3 comments about Jessye Norman at Notre Dame.

1. In just a few short years since I first heard Jessye Norman's Christmastide album, Jessye has become a voice that simply makes Christmas special for me. The grace and power she possesses are nearly unmatched in the vocal world, and her ability to shape pure emotion in her singing is uncommon.
   She also gets the best venues, arrangers, and performing partners. How could you beat the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris? The orchestrations and orchestra are both superb. A must have for anyone's Christmas collection.



2. This is a magnificent recording with an 'atmosphere' that I can't quite describe. You can just imagine yourself in that great Cathedral at this beautiful Christmas concert. This is one of my all time favourite Christmas CDs.



3. I was late to an appointment, snow was starting to slick the roads, and I was not even comforted by the usual carol music on my car radio. Suddenly, this incredible soprano, backed by a gorgeous orchestration, began to sing the most exultant, joyous hymn for Christmas I have ever heard in my life. I turned the vollume up full and pulled off the road, just closing my eyes and listening. I waited until the CD was identified -- Jessie Norman at Notre Dame. I won't mention the cut because all of them are superb, but if you are lucky enough to get your hands on this collector's item, listen for the words "Jubilate!" I do not know why this CD went out of circulation. Nothing else I've ever heard even comes close to its beauty. Do what you have to to get hold of this and hear the magnificent Jessye carol her heart out!!!! I wish there were a 10-star rating!

5 comments about The Reindeer Room: A Christmas Chillout.

1. I heard this CD yesterday in a stationery shop and was immediately taken with it - I went on a mission and found it at a local shop and have been playing it ever since. I'm pretty much a traditionalist and I'm not a huge chillout fanatic but I have my share of Cafe del Mar CDs and I LOVE this CD. There are enough sample tracks to listen to it if you aren't sure and don't want to take my word for it, so what are you waiting for?



2. This is a great CD overall. A couple of tracks that I skip over but the rest are great. There are even 2 or 3 that I still listen too long after Christmas b/c they do not smack of Christmas specifically. My favourite is Christmas is Here (War is Over).
   
   I plan to add Reindeer Room II to my collection this year!



3. I buy one or two christmas CDs every year and every once in awhile I get a stinker. This was one. I tried to like it. I liked the concept. It just did nothing for me.



4. This tends to be mellow instrumental Christmas music, and starts out really slow, with a put-you-to-sleep start. It is in sharp contrast to Putumayo's New Orleans Christmas (reviewed separately) which is upbeat music with a wake-you-up start.
   
   This CD is OK, but not one I would call great. It seems more designed as background music. The CD has 14 selections. The intro inside the cover is white lettering on a pale green background (not a good choice - I prefer not to squint trying to read something). I will keep this one, but will not buy the other CDs in the series.



5. All 3 of the Reigndeer Room CD's are great! I was looking for something a little more eclectic than traditional Christmas Music.....and these hit the spot.

5 comments about Winter in Scotland: A Highland Christmas.

1. THIS CD HAS SUCH A CHRISTMAS FEELING TO IT. IT HAS JUST ENOUGH CELTIC BACKGROUND INSTRUMENTS TO BRING THE INCREDIBLE VOICES OF STEVE MACDONALD AND HOLLIE SMITH TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE ALBUM. STEVE'S ORIGINAL SONG "CHRISTMAS TIME AGAIN" WILL BE A CLASSIC WITH MY FAMILY FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE HOLLIE'S INCREDIBLE VERSION OF "O HOLY NIGHT" AND JOHN LENNON'S "HAPPY CHRISTMAS". TO CLOSE OUT THE CD IS THE BEST VERSION OF "AULD LANG SYNE" I HAVE EVER HEARD. BUY IT YOU WON'T BE SORRY.



2. Nothing matches the feeling you get from holding a cup of Hot Cider in hand, sitting by a warm fire on a Cold Winter's Night and listening to beautiful renditions of Christmas Songs you've known since you can remember...

   Steven McDonald brings his passion for the Scottish Highlands, in blissful pipes & drums, to such classic Christmas carols as "Angels We Have Heard On High," "The Little Drummer Boy," and "O Come All Ye Faithful." His voice blends perfectly harmonious with Holly Smith's soulful, soothing vocals.

   Sixteen-year-old Holly Smith is an absolutely wonderful discovery - her smooth and lovely voice with its ageless depth, can indeed only be a gift from Heaven! My favorite songs from this collection are her solo of "O Holy Night" and a duet with McDonald of "Silent Night." These songs conjure exquisite feelings of peace, tranquility, and glowing warmth.

   My only reason for giving this CD 4 stars instead of 5 is a personal one, and therefore may or may not be an actual criticism of the album itself. I felt that two of the songs didn't quite belong here: "Amazing Grace," which, although a wonderful song, didn't quite fit in so well with this particular collection of holiday music, and "Happy Christmas," which, though beautifully rendered seemed too modern to flow very eloquently with the otherwise timeless Christmas classics.

   Yet, all wrapped up, I hold this album dear to my heart. I listen to it often, and it warms my Spirit to the Season.




3. I just reviewed "A Highland Christmas" by Eric Rigler, and saw this and hoped it would be what I expected of the other one; so I screened it. It's the same schlock as the other one. That keyboard is really cheesey and permeates the CD. I have heard that the old Scotland is all but dead, but when I see the pipers at Bethlehem Pennsylvania's Celtic Festival, it is hard to believe. But this music tells me to call the coroner. Some-one please produce a Christmas CD with either solo piper, or pipe and drum corps. Throw in indigenous instruments as needed, and lose that keyboard. You may have to get the Scottish artists from the land of Ellis Island.



4. I have owned this CD for several years. I find myself singing along constantly, especially in the car, on several tracks. The originality of the arrangements of some classic pieces makes you really listen and appreciate them all over again. Auld Lang Syne is one of those, as is Silent Night, with a haunting descant. "It's Christmastime" is a new song for me and it rings in my head all through December. This is one of my favorite Christmas CD's and I gave several as early gifts this year. Both friends feel the same way as I do about this little known treasure. You won't go wrong in purchasing it.



5. What a refreshingly different Christmas Holiday edition!!! I had reservations about purchasing another Holiday CD - but these selections (some familiar and some new) are really done in a great Celtic manner!!!
   
   If you like the Celtic sound, you will love this CD.

3 comments about America's Newest Praise and Worship Favorites, Vol. 1.

1. A great, great praise & worship experience. The music & harmony are great. I never grow tired of it.



2. well all i have to say is that this Cd is really worth buying , not one song on Here soundes poor and as you know it is very very hard to find Cd's that have nothing but good songs on it,but there is only one thing wrong with this CD some songs on it are too short and i get mad because of that some , but it is only like two or three on there like that , the reason i get mad is because i'm a Music person and as soon as i start to get into the songs that are short (Click) they are over, so i just loop the songs lol, but if i could i would get this Cd all over again becasue it is that good



3. A good collection of modern worship.

   Also, at Amazon's free downloads, check out Recent Rainfall's "Declare Your Glory" It's a great modern worship tune.

5 comments about How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 TV Film).

1. The Grinch has successfully displaced Ebeneezer Scrooge as the spirit of anti-Christmas for today's audience. And there are similarities. Just as Tiny Tim was a strong factor in Ebeneezer's redemption, the children are a strong factor in the Grinch's redemption.

   It's a pleasure to be able to hear the great Boris Karloff narration, along with the songs, and then afterwards to again hear the songs reprised.

   Of course, this is a short CD, just barely 30 minutes in length. One must realize that while the program was supposed to be a half hour long, nearly a third of the time was used for toy advertisements. The irony of it all, a beautiful story telling us that the joy of Christmas is in the spirit of Christmas, not in the getting toys is aired for the purpose of selling overpriced and non-imaginative toys.

   Anyway, this is definitely a 5 star CD.




2. This is the album version of the classic television special How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It is not exactly the same as the TV show. Boris Karloff's narration is still here, but the background music is different. None of the sound effects from the cartoon are included. Boris Karloff speaks Cindy Lou Who's dialogue himself, while on television those lines were done by June Foray. And the songs seems to be slightly different than they were on televison. These changes were no doubt made for the betterment of the album, since listening to an album is a different experience than watching TV. This is a wonderful listening experience. It chokes me up every time when the Grich learns the true meaning of Christmas and turns good (hope I didn't spoil the ending for you). The CD also includes the four songs from the show separate from the main story, although of course they are also within the story itself.



3. Here it is FORTY years after its premiere---and the "Grinch" soundtrack stands as one of the last of a great musical tradition that extends all the way from the 30's: completely scored in a colorful, very "legit" technical manner, based on a thorough grounding in classic song-writing and background scoring/orchestration. And this cd presents it all in bright, clean and detailed sound.
   
   What is puzzling and fascinating is this: considering that the production of "How the Grinch..." in 1966 was apparently not an especially lavish one, how is it that the soundtrack exists in TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VERSIONS, each with its own similar but different background music, and each with DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT arrangements of the three songs??
   
   It's too bad that all of the major musical figures---Albert Hague (composer), Eugene Poddany (the guy who did the intense work of scoring the whole thing TWICE) and Thurl Ravenscroft (singer of "You're a Mean One..")---have all passed on; as institutional memory goes, we may never know why the work was scored and recorded one way for the film and another completely different way for the MGM soundtrack album. I can see some cutting and patching together of the film soundtrack and an EXPANSION of the songs for the LP---that would be logical---but an ENTIRELY new score?
   
   I know I sound like a broken (LP) record, but I will continue to wonder about this. In any case, the 21-minute version of the soundtrack contained on this cd is great. And I must say that Boris KArloff's narration is absolutely BRILLIANT; it's so easy to take it for granted, since we all know it practically by heart. But take the time to really listen to Karloff's reading---the subtlety, the nuance, the pacing---the amazing RANGE of sound and vocal color--and the sensitivity of "the Grinch's small heart grew 3 sizes that day"......GREAT stuff!
   
   And to think, Karloff could pull off this tour de force barely a year or so before his own death. (You will notice a frequent change in the audio
   quality of the narration--sometimes with much low rumble and surface noise; sounds like it was assembled from a variety of audio sources).
   
   The cd also contains the songs themselves WITHOUT narration as additional tracks---so you can really enjoy the tunes and lyrics of Hague and Suess AND the fabulous work of Mr. Poddany.
   
   Yes, the CHORAL work is quite different from the TV version too. The women's voices are really pretty raw in this soundtrack version (Thurl says they only used 4 women total in the session), but at least you don't have to put up with that raucous, out-of-tune kiddie chorus which was looped over the adult voices in the TV soundtrack.
   
   All-in-all a delight, and a great tribute to the talent of the people who created and performed it.



4. I've been a fan of the TV show for years, but didn't even know this disc existed until last year. I immediately bought it, and I love it.
   
   It claims to be the soundtrack for the 1966 TV special of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I see some reviewers say it is different. I've only noticed one difference. Whether it is note for note exactly the same or not doesn't matter to me. It's still a great disc.
   
   It only has 5 tracks. The first is Boris Karloff reading the story. It sounds remarkably like the TV special. It even has the songs edited into the story. The only change I noticed is here. Boris does all the narration, including Cindy Lou Who.
   
   The other four tracks are the songs from the special by themselves. "Welcome Christmas" gets two tracks, with the second being a longer reprise. That track has additional words and an instrumental bridge. "Trim Up the Tree" is just as nonsensical as in the special.
   
   Which brings us to "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." I love this song in the special, and it is preserved exactly as it is here, including Thurl Ravenscroft wonderful voice. It's one of my favorite parts of the special, and I love having it here. I'll confess, I often listen to it two or three times in a row.
   
   So if you are a fan of the TV show and love the songs, you'll be glad you got this CD.



5. This Christmas movie, along with the Charlie Brown Christmas Special and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is amongst my favorite things of all time. I love Christmas and have a special fondness for the memories of my 1960's era childhood. I try to watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" when it comes on TV each year, but the last few years I have missed it. So this year I decided to buy it and share it with my two year old nephew and hope that he would love it as much as I do. The voice of the Grinch, by Boris Karloff, is perfect and the songs are wonderful (I also purchased the music CD soundtrack). The animation is hilarious, especially the facial expressions that the Grinch makes. So this year I brought out the DVD and tried to put it in the machine because I couldn't bear to watch Spongebob Squarepants one more time. My nephew is very fond of watching Spongebob over and over and I thought he might scream if I tried to put on "my" movie. But he and grandma and I watched it together and we explained who all the players were and what was going on. He loved it! He especially enjoyed the part where the Who's were shown playing with all of their wacky musical instruments. Now my nephew realizes that there is more to life than Spongebob and that you cannot keep Christmas from coming.

No comments about John Rutter: The Choral Collection.

5 comments about Christmas Album.

1. Nana is a huge star in mainland Europe with a string of hit singles in several countries. She only had one big hit in Britain but her albums have always enjoyed healthy UK sales. I don't know the extent of her following in America but this Christmas album was finally given an American release in 2003 to coincide with a tour. Nana sings in several different languages and you can hear some of them on this collection, including English, French, German and Greek.

   The only songs here that Nana sings in English are Deck the halls, O come all ye faithful, Hark the herald angels sing, White Christmas, God rest ye merry gentlemen, All through the night and Lullaby.

   Five songs are taken from an album of German Christmas songs, including Stille nacht heilage nacht (Silent night), and O tannenbaum (O Christmas tree).

   Nana sings Minuet Chretien (O holy night) and L'enfant au tambour (Little drummer boy) both in French. Ave Maria is here as well but I haven't worked out in which language. I recognize some other songs here from the tune, but there are plenty of high quality songs that I don't recognize at all (or only recognize from other foreign language recordings).

   I have the French edition of this album, which has the title Les plus beaux Noels du monde, but the track listing and front cover artwork is the same as the American edition.

   Frankly, it doesn't matter what language Nana sings in - if you enjoy any of her music, you'll love this album.




2. When it comes to singing in many languages, Nana Mouskouri is among the best. This album covers beautiful carols in French, English, Greek, German, Italian, and Latin. Her clear voice and perfect diction give a wonderful glimpse into the traditional Christmas songs of many lands. I especially enjoyed hearing "Kalin Iméran" - it's not easy to find Greek carols and this one is excellent.



3. I have always enjoyed the voice of Nanna Mouskouri for many years. She has a voice of a nightingale. This cd is full of beautiful international Christmas music. If you enjoy music in multi languages then you totally agree with my rating of this cd...



4. ASIN: B0000Z4YF
   Very good music for Christmas and perfect singer(I think one of the best in Greece).



5. Nana Mouskouri continues to be one of my favorite female singers. Her voice is amazing...and she sings in many different languages, too.

4 comments about Traditional Christmas.

1. I was surprised to find that Joe Nichols was releasing a Christmas album. Isn't it a bit early? Does he really have enough of a following to justify this outing? Now, having listened to the album, I see that he doesn't need to have a following; this music justifies itself, and with any luck it will sell itself, too. Very good, very down-home, very listenable. I'm impressed.



2. I'm not a big fan of Christmas music- I know, it sounds so strange, but I'm not. But this album is just phenomenal and makes me want to curl up by a garland-covered fireplace mantle, fire a-blazing, and drink hot cocoa and wrap presents. It's sensational; from a non-Christmas music fan, this is big news. :)



3. This is my favorite Christmas CD ever. It is very traditional and the best!



4. No new songs -- these are all oldies and classics like "Let It Snow," "Silent Night" and "I'll Be Home For Christmas" -- but it's a darn fine performance. Nichols is at his Merle Haggard-y best, and the arrangements are pretty down to earth. If you want a country Christmas record that actually sounds country, give this one a spin. It's pretty good.

1 comments about Asi Es Nuestra Navidad.

1. This was the best navidad cd I have purchased in a long time.It's got a great swing that you won't be able to stay sitting down.I recommend this cd with the DVD.

3 comments about Christmas Break: Relaxing Jazz for the Holidays.

1. Enjoyable, but not the best Christmas jazz



2. Disc two is the better of the two disc set. Disc 1 was not that great.



3. I see that the above reviews are kind of negative, but I really liked this album....it is, like it's title, very relaxing, smooth and creates a soft, yet upbeat background for your holiday season....I liked it.