No comments about Christmas Songs.

1 comments about Splendor of the High Holidays.

1. This excellent CD of High Holy Days liturgical music is, according to its own liner notes, "somewhat concertized," the goal being to "reflect the profound spiritual journey that takes place in the life of Jews throughout the world during this holy period, and to open this experience, at least on an artistic level, to lovers of music, beauty, and holiness." It should therefore be listened to as if it were a classical concert, rather than actual worship. (This is not a new idea among Jews; in the days before "equal opportunity employment," when Jews were barred from European opera companies, it was not unusual for a gifted cantor to go on tour in the Jewish world, giving concerts of original liturgical music, performed on "secular" days. Such concerts, in turn, gave birth to music which eventually found its way into the regular synagogue services -- as did much of this music.)

   
   The pieces included here come mostly from the Western European (Ashkenazic) tradition, and will be familiar to most Ashkenazic Jews. Much of this music originated in the German Reform movement of the 19th century which, in turn, was strongly influenced by the classical composers. The prominent use of a pipe organ in this concert places it squarely in the "classical Reform" category, i.e., the most "churchlike" of Jewish liturgies. However, I have heard the same tunes sung in synagogues of other denominations, too -- including Orthodox groups that would be absolutely mortified to discover that their "traditional" music is originally Reform! Consider the oh-so-traditional "Kol Nidre" by Louis Lewandowski (included on this CD), who was a Reform composer. It is indeed a tribute to the beauty of this music that it speaks to all kinds of Jews.
   

   
   The concert itself is beautifully performed, with Stacy Lowe as soprano, Russell Ashley as baritone, Mary Jane Newman as organist and choral director, and Lisa Rautenberg on violin. The CD comes with liner notes by Mary Jane Newman, giving a brief history of Jewish music and some background on the the various composers.

1 comments about Roderick Elms: Festive Frolic.

1. Each year I try and add new Christmas music to my CD collection. While I love the old standards, I also look for recordings that offer new and interesting ways of hearing the wonderful music associated with this time of year. One pleasant addition to my collection is this release from Naxos: FESTIVE FROLIC. It contains beautifully performed Christmas music with some interesting and original arrangements.
   
   The collection gets its title from a piece composed by Roderick Elms who arranged most of the music contained in this collection. The piece is not a Christmas work per se, but fits well in the collection. The principal ensembles who perform the music are the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Stephen Bell and a group called The Joyful Company of Singers. Most of the music is familiar Christmas music, drawn from the English carol tradition. An overture of sorts "Fanfare da Festa" begins the CD and makes listeners anticipate the beautiful music that will follow. A rendition of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" performed by tenor Mark Wilde and the chorus leads us from Advent to Christmas. We then hear three carols familiar to British audiences ("Gabriel's Message, "Rocking" and "Angels from the Realms of Glory set to tune most Americans would associate with "Angels We Have Heard On High"). "The Cherry Tree Carol" and "Away In A Manger" sound similar to John Rutter/Cambridge Singers renditions and are performed with the same beauty and attention to detail. "Wassail Down The Wind" is almost an organ and orchestra fantasia of well known Yuletide music The liner notes mention that Elms wanted to make sure that the organ, an instrument that often accompanies Christmas music gets some attention of its own. The collection concludes with a number of Christmas carols and holiday music and concludes with its one secular piece, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer."
   
   Like many Naxos recordings, the quality of this CD far exceeds its price. The music is performed well and it's interesting to listen to with it's at times traditional and other times original arrangements. I know I'll be enjoying it this Christmas and more than likely will for years to come.

1 comments about It Feels Like Christmas.

1. The CD is just under 25 minutes long. The songs are: (1) It Feels Like Christmas (2) O' Holy Night (3) It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (4) What Child Is This (5) O' Little Town of Bethlehem (6) The Twelve Days of Christmas (7) O' Christmas Tree (8) Silent Night. The audio quality is a bit muddy, but not terrible. That is to say, the music doesn't hurt my ears.

   I bought this cd because I remembered the wonderful harmonies of songs like "When I Fall In Love" and "Love is a Many Splendored Thing". I would have liked more of this type of harmony and sung with a bit more emotion, but several songs satisfied quite nicely. 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' was perhaps worth the price of the CD. 'Silent Night' was a close second.

1 comments about Christmas Time.

1. The musicians who were credited on Instant Excitement also serve as the Chris Stamey Group on the delightful Christmas Time mini-album; the dB's back him on the Brian Wilson-like title track. The original songs are all seasonal: "The Only Law That Santa Claus Understood," "You're What I Want (for Christmas)," "Snow Is Falling," even a new acoustic version of the unexpectedly appropriate "It's a Wonderful Life." The reissue has a different cover photo from the same session (see Chris crinkled in laughter!/see Chris betray the faintest Mona Lisa smile!) and 11 added tracks (but one deletion). Among those bringing extra presents, Alex Chilton sings Mel Tormé's "The Christmas Song" and, as Big Star with drummer Jody Stephens, his own "Jesus Christ." The dB's do Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad," while Holsapple renders "O Holy Night" on his own. Syd Straw gets off a good pun covering Blondie's "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presents, Dear." A warm, spirited winner - the more the merrier. - Ira Robbins, Trouser Press

No comments about Liszt: Weihnachtsbaum; L'arbre de Noël; The Christmas Tree.

2 comments about Handel: Messiah [Highlights].

1. "Distilling The Messiah down to about 40 minutes, the London [Royal] Philharmonic Orchestra plays favorites like 'For Unto Us a Child Is Born,' 'And He Shall Purify,' 'Behold the Lamb of God' and 'Hallelujah Chorus.' ~ Keith Farley, All Music Guide



2. Every Christmas I pull this CD out and sing straight through New Year's! It is a lovely overview of Handel's Messiah condensed into a little under an hour. Not to be missed!

3 comments about Holiday.

1. If you're looking for Christmas albums, you should consider this one. I highly recommend it. I love the song Holiday and listen to it year round. The only Christmas albums better than this one are Manhiem Steamroller!



2. This CD really gets me in a Holiday mood! Russ Freeman's take on holiday classics is truly unique. Love the latin-influenced God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman!



3. This is a great album and most Rippington fans don't know it exists. It is scarce...I met Russ at a Jazzfest in 1999 and even he didn't have a copy! Over the years, it remains my favorite holiday album. I bet it will be your favorite, too. This would be an outstanding gift for any of your friends who love the Rips.

1 comments about Advent at St. Paul's.

1. Not much to say, fine performances and a nice balance of traditional liturgical music styles. I particularly enjoyed the thrilling choral arrangement of Veni Veni Emmanuel. Be warned that, while they probably did their best with the miking and recording, it will sound muddy and overly reverberant to some ears.

3 comments about Christmas All over the World.

1. New Edition's 1985 'Christmas All Over The World' album is a concise, well put together collection of six bubblegum holiday tunes by members Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ralph Tresvant. As a fan of Pop and R&B music, and as a big admirer of the New Edition "vibe" since the late 1980s, I cannot recommend this album enough. Let's get to the music:

   We open up with "Give Love On Christmas Day", produced by Richard Rudolph (husband/producer of the late, great Minnie Riperton and father of Saturday Night Live's Maya Rudolph), and Michael Sembello ("Maniac" from Flashdance). On this song, lead singer Ralph Tresvant turns out an excellent vocal performance, and while every member gets a spoken part of the song, Bobby Brown appears to be making his last appearance with New Edition on this album; he isn't featured on any of the other songs.

   "It's Christmas All Over The World" is my favorite song on the album, and it is also the title track. Reminiscent of a David Foster-esque/Chicago style 80's power ballad, this song features Ralph T's delicate tenor, and a soaring falsetto chorus section by Ricky Bell. I can't get enough of this song.

   On the third track "Happy Holidays To You", (also produced by Rudolph/Sembello), Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe get to shine with lead vocals (that sound really good, actually!), and they sound really great here.

   "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Girl)" follows in the tradition of songs like "Cool It Now" and "Count Me Out", since it is produced by Vincent Brantley and Rick Timas, two producers who were largely responsible for the sound of New Edition on their 1984 self-titled effort, and 1985's 'All For Love' album.

   "The Joy Of Christmas" was a song written and produced by Ralph Tresvant and Ricky Bell, and sounds really angelic. So does the last song, "Singing Merry Christmas", a perfect way to close this short and sweet album.

   Yes, the music on this album sounds dated indeed...it is very 1980s in feel. But, if you don't mind taking a trip back to that decade, when the coolest shows for kids on television were the Transformers, Knight Rider, and the Smurfs, then I enthusiastically invite you to add this to your Christmas collection. This is one extremely consistent album -- every song is top notch. 'Christmas All Over The World' for me is simply a gem. I love this album...

   Thanks for reading!

   C.H.R.




2. Great CD. It's Christmas all over the World use to be, and still is one of my favorite songs. It truly isn't Christmas until we put in New Edition's and The Temptations Christmas CD's. I highly recommend this CD to anyone regardless of what music you normally listen to. Also I recommend "Santa Claus The Movie" (The one with the late Dudley Moore). It's a great classic. It even has Christmas all over the World as the ending song. Sung by someone else, but all in all it's my favorite Christmas movie.

   "I Fart on your Face" - Quote by Terrance inspired by Phillip




3. this is one of my favorites right here...love "Christmas all over the world tonight" the cd is short but good.