No comments about Halloween: Scary Stories.

4 comments about Sleigh Ride! Classic Christmas Favorites.

1. I was looking for arrangements of many traditional Christmas carols done by orchestras. This album hits the spot. It is not uniquely orchestra carols, the Canadian Brass is mixed in as welll. The highlight of the album for me is the back to back track of "Sleigh Ride" pieces. It begins with W.A. Mozart's "Sleigh Ride," followed by Leopold Mozart's piece of the same name, and then finnished with the ever popular arangement of "Sleigh Ride" by Anderson. It is a really good mix of carols, and can be listened to for hours.



2. I love the traditional carols on this CD. The Carol of the Bells is my favorite!! I also love Silent Night which is one of my all time favorite Christmas carols. This album is great to put on a at a Christmas party and hit repeat. It has a nice mix of songs that you don't get tired of hearing! This is a must have and I would highly recommend this CD for anyone that enjoys Christmas songs and the holiday season. You will catch yourself humming the songs through out your day! It will definitely get rid of any "BAH HUM BUG" moods!



3. I've owned this for years and never tire of it. Guests ALWAYS ask what I'm playing. I've purchased several copies as gifts. If you're sick of the stuff they play in malls and pine for some big, inspiring, classical arrangements, this is the CD for you.



4. Great CD for background music when entertaining. Has great classic Xmas music with upbeat songs.

1 comments about Praetorius: Christmas Vespers.

1. Michael Praetorius was an odd provincial genius, a prolific and inventive composer and musical theorist who lived nearly his whole life embedded in his musical/pastoral duties to his Lutheran congregation in Wolfenbuettel, in rural eastern Germany. That his music has survived at all, and that his theoretical writings have become a major source of historical information about music at the beginning of the 17th Century, is something of a fluke, the result of his self-publication and thus of the dissemination of music that followed from the developmrnt of printing. Praetorius was enormously ambitious, a kind of mad encyclopedist in music. Likewise, his compositions range from four-part dance tunes to polychoral/polyorchestral monuments, and in difficulty from chorales for congregational singing to dramatic cantatas required florid virtuosity. He did NOT, however, compose a "Christmas Vespers." This performance on CD is a composite of pieces from his various publications, arranged as a series of Advent concerts by the director of Apollo's Fire, Jeannette Sorrell.
   
   The CD turned up last year among my amazon recommendations. I'd never had the opportunity to hear Apollo's Fire, though I knew of the group, based in Cleveland and at Oberlin College. I knew of Ms Sorrell also, as associated with the summer workshops in Early Music at Amherst College.
   I put the CD in my cart and waited for an attractive price, which finally arrived a few weeks ago. Yesterday evening, I tore off the wrapping, popped the disk in my player, and settled down to listen without even glancing at the booklet of notes.
   
   The first track is a processional on the chorale melody Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland, sung more or less as any good Lutheran church choir might sing it. Something that would be exciting to hear in situ, but not entirely thrilling just for electronic listening. Oh well, I thought. But then came a polyphonic setting of the same chorale, with Praetorius's characteristically exuberant instrumental ornamentation... and whoa! I had to pay attention. Who's that cornettist!?! thought I. Praetorius must have had a couple of world-class cornettists, probably doubling as butchers or alchemists, in Wolfenbuettel, because he wrote some phantasmagorical cornetto obbligatos in his motets. Amazing! I thought I knew every cornettist of that capability in the world personally, and now I find one in Cleveland! Pardon me!
   
   A quick look at the notes told me the truth. The cornettist is Jean Tubery, from France, one of the ranking virtuosos of the instrument. The second cornettist turns out to be Kiri Tollaksen, of almost equal reputation. Then I note that the recorderist is Michael Lynn and the trumpeter is Barry Bauguess - well-known performers - and I realize that Apollo's Fire has a wind band posse of hired guns. The six vocal soloists who contribute to the performance are also free-lance singers with credentials from around the musical world.
   
   There's nothing untoward or unusual about building a concert around a "local" performing group of amateur or semi-professional musicians. What matters is the quality of the result, and in this case the quality is excellent. There are three choirs - the nucleus Apollo's Singers with the soloists, the Oberlin Choristers, and a treble ensemble of girls and boys selected from the church choirs of Cleveland. Such a conglomeration is particularly appropriate to the music of Michael Praetorius, who "firmly upheld Luther's ideal that the common people should be able to participate in music-making.." Ms Sorrell writes, and who "...channeled his imaginative flair toward writing music that brought together professional singers, humble village choirs, children's voices, and even congregational singing." Cleveland is scarcely a humble village, but Ms. Sorrell has put together just such a concert of diversity.
   
   It's hard to fit Praetorius into the canon of musical greatness. He was no Schuetz or Schein or Buxtehude, let alone Bach. There's a shortage of subtlety about much of his output. On the other hand, there's an abundance of good cheer and sweetness. On the whole, I think I would have enjoyed the "Christmas Vespers" immensely if I'd heard the performance live. On CD, it's the kind of thing I'll probably listen to with glee once a year, the week before Christmas.

3 comments about Christmas at St. Olaf Vol. VI What Wondrous Love.

1. Featuring the five choirs from St. Olaf College and the spectacular college orchestra, this recording brings all that Christmas means in music and word. The singing is unparalleled in the college choir world, and the orchestra is phenomenal. What is particularly moving, however, is the relationship between texts -- piece to piece, hymn to hymn. The entire program weaves a thoughtful, deliberate tale of hope and love. This is truly a spiritual recording in every sense. Enjoy!



2. As a choir director, I am constantly looking for pieces to add to our library, and for excellent examples of choral work. St. Olaf's choir recordings never fail to deliver on both those points. From the rhythmic beauty of Andre Thomas's African Noel, to the classic Candlelight Carol of John Rutter, and the wondrous harmony of Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming, listeners will enjoy the rich warm tones of one of the finest choirs on earth.

   This recording features the five choirs and orchestra of St. Olaf's, and this is a recording to be played over and over and over again.




3. A beautiful recording of sacred and spiritual Christmas music by highly talented and gifted singers and musicians. If you love choral music and celebrate "Christ" at Christmastime, then St. Olaf is for you. A wonderful reminder of the reason for the season.

3 comments about Country Superstar Christmas 4.

1. I loved it...it was the best Christmas mix I've heard in a long time!



2. This volume of country Christmas songs draws exclusively on songs previously available - no new recordings here - but it's still a great collection, with not many old chestnuts.

   The version of Two step round the Christmas tree included here is actually a duet, although Suzy Bogguss is not credited on the album - it originally appeared on Michael's first Christmas album (one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums).

   John Berry is in fine voice on Christmas morning, and I also particularly enjoyed Up on the housetop. Dolly's Hard candy Christmas isn't really a Christmas song, but by having the word Christmas in it's title, it will always be a candidate for inclusion in these compilations.

   Overall, this is a great collection, well up to the standard I've come to expect from this series.




3. There's little argument here...this is a true country collection and a quite welcome one. George Strait's "I Know What I Want For Christmas" is a good kick-off, and Toby Keith's playful "Blame It On the Mistletoe" is another welcome cut.

   As has been pointed out, Dolly Parton's "Hard Candy Christmas" from "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas" doesn't quite fit here, but it's okay. And the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band sounds good on the mainstream standard, "Silver Bells", giving it a satisfactory Nashville flavor.

   The placing of Steve Wariner's "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" before Vince Gill's "It Won't Be The Same This Year" is quite effective...the standard "happy" song followed by a heart felt tribute to the brother who won't be here this year. Travis Tritt's singing of a familiar Christmas Carol rather fits in too, giving a cohesiveness to the three cuts...a happy one, a sentimental one, and a traditional carol sung often by families together.

   Michael Martin Murphey's "Two Step 'Round The Christmas Tree" and Dwight Yoakum's "Come On Christmas" provide a light touch before Kathy Mattea's performance of what has become a country standard to this season, "There's A new Kid In Town". And then Sammy Kershaw's "Up On The Housetop" brings the set to a peppy and satisfying close.

   My one feeling of lack about this CD is the preponderant 10 male singers to 2 female singers ratio. All in all, though, if you are a country fan, chances are you'll want this collection.

5 comments about Gregorian Christmas: Chants & Motets.

1. This is a beautiful collection of soothing Christmas chants and motets...Put this in your CD player and you'll have trouble getting upset about the person who just cut you off for the last parking space at the mall! An excellent-quality recording for an amazing price...



2. Beautiful musical rendition of Christmas music. Soothing and lilting, it'll help you get centered or reconnected or whatever it is you need for stress relief. A fantastic CD at a great price!



3. Not technically Gregorian, because of some polyphony. But this is one of the best selections of this kind of music that I've heard. Compare to expensive monastery or convert CDs, and others, and this is one you put on the CD changer more than the rest. Found it in a bargain bin at Fry's. Amazing CD.



4. The play list is correct, the one with the ability to listen to clips. This CD has 14 tracks, beginning with "Puer natus est nobis" (the Introit) and ending with "Magnificat anima mea Dominum." The list that says ON THIS CD is a totally different list of chants. I do not know what it is doing on this page.
   There is no Mozart. There are sparse credits in the liner notes. The recording appears to be of a group calling itself Capella Gregoriana, although nothing is said about them. Predominantly chant, there are times when the selections move to motets, the natural outgrowth of chant, being simutaneous independent plain songs as it were, combined to form a melodious and rhythmic whole much as partner songs do. Highly recommended, this is an excellent budget album. Just be sure that you understand that you are getting the 14 tracks that you can listen to, not the list that says other tracks are on the CD. As for the Christmas feel, it is certainly reverent and soothing. It is not festive. If you like chant, you will appreciate this album. I certainly do. If you are looking for festive type Christmas music, find another source.



5. I've used this for years as part of my meditation regime and never realized that I've never done a review for it.
   
   When I listen to it just after my morning meditations, it always bring up solem divine feelings in me that bring some tears to my eyes.
   
   The people who perform this work really capture the divinity in it. I'm really not interested in who the creators or performers are. All I know is that what they did work for me.

2 comments about Christmas Collection: 20th Century Masters.

1. I stumbled across this album over 10 years ago (it's a re-issue of an album originally titled "This Christmas" from 1990) and it has become my FAVORITE holiday album ever since.



2. Patti puts all of her heart and soul into this Christmas collection of songs. This remastered version was produced very well. No Christmas should go without Patti's cd playing non-stop.

4 comments about 20th Century Masters - The Christmas Collection: The Best of Loretta Lynn.

1. Here's a great Christmas present for country fans, Loretta Lynn's classic 1966 album COUNTRY CHRISTMAS is back in print on CD!! This album brings back special memories for country music fans around the world for all the many years families have played it during the holiday season. Of note of the four Loretta originals including the excellent title song and two with classic Loretta sass "To Heck With Ole Santa Claus" and "I Won't Decorate Your Christmas Tree." Loretta does a fine job too on "Silver Bells" and "White Christmas" (two songs rarely recorded by country stars on their Christmas albums), the moving "Christmas without Daddy" and the church Christmas pageant staple "Away in a Manager". She also tackles kiddie Christmas favorites "Frosty the Snowman" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" with charm. This 39-year-old album is sure to win over new fans who have never heard it before and for the veteran fans, it's like a long-unseen loved one coming home for Christmas.



2. This is a hard to find CD, and it was great!



3. It was years I was looking for this cd - to no avail!
   Christmas just wasn't Christmas without Loretta Lynn's classic tracks, but all I had was a worn out cassette recording of my parent's original record.
   Christmas without Daddy was our song when Daddy when to Vietnam and then to the Sinai desert; Blue Christmas was the song my big sister sang when she was broken hearted; Country Christmas was the spirit of our tradition, with all our family gathered round that pretty Christmas tree...
   I'm so excited I ordered 4 copies: one for each sister.
   Have a very merry Christmas!



4. This album was originally released under the title COUNTRY CHRISTMAS in 1967. It features an equal mix of traditional Christmas songs and new Christmas songs. The originals are good, especially the nostalgic "Country Christmas" and the humorous "To Heck With Ole Santa Claus". And Loretta sings the traditional songs well, too. A solid Christmas album the Loretta Lynn fans will love. But it would have been nice if Loretta's rare 1974 single "Shadrack, the Black Reindeer" b/w "Let's Put Christ Back in Christmas" had been included as bonus tracks.

5 comments about Bright Day Star: Music for the Yuletide Seasons.

1. Had enough of animated snowmen and over-sweetened carol arrangements? Here's a hugely enjoyable recording of songs and dances done with flair by the Baltimore Consort. There are a few familiar tunes, such as the lilting arrangement of "Ding, Dong Merrily On High" and a beautiful solo flute version of "Lo, How a Rose 'Er Blooming." But most the songs are off the beaten track, and are therefore fresh and new despite their antiquity. Custer LaRue brings feeling and energy into the songs. This has become the most played Christmas CD in our household.



2. 'Twas the day after Thanksgiving, and all through the house, Christmas spirit was stirring and starting to rouse feelings of joy and expectation in the hearts of the people who were there. Beautiful music and Custer LaRue's singing filled the air.

   Wonderful songs, written by people long dead, caused pictures to form and stories to dance through each listening head. Stories of a virgin bearing a child, stories of the little Savior's entrance into this world...meek and mild.

   Each song is sung with such haunting beauty and care. The Consort's playing could not be more wonderfully fair. Each song is a masterpiece--"The Cherry Tree Carol," "In dulci jubilo," and "Quem pastores laudavere." Each song's focus is on the true meaning of Christmas--no appearance made by St. Nick--but with singing like this, in your head they are sure to stick.

   More beautifully than snowflakes this music drifts down. In sheer loveliness, "Christmas Is My Name" deserves the crown. Oh but each tune is strong--like "Ding Dong Merrily" and "The Wren Song." Most come in at under three minutes each, none is overlong. Each is stunning...how can the listener go wrong? How they twinkle...they are most merry. One even makes mention of Cherries.

   (...)

   I highly recommend this disc.




3. A perfect way to celebrate the Christmas spirit any time of year with some truly "old" favorites, performed with spirit and heart by the Baltimore Consort. Period selections imbued here with the consort's singular sound and creative improvisations include "Ding Dong Merrily on High", "The Old Year Now Away is Fled", "The Cherry Tree Carol", "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day", "Es ist ein Ros", "In Dulci Jubilo", and many more that may charm you for the first time. The Baltimore Consort is: Mary Anne Ballard, viols and rebec; Mark Cudek, cittern, guitar, viols and bandora; Custer LaRue, soprano soloist; Larry Lipkis, viol, recorder and gemshorn; Ronn McFarlane, lutes; and Chris Norman, wooden flutes and pennywhistle; with Webb Wiggins on organ.



4. This might be my favorite holiday album. It's one of the first I pull out in November and doesn't get put away until February.



5. I purchased this CD after listening to another work by the Baltimore Consort. The quality of the recording, of the music and the vocals are all top notch. After listening to this CD for a few days, my wife and I decided it would be an ideal gift for other music lovers. Each person who has since received it has also thoroughly enjoyed it. While the CD is themed for the yuletide season, I don't know that it has to go away with the garland and tinsel.

5 comments about Christmas with the Rat Pack.

1. Great CD for decorating the house. It was good to hear some of my favorites singing the holiday songs. It's very nostalgic!



2. Album is outstanding. Wanted to share it with my daughter. Delivery was extremely fast and dependable.



3. Really enjoyed this CD. Had a great variety of different tunes and was upbeat, even on the slower numbers. This will definitely be a new Christmas tradition to be played year after year.



4. The beautiful voices of Frank, Dean and Sammy live on with this wonderful CD. A must for anyone who enjoys listening to beautiful holiday music.



5. A sublimely classy Christmas album, this has Messrs. Dean, Sam and Frank singing all the standards of the season with the smoothness of the finest brandy-tipped eggnog. This doesn't rollick, it swings, sways and steps easy---and the signature Rat Pack repartee is priceless:
   
   "Thanks for being here tonight, Frank."
   "You're welcome, Marvin."
   
   A cool, bright album for your cool, bright holiday season!