Back in late 2021, Deutsche Grammophon struck upon a quietly inspired idea: a winter compilation that would reach beyond festive familiarity and into something more intimate and reflective. Winter Tales was a Christmas (and Chanukah) album with a crucial difference: rather than polishing the usual carols, the label invited its star composers to reimagine the songs of their childhoods and homelands.
The results were singular, contemplative, and often spellbinding. The album opens with Roger and Brian Eno’s “Wanting to Believe,” a newly written vocal work that gently refracts Adolphe Adam’s “O Holy Night” into a secular meditation on hope and possibility. Scottish cellist and composer Peter Gregson offers a spectral reworking of “Taladh Chriosta” (“Christ’s Lullaby”), an ancient Hebridean carol traditionally sung on Christmas Eve but recast for female voices, solo violin, cello, and analogue synthesiser to provide something both timeless and quietly futuristic.
Iceland’s deep-rooted tradition of hymns and lullabies appears in Víkingur Ólafsson’s tender solo-piano reading of “Farðu að sofa fyrir mig” (“Sleep for Mama”), while American expatriate Dustin O’Halloran, joined by multi-instrumentalist Bryan Senti, breathes new life into the centuries-old hymn “Hvað flýgur mér í hjarta blítt”, transforming into the serene “What Gently Flutters.”
Elsewhere, Hania Rani and Dobrawa Czocher rework the Polish carol “Jesus Malusieńki” with a distinctly 21st-century sensibility; Dutch composer ABBOTT reshapes the 14th-century “Nu Zijt Wellekome” for voices, solo cello and electronics; Texans Rob Lowe and Michael A. Muller, a.k.a. Balmorhea, deliver an instrumental reimagining of the 16th-century “Coventry Carol”; and Berlin’s Classical Sundays string quartet offers a tranquil arrangement of the Chanukah hymn “Maoz Tzur,” traditionally sung after the lighting of the menorah during the Festival of Lights.
Four years on, DG continues the tradition with Cozy Winter, a brand new seasonal release that once again aims to provide something festive without being too saccharine. This time, a fresh cast of composers have been assembled to reinterpret beloved Christmas standards alongside specially commissioned originals, resulting in a bumper 24-track collection that feels both familiar and quietly adventurous.
This time the album opens with American pianist, composer, and podcaster Chad Lawson’s serenely glowing take on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” setting a tone of understated elegance. Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo follows, stepping away from his choral roots to deliver a slow-burn, luminous version of William Hayman Cummings’ adaptation of Mendelssohn’s (originally secular) “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!”, also contributing a slew of other starlit interpretations including “Once in Royal David’s City,” “Sussex Carol,” “Away in a Manger,” and *“Silent Night.” These sit beautifully alongside several pieces by Indonesian composer and producer Eunike Tanzil, including her melodic take on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and two effortlessly charming originals, “A Quiet Light” and “See You Again,” all drawn from her recent—and excellent—Christmas EP.
Harpist and chamber musician Ashley Jackson brings a sweetly coruscating arrangement of “Waltz of the Flowers”—a gift for anyone familiar with this Nutcracker classic—alongside a gently glowing rendition of Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song,” British classical-guitar virtuoso Alexandra Whittingham teams up with Polish-Jamaican cellist, composer, and conductor Zara Hudson-Kozdoj for a richly lyrical and strikingly original “O Holy Night,” and Welsh harpist Alis Huws—the current Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales—joins forces with a string quartet for John Rutter’s modern classic “Candlelight Carol,” and a take on Debussy’s impressionistic “Préludes, Book I.”
Latvia’s Balanas Sisters, joined by Margarita Balanas’ ANONIMI Chamber Orchestra, deliver a quiveringly tranquil “Silent Night,” Snorri Hallgrímsson contributes the ethereal “Nowhere Again, Kinder,” the lead single from his piano-improvisation EP The Importance of Birds, while Canadian composer and pianist Stephan Moccio offers a warmly nostalgic reading of Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson’s Charlie Brown classic “Christmas Time Is Here.”
Of course, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a few surprise gifts, and DG have also released some bonus tracks for the season. These include “Where Home Is” by German-Armenian composer-pianist Meredi (Meredi Arakelian), an intimate and deeply personal piece recorded on a 1912 Starr Richmond piano, and two originals from Australian neoclassical composer Cameron Segal—“First Snow,” which captures the hushed wonder of winter’s first fall, and “Finding Gratitude,” a gentle and reflective reminder that perhaps the true spirit of Christmas lies in appreciating life’s smaller and quieter moments.
Written by Paul Sullivan