684, a year before Bach, Handel and Scarlatti; he died as maestro di capella there in 1762. In the interim, he studied at Bologna with Torelli and later worked in Ferrara. He published relatively few sets of sonatas and concertos, and six oratorios, composed between 1719 and 1728, remain in manuscript. His 12 Concertos, Op. 3, were published in Bologna, a great musical centre in those days, in 1718, and were preceded by 12 Concertini, Op. 1, and 12 Sinfonie da chiesa, Op. 2. The Op. 3 Concertos are lively works, though less brilliant than Vivaldi’s similar pieces and lacking the nobility of Corelli’s sonatas and concertos. The final concerto of Op. 3 contains a ‘Pastorale per il Santissimo Natale’ which is Manfredini’s best-known work.

For fans of Il Giardino Armonico's flamboyant flourishes and exuberant expressiveness, it's like having all your birthdays at once, being presented with this great Warner Classics 11 CD set. My own feeling is that this "free" approach to Baroque music is at its best when applied to the theatrical music of disc 8 or the seventeenth century Italian music on disc 1. The showmanship and playfulness is an absolute joy in many of those pieces. I'm less satisfied with the interpretations of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, (on discs 10 and 11), which require a different approach, I feel. I like my Bach to be a little more measured and subtle, I suppose. It has no need of the Il Giardino Armonico treatment. On the whole, though, I do love this set and wouldn't be without it.

Christmas celebrations are thought to go all the way back to the formidable feasting of the Vikings at midwinter, when in true Nordic fashion yuletide was toasted in. The celebration of the birth in Bethlehem is more subdued and spiritual, but it is of a far more recent date. We do not know if the Vikings celebrated yuletide with music, but music at Christmas has been a popular tradition since the Middle Ages. Today, practically all peoples around the world celebrate midwinter with special religious and cultural rituals; the precise times vary, but gifts, decorations, festivities, candles, bells and special Christmas music are apparently always part of this. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Christmas was the busiest time of the year for church composers.