Writer Joseph J. Airdo // Photography by Chris Loomis

This season, Phoenix Chorale celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Arizona while embracing the spirit of the holidays through a new 20-track Christmas recording featuring a diverse blend of musical traditions and timeless classics.

Spanning ancient to contemporary and sacred to secular, the album promises to be the perfect soundtrack for festive gatherings and moments of reflection, carrying listeners away on a musical journey that connects the past with the present and the community with the world — all in the spirit of holiday joy.

“The Christmas Album” marks Phoenix Chorale’s first release since 2015 and the award-winning ensemble’s first recording since Christopher Gabbitas assumed his post as artistic director in 2019.

“I think that Christmas is always a good place to start because the holiday engenders feelings of warmth, happiness and cherished memories,” Gabbitas explains. “Each singer is, therefore, able to tap into a very personal experience that they can translate into the way that they approach the music.”

The collection is also Phoenix Chorale’s first Christmas album — aside from 2008’s “Spotless Rose: Hymns to the Virgin Mary,” which Gabbitas notes was a much more esoteric, classically driven recording.

“What we have done here is different in that there is something for everybody,” the artistic director adds.

“The Christmas Album’s” sound is one with a sense of place, clearly identifying Phoenix Chorale as both American and from a border state with Mexico. There is Hispanic influence in the repertoire choices, which include Catalan folksongs as well as Hispanic Renaissance music.

This veneration of space even extends to the album’s cover art.

“Visually, it has got the saguaro, sun and desert landscape that place us right here, right now,” Gabbitas says. “Sonically, it has got not just Hispanic influence but also the signature warmth of sound that Phoenix Chorale creates. I think that our ensemble does sound very much as though it is from a toasty place and the warmth in our hearts comes out through our music.”

Seasonal Smorgasbord
The album opens with “Veni, Veni Emanuele,” an Advent hymn that Gabbitas describes as a “nod to the faith-base side of Christmas and the ancient era of choral music, but brought up to date with new harmonies and a lush arrangement.”

As the album progresses, it delves deeper into traditional and contemporary holiday classics. From Catalan folk songs to Latin motets, the music evolves, providing an enchanting experience. “The Christmas Album” also includes “Trinity Triptych,” a new three-piece commission by English composer Cecilia McDowell, honoring the centenary of Trinity Cathedral in downtown Phoenix.

“From there, we move further forward into more of a contemporary and more secular environment,” Gabbitas says. “This is your dessert or pudding. You have enjoyed your starters and your main course and have had something meaty to chew on, in terms of the newly commissioned work, and now you can enjoy the candy of ‘Winter Wonderland,’ ‘Sleigh Ride,’ ‘The Christmas Song’ and ‘Jingle Bells.’”

Gabbitas adds that “The Christmas Album” was reverse-engineered from its final track, “Noche de Paz” — which he calls the catalyst for the whole recording. An arrangement of “Silent Night” by James Burton, the piece is sung entirely in Spanish with new text by Phoenix Chorale alto Ariana Iniguez.

“It was so important to me and to our whole team that we really did venerate the Hispanic tradition behind our community with this album because Phoenix Chorale really comes from this community,” Gabbitas says. “We do not fly singers in. We do not pay alternates or ringers to come in. Everybody lives with their families in this community. We are unique amongst most professional choirs in that sense.”

Each track is special in and of itself, while “The Christmas Album” as a while is a sonic journey that has been carefully curated to offer a varied and delightful experience.

“It is like a holiday smorgasbord,” Gabbitas enthuses. “It is your Christmas buffet, your love offering, your feast, your family-style, audio-enlightening experience for the holiday period.”

Faith, Family And Music
“The Christmas Album” is not Phoenix Chorale’s only gift to the community this holiday season. This month, the ensemble will also collaborate with Arizona State University’s director of choral activities, Jace Kaholokula Saplan, for a performance that showcases a fusion of Western/American and Polynesian/Hawaiian cultures and storytelling.

Saplan will serve as guest conductor of the concert, while Gabbitas enjoys a well-deserved break from the podium to spend Christmas with his family.

“Christmas is three things for me,” Gabbitas says. “Christmas is about faith, family and music. That is the Holy Trinity of this time of year for me. And if I can engage with each of those three things, I am very happy. Christmas is a very busy time of year for musicians. Often we are away from our families or our time with them is very limited.

“So, for me, it is a real gift and blessing that this year I am going to be able to have the entire month of December with nothing in the diary other than fun things with my wife and children. We will have our church rituals — things like the Nativity and maybe midnight mass on Christmas Eve — as well as some traditional carol services, but I will actually be listening rather than singing.

“Then we will all open presents on Christmas morning while listening to Christmas music. But that has to be classic Rat Pack or other brilliant Americana from the 1950s and 1960s; those wonderful tunes sung by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and the more modern-day Michael Bublé. So, yes — family, faith and music; that is all I need.”

‘A Chorale Christmas’
Dec. 15–18 // See website for times and locations // $45; youth, senior and military discounts available // 602-253-2224 // phoenixchorale.org