There comes a point where that Christmas spirit just takes over, and you want some Christmas music in your car, about the house or whatever to get into the mood. Here's your chance with some recommended Christmas collections... (If you want books of Christmas Carols, click here and for two CDs of carol accompaniments without voices click here)
Carols from King's
In the UK, Christmas music and the sublime chapel of King's
College, Cambridge are powerfully linked. The service of 9 lessons and
carols at King's on Christmas Eve is still the model for practically
everyone else, and the King's choir certainly knows how to deliver with
these very traditional carols. Inevitably starting with Once in Royal
David's City (another King's tradition), there are all the standards -
Hark the Herald, O Come All Ye Faithful, O Little Town and so on -
with a few slightly more sophisticated numbers - Adam Lay Ybounden,
Quem Pastores etc.. Great basic Christmas CD - but for a little more,
consider the two CD Noel - Christmas at King's. - New
22 November 2004
A Ceremony of Carols - Westminster Cathedral Choir
Not everyone likes Britten's A Ceremony of Carols,
but if you do (and we do) it's an electrifying experience, from the haunting
fade in of the processional through the wonderfully spiky music in some
carols, suggestive of ice and snow, and the simple beauty of some others.
Makes the most of boys voices, and as usual Westminster do an excellent job.
There are samples on the Amazon.co.uk site, so if you don't know the piece,
have a listen. The CD includes for good measure Britten's delightful
Missa Brevis and one or two shorter numbers. Highly recommended. - New
22 November 2004
Christmas Night - Cambridge Singers
The theme of this collection is carols of the nativity, though it's
fairly loosely interpreted as (for instance) most of Adam Lay Ybounden
is about Adam taking the apple, and the Virgin Mary being heavenly queen.
With a fair number of the pieces coming from the Carols for Choirs books
they'll be a pleasing collection for many choir members, ably sung by
Rutter's pet choir. Exceptions to the C for C bunch include Howells'
brilliant Spotless Rose and a couple of relatively recent Rutters. Some of
the less frequently recorded C for C pieces include Myn Lyking, Tomorrow
Shall Be My Dancing Day and Bach's brilliant short, O Little One Sweet. Less
good news from our viewpoint is the inclusion of Cornelius's Three Kings. It
may be popular but it's also horribly icky, messes up a perfectly good
chorale and doesn't even work musically. On the other hand, it's only
one of 22 tracks, and if you like it then it's a rare opportunity to have it
on CD! Amazon.com has samples of practically every track, so worth having a
look there even if you want to buy it from Amazon.co.uk - New
22 November 2004
Christmas Proclamation - St. John's College, Cambridge.
Not really a Christmas album, but it does feature his
Christmas Proclamation, and is a chance to hear Tavener at his best. This incredible value
for money CD (at the last check only £4.99 in the UK) includes his two
best-known pieces, the stunning The Lamb, as featured in the recent
Orange mobile phone TV ads, and Song for Athene, which was used at Diana,
Princess of Wales' funeral. But there's plenty more too - try, for
example, Funeral Ikos - it's a wonderful CD, with a thoughtful
performance from the choir of St. John's College, Cambridge. Note US
edition has different cover -
New 28 October 2002
The John Rutter Christmas Album
Rutter and Christmas go together like... well, Rutter and
Christmas. His carols are now solid favourites in the Christmas
repertoire, and often rightly so. This album contains 23 tracks, most
Rutter originals, but some Rutter arrangements of traditional tunes. The
performance by the Cambridge Singers, Rutter's pet choir, is fine -
they're bigger than a typical cathedral or church choir, so can seem a
little heavy handed with some music, but not here. You'll find the obvious
numbers like Shepherd's Pipe Carol alongside everything from
Candelight Carol to What Sweeter Music, both reflectively
pleasant. Go on, admit it, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a bit
of Rutter. - New
20 November 2004
O Magnum Mysterium - Polyphony
When we last checked, Amazon.co.uk was showing this superb
collection of 20th century carols as 4-6 weeks availability - but there were
several new copies on Amazon Marketplace (under More Buying Choices
over to the right of the page) with faster delivery. There are the modern
classics like Howells' A Spotless Rose and Warlock's Bethlehem Down, but
also many less familiar but still superb carols, from those two composers,
Kenneth Leighton, Richard Rodney Bennett and more. Also a few plainsong
numbers thrown in as leaven. If you like 20th century music, this is a must. - New
22 November 2004
The Mystery of Christmas - Elora Festival Singers
A refreshingly different collection from the singers at the
Christmas festival in Elora, Canada. There sound to be rather more singers
than you would get in a typical cathedral/college recording, but the sound
is still fine and well performed. If you haven't heard this choir before
you may have doubts, but I defy anyone not to fall in love the opening
Huron Carol, a traditional Canadian number in a wonderful Vaughan
Williamsesque arrangement. The collection does have some old favourites
like O Come All Ye Faithful, the Darke In the Bleak Mindwinter and Ding
Dong Merrily (and a funky Silent Night arrangement), but the majority of
carols here are both less well heard and excellent. There's a great
collection of four pieces from Poulenc, a lovely floating piece called The
Three Kings from Healey Willan, Britten's A Hymn to the Virgin, Tavener's
God With Us and more. Excellent - and what's more, excellent value too. - New
2 December 2006
Noel - Christmas at King's
King's once more, but a total of 36 tracks to Carol's
from King's 26. Here it's the second CD that starts with the
inevitable Once in Royal David's City and once again all the
very traditional favourites are included, but there's a chance to expand
the "extras" options to include the likes of the Sussex Carol,
Balulalow and Tchaikovsky's impressive Crown of Roses, none of
which are on the single CD offering. Probably the best choice for a King's
Christmas. - New
22 November 2004
Sir Christemas - Ex Cathedra
An intriguing mixture of old and new, bound to delight
anyone interested in good church music. The opener is
Mathias's lively and bouncy Sir Christemas with its exclamations of
"Noel!" This is followed by one of Bach's funkier chorales, then we're back
to modern with the truly scrumptious No Small Wonder by Paul Edwards
before plunging back for the anonymous 16th century Sweet Was the Song.
And so it continues for 22 excellent tracks. There are no real duds here,
while real gems include Tchaikovsky's back-of-the-neck-tingling When
Jesus Christ (aka Legend or Crown of Roses) and Tavener's
enigmatically beautiful The Lamb. One or two slight surprises - the
king of modernish Christmas, John Rutter is bizarrely represented by his
A Gaelic Blessing - not what we'd call a carol - and amongst such
excellent choir pieces, it seemed unnecessary to include a solid Victorian
congregational choir carol like Goss's See Amid the Winter Snow -
even so a great Christmas CD. The Birmingham-based Ex Cathedra make the most
of an uninspiring acoustic, thanks to their clean, crisp sound - New
15 November 2005
Incredible Christmas Album (Assorted)
There's something about Christmas that stretches the musical bounds
- it's very difficult not to be sentimental about Christmas music, and even
the most hard hearted purist may be inclined to go a bit mad when buying
Christmas CDs. This is definitely one for those mad moments. It's a big
double album with a total of 50 tracks, combining the very traditional
(particularly the second disc which is solidly trad) from Adeste Fideles
to In Dulci Jubilo, with rather kitsch once popular stuff (Winter
Wonderland by Ella Fitzgerald, White Christmas by Bing Crosby,
Sleigh Ride by Boston Pops - you get the idea). A lot of the traditional
stuff is by Cambridge College choirs, though you will find the likes of
Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland and Anthony Way creeping in. It's not to
everyone's taste, but if you like a gloriously nostalgic Christmas musical
brew, this is a superb choice. - New
30 November 2004
Looking for a particular type of music or a CD with a particular piece on? Drop us an e-mail and we'll try to help. Do let us know also if you can recommend on online resource and we'll add it to our lists.
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Last update 13 September 2006
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