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Is something going on with the website or the domain host? I've had a great deal of difficulty accessing UC for the past couple of days. I get messages that the website can't be found or is unavailable. Yesterday this went on for several hours.

Thanks for looking into this!

One of the more enjoyable parts of my job as a church musician is putting on a small concert prior to our Christmas Eve service. Having access to a very capable group of student musicians (mostly strings, mostly college/conservatory music students), I have an opportunity to do some creative programming. So, I thought I would share this year's program of (mostly) unsung gems with you:

Johann Sebastian Bach: Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her, WoBWV (chorale prelude)
Niels Gade: selections from Børnenes Jul [A Children's Christmas], Op. 36 (1859)
Giuseppe Dinelli: Christmas Pastorale on "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" (pub. 1903)
Arnold Bax: A Christmas Carol (1909)
Bela Bartok: Romanian Christmas Carols, Sz. 57 (1915) -- First Set
Gustave Ferrari: Christmas Pastourelle on Two Provencal Christmas Carols (pub. 1920)
Andrejs Jansons: Ai, nama mamina (Latvian Christmas song) (c.1965)

All works except the Gade are my own arrangements for strings. The Bach, Dinelli, and Ferrari works are originally for organ. The Bax is originally for voice and piano, my arrangement substitutes flute for the vocal part. The Jansons is originally for mixed chorus. The Bartok is originally for piano -- remarkably, I couldn't find a standard arrangment for strings except a very unsatisfactory version that smooths out the trickier rhythms.

Many thanks to IMSLP and Sibley for many of the originals!

There will also be an arrangement of the Sussex Carol performed during the service, for mixed choir, cello, and glockenspiel.

If there is interest in hearing any of these arrangements I can upload MIDI realizations generated by my Sibelius software. Or, you're welcome to come to the concert!

Dundonnell,

As promised, Kalabis Symphony #1 has been uploaded for your listening pleasure. A small repayment for all the wonderful things you've uploaded for the rest of us!

(in the Czech Folder)

A fine work -- thanks for sharing!

Here are details on the works and performances I've posted in the Downloads folder:

Stjepan Sulek (1914-1986)

Symphony No. 1 (1944)
I.   Allegro
II.  Adagio
III. Allegro moderato

Symphony No. 2 "Eroica" (1946)
I.   Allegro
II.  Adagio
III. Scherzo

both works performed by:
Croatian Radio & TV Symphony Orchestra
Pavle Despalj, conductor

Symphony No. 4 (1954) [movements played without pause]
I.   Prologue (un poco sostenuto)
II.  Allegro con fuoco
III. Adagio -- Presto -- Adagio
IV. Allegro con brio

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra
Kresimir Baranovic, conductor

None of these works have ever received commercial recordings. These are dubs from concert broadcasts.