The "RIAS" in RIAS-Kammerchor stands for "Radio in the American Sector," a remnant from the Cold War era of a divided Germany and the Allied occupation of its Western section. The Berlin Wall has fallen, the Cold War is over, and many of the groups so designated have voluntarily renamed themselves in order to throw off the shackles of the occupation. Not so the RIAS-Kammerchor, who is proud of its history, which goes back to 1948, and of its strong sense of continuity to the past. Working with many of the world's greatest conductors in a variety of contexts, RIAS-Kammerchor is renowned for its seamlessly smooth blend of voices and endlessly expansive repertoire. Although it embraces material ranging from the Gothic era to the most earsplitting of contemporary concoctions, RIAS-Kammerchor likes to perform material that's close to home every once in awhile, and nothing is closer than the German Christmas carols of the nineteenth century, which the choir has sung on the radio every Christmas season since 1948. Although for several years it has been led by Marcus Creed, for Harmonia Mundi's Stille Nacht... RIAS-Kammerchor brought back the former leader it credits with helping the chorus to turn the corner during a crisis in the 1970s, Uwe Gronostay. The result is a traditional, warm, and peaceful Christmas album that will easily appeal across the board to a variety of listeners looking for high-quality, low-key Christmas music that won't rattle the rafters. There is a wide range of composers and arrangers surveyed on Stille Nacht..., starting with Felix Mendelssohn, who died in 1847, to Wilhelm Kienzl, who died in 1941. Nevertheless, within the mainstream of German Christmas carols of this era there was an unspoken devotion to a certain unanimity of style, and one piece flows easily into the next. Harmonia Mundi's recording, made at the famed Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Berlin, has just the right amount of distance and decay, evoking a snowy landscape with a tiny Bavarian village nestled in the mountains, as if in a snow globe. For a traditional Christmas disc created from the very home of Christmas as an observed celebration, it doesn't get better than RIAS-Kammerchor's Stille Nacht.... ~ Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide
