3 comments about La Navidad en Mexico: A Christmas in Mexico.

1. We have previewed the C.D. and we loved the music. We are teachers and are planning to use several selections from the C.D. for our annual children's bilingual Christmas program. We wish we had all the lyrics to the song entitled "Blanca Navidad" which is number 8 on the C.D. If anyone is listening, we are desperate and would appreciate receiving the lyrics to this particular song. Our children have previewed this song and want to learn the words for their program but we are stumped on some of the lyrics. Please help us!



2. I think this is a very good CD for children and adults. Los Peces En El Rio has a very fun, salsa beat to it. Other songs are very good Spanish renditions of the English songs. I plan to use this CD in my first grade Spanish class and at any Christmas gatherings and I have already had other teachers ask me where I purchased it.



3. I wanted to use some typical Christmas songs for my Senior Citizen Spanish Class, and this CD truly fit the bill. We had a lot of fun singing along with some of the songs. Good quality and clear enunciation.

No comments about Romantic Arias.

No comments about Christmas à la carte / Bartoli, Domingo, Mutter, Pavarotti, Schäfer, Terfel.

5 comments about Home for Christmas.

1. This CD does everything well - the big orchestral arrangements that are fun and swingy, the hauntingly beautiful religious songs she wrote, the softer acoustic numbers. She doesn't make any bad choices here and there's maximum style with minimal schmaltz. I'd never purchased any of her music before but consider this in my top 10 of Christmas CD's, which is saying a lot because I've collected a ton of Christmas music over the years.



2. Listen to any radio station that plays continuous Christmas music around the holiday season, and you're bound to hear a song by Amy Grant at least once during the broadcast day. To be expected, since she's now released three Christmas albums. But on this, her second Christmas effort, released in 1992 on the heels of the multi-platinum pop breakthrough HEART IN MOTION, she pulls it off especially well. It's completely devoid of the "fluffy" pop stuff for which she's been reviled. The album features plenty of the usual burnt-to-a-crisp Christmas standards, including "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," "Winter Wonderland" and "O Come All Ye Faithful," but Amy puts her stamp on each of these to make them special. "Winter Wonderland" features a nice, jazzy arrangement, and "O Come..." is highlighted by a strong vocal performance from Amy and a boy's choir in the background. Amy also covers David Foster and Natalie Cole's "Grown-Up Christmas List," which has since been recorded by everyone and his mother, and her version remains my favorite (there was also an accompanying video). (Sorry, Kelly Clarkson; this song is best handled by a non-"diva" singer.) There are also faithful remakes of Andy Williams' "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" and Carly Simon's "The Night Before Christmas" (which, being a Carly fan also, I definitely enjoyed). The real standouts on "Home For Christmas," though, are the originals. "Emmanuel, God With Us" is haunting. Of course, "Breath Of Heaven (Mary's Song)" is the real classic. It's an account of how the Virgin Mary must have felt knowing that she was about to give birth to the Savior of the world. To this day, I can't listen to it without getting misty. It has deservedly since become a standard and has been recorded by several other artists, including Broadway star Barbara Cook and most recently by (oh, puh-leeeze) Jessica Simpson. That song alone is worth the price of this album. If you're looking for a Christmas album with an even mix of the secular and the spiritual and without the glitz, flash and vocal acrobatics of Mariah, Celine and the like, this album is for you. No surprise to me that it's still an airplay favorite at Christmas time these days.



3. This is a great collection of tunes but its Amy Grant's voice and her
   musical varitey that carry this Christmas classic way past most
   of the current top 40 Christmas offerings that come out each
   new year. Most new artists get a hit record, the next thing they seem to do is record
   a Christmas album?? This one, along with Vince Gill's classic "Let there be
   peace on earth" and many from his second Christmas collection as well, should
   be in your collection. Its kinda funny how the two have gotten together and married and now create their own special
   Christmas shows, like minds. Whether you enjoy the religious
   side or the spiritual side to this it has just a right mix
   , its alittle old fashion here and there, especially for us
   over 40 crowd who remember what Christmas use to mean, before
   the commerical crazy took off, I find this Amy Grant Christmas collection, HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
   my favorite of the 3 she's put out but you can pick out many cuts
   off of each to make a really outstanding CD burn. Home for Christmas can be played start to finish, its that good.



4. ...and I noticed a trend here. The overwhelming majority of people writing reviews of this album think it's fabulous, and they are not wrong. The choice of songs, the production, and Amy's performance are all flawless.



5. This is a rather good album. It is fun and light and merry, although it is not my most favorite, I do definitely like it! I must mention the note-worthy "Breath Of Heaven", which is a beautiful song, both in lyric and melody. Overall, a very good Christmas CD. The only thing I really do not like about it is the two instrumental tracks. I want to hear Amy Grant sing, not her instrumentalists playing!

2 comments about Carols for Brass.

1. Richard Price, the horn player, writes excellent arrangements. Not only are the changes and subsitutions intriguing (NOT schmaltzy), but the instrumentation is brilliant, using the full range and capacity of each instrument. If you enjoy brass music, you'll love this album. If you're a player, you'll turn the web upside down looking for Richard Price so you can buy the arrangements!



2. Instrumental versions of 20 of the finest Christmas tunes ever written fill this 40-minute CD. The quintet plays trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn, trombone and tuba. This is wonderful as background music for the holiday shoppers in your store, or for the holiday party in your home. It is also pretty nice to listen to while driving in the cold of December, or at home with the headphones. Most tracks are reverent yet not dull. Quite an unusual item for lovers of traditional carols.

2 comments about Personal Christmas Collection.

1. This is the ultimate Christmas album in my house!! I grew up with this album (and many others) being played everyday between Thanksgiving and Christmas!! Just hearing the first few notes takes me back 25-30 years easily!! I turned my husband on to Mr. Goulet some 10 years ago and now he (and our 3 children) love it too! A must have! I just got the CD last year (after much searching). I still have the original album, but the kids can't understand why you can't jump up and down while listening to an album, besides it's nice to have this one to listen to in the van!!



2. I bought this CD for that one song alone! My parents had a compilation LP (now in my collection) that included Barbra Streisand, Julie Andrews, and many other incredible singers. I think it was a giveaway at Christmas at the Firestone tire store -- no I'm not kidding -- and the most incredible thing on that whole album was Robert Goulet singing Panis Angelicus. I had never heard the song before, don't know Latin.....but oh my God
   
   I picked it up on eBay a few days ago. There were 3-4 other copies available. While I do have that vinyl LP, and enjoy all of the other songs and singers on it, this is the one I "need" on CD format so I can carry it around, load it into my computer, include it in my own Christmas playlists.... I am looking forward to the other material on the CD, but all I need is Panis Angelicus. Obviously, for me this is the definitive rendition of this beautiful song.

1 comments about A Bing Bang Holidang.

1. This album, by Boston-area performer Bleu and a lot members of local bands (including Dicky Barrett of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Rubyhorse, Guster, and others), is a charming album that includes fun remixes of classic tunes (e.g., the Bing Crosby "Mele Kalikimaka"), intriguing instrumentals ("The Carol of the Bells"), goofy covers of Christmas carols (Boston All Star 12 Dayz, with Boston bands on a modified version of the Twelve Days of Christmas) and just plain kick-out-the-jams rockin' Christmas tunes, like the excellent original tune "Snow Day." Oddly enough, this is one of the more enduring Christmas albums my family and I play, since it blends real Christmas spirit and fun. Plus, you gotta give credit for this line in "12 Dayz:" "On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love said to me, 'this song's getting boring, better try to cut a verse'...Five gooolden rings!"

1 comments about Christmas Organ Music.

1. Soon it will be the time for shops to be setting out their Christmas items, for while Christmas comes but once a year, in fact people are working toward it all year long. The same is true for composers and musical performers. I found it amusing to learn that this particular CD of Christmas-related organ music was performed in August of 1995; of course, to be prepared in time for the holiday season, it had to be done ahead of time. Not quite Christmas in July, but close!
   
   This music was performed over the two days in August by Kevin Bower, at the organ in Chichester Cathedral in the United Kingdom. This is straight organ performing - no back choir or orchestral accompaniment. Bower is a nimble and spirited player, with a good sense of holiday mood for the pieces.
   
   Some of the pieces are very classic Christmas pieces - Handel's 'Hallelujah Chorus', set for organ solo, is a very familiar piece, as are J.S. Bach's sinfonia from the Christmas Oratorio and 'In dulci jubilo' (the later piece also has a setting by Johann Michael Bach). There are some more modern pieces, too, such as John Rutter's Prelude on 'God rest you merry, gentlemen' and W.S. Lloyd-Webber's Interlude on the Coventry Carol.
   
   This is wonderful music, perfect for relaxing, listening to while preparing for holiday get-togethers, as background music during such get-togethers, or to reacquaint oneself with the music of the holiday season.

1 comments about Goin Home for Christmas.

1. An outstanding holiday album, with Merle crooning over a tasteful bed of strings'n'pedal steel; he was admirably suited to the cornball spirit of the holidays, and really put his heart into each of these tracks... Most of the songs are Haggard originals, ranging from tearjerkers like "Grandma's Homemade Christmas Card" and "Daddy Won't Be Home Again For Christmas" (he's in prison...) to a sleighbell-bedecked remake of "If We Can Make It Through December" and the cheery "Santa Claus And Popcorn." Plus, his spins at older tunes like "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" and "Blue Christmas" are pretty rich and resonant -- Merle's version of "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a welcome addition to the hillbilly holiday repertoire.  (The CD reissue also includes a bonus track from 1986, a jazzy acoustic version of "White Christmas..." It doesn't match the tone of the other tracks, but it's also kinda cool.) This is a really nice album.

4 comments about Christmas Hymns and Carols.

1. This collection has been in my family for years. We pull it out ever year and listen to Mario Lanza's wonderful voice. Time can never change the feelings that come up when I listen to this collection. The Guardian Angels song is a must for anyone that truly loves the Christmas Story.



2. My parents had this CD in record form when I was young. I was so happy to hear it again! "The Lord's Prayer" is perfect. "Guardian Angels" is moving beyond words. All of the Christmas songs are incredible, particularly where there are climactic endings (such as "The First Noel"). This is an absolute treasure of a Christmas collection!



3. I really like this album (and the cute picture of Mr.Lanza on the cover) of one of Lanza's best Christmas collection. He did a very good audition of "Guardian Angels","O Come, All Ye Faithful" and "The First Noel" and he did them with allot of passion although he should have practiced a little more for the rest(but not much). His songs will make you cry. My boyfriend can sing just like him (and maybe better) this is also his favorite album. I have heard some other Christmas albums that he has done and I think this is his best! I think that they should add more songs to this album to make it even more special. We will always remember him. I hope he is singing in Heaven.



4. I remember this album from the few Christmas records my parents had when I was a very young child, which they would play only once or twice a year. Listening to this album at such a young age formed the visual impressions of the Christmas carols that to this day I still see whenever I hear them. Mario Lanza sang with such passion, I can actually remember trembling to his haunting rendition of Guardian Angels. I guess to a 3-year old it is actually a pretty frightening song. I am thrilled that this album is finally available in CD format and will become a permanent addition to my collection.