The pioneering brass ensemble from up north has recorded 10 Christmas albums since 1981. The acknowledged favorite among classical fans is 1985’s Canadian Brass Christmas, which focuses on meditative melodies and sumptuous carols from the European folk and symphonic traditions. That album, with all its grandeur and musicality, will provide the program’s core when the Canadian Brass quintet joins with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for the first of its series of holiday weekend programs in December. Performing Thursday through Saturday, the Brass undoubtedly will lighten proceedings with sprightly translations of familiar holiday favorites—“Silver Bells” or “Frosty the Snowman,” for instance. But it’s compositions like “The Sussex Carol” and the passed-through-time “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” that will let these five evolved horn players display why they remain such a highly regarded touring troupe.
Thu., Dec. 11, 7 p.m., 2008
