Christmas Music Music

I thought it was a drunken Davey Jones singing I Heard The Bells....
Clearly Andy had lost the golden voice of years ago. Nice valiant effort on his part, but the jazz, weird, Carribean orchestrations do not help. Get his earlier Christmas albums from the 60's instead. They are wonderful, this is just sad.

i grew up listening to andy williams - so to me, christmas time is just not the same without his 'most wonderful time of the year' or 'bells of st mary's' playing in the background as i trim the tree or eat some of mom's turkey and dressing.

but this album i didn't find that appealing. to me, it sounded to modern in its style, and while i love modern music in general, i can't take it at christmas time. some people like it, but i'm not one of them.

i ended up selling the cd after one listen. if you like modern christmas tunes, this is for you. if you're like me, and you instead love bing crosby and traditional andy williams, then i suggest you steer clear of this one.

I thought all the songs were wonderful, some of the songs do show an OLDER Andy Williams voice, we cant be young forever, still I like this selection and I like the arrangements as well, I have grown up with Andy and listen to him to this day. I think Mary's Boy Child is one of the best on this CD. Any true Andy Williams fan will love this CD as well. :)

My mom bought this CD a few years back. Thank God she got rid of it. She thought it was the worst album he put out, sort of a mix between calypso and elevator music. When I want to tease her I threaten to get the album for her and play it ad nauseam!

I'm glad some folks like this one, but I wish I had my money back. Old Andy is better Andy.

In The Holiday Spirit
Piano CD of Christmas music by Emile Pandofi. He is my favorite piano man. I enjoyed this Christmas music and also bought Sleigh Ride and White Christmas. I would recommed all three of these Traditional Christmas music CDs.

Music, like any other art form, is a way of knowing. Through music, I can experience both the creating and the performing artists' visions of life, love, death, truth, joy, whimsy, sorrow, the supernatural, or whatever they wish me to know through the music they make. Emile Pandolfi knows all this; I've heard him say that if a song doesn't speak to him, if he doesn't know its heart, and if he doesn't know how to reveal that heart to his audience, he doesn't play it.

In The Holiday Spirit is an album which displays Emile's prodigious talent for getting to the heart of the matter, for experiencing the music anew, and then for allowing his audience to experience it with him. He invites us-no, he charms and seduces us into a diverse array of emotional worlds. It's an album of music for the joy of the season, in the traditional holiday spirit. But it is not merely that. It is also a collection for repeated listening and genuine involvement.

Emile's playing touches the heart of The Coventry Carol. Though this is a carol to the holy child, it is in a minor key and darker than one might expect, for it begins knowing His end:

Woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For Thy parting nor say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

Emile's arrangement opens in wistful simplicity, and mounts with an ever-growing feeling of melancholy. Could that persistent arpeggiated figuration deep in the bass be
inexorable time itself, rolling onward toward the child's tragic destiny? We end as we began, in simple mourning, the opening theme in its original, modest guise.

But it's not in Emile's nature to be in a dark mood for long, and he brightens our spirits immediately with The Christmas Waltz. This is pure Pandolfi magic, with a spirit so charming and gay that even I can dream of waltzing. The pearly strings of flawlessly articulated treble notes that Emile laces together, in melody and adornment, summon images of fine jewelry on elegant throats. And the sensational counterpoint in the left hand, near the end of the piece, swirls like the dancers themselves. A small, rare, unexpected, spectacularly rendered masterpiece!

There's usually a healthy dose of humor somewhere in a collection of Emile's arrangements, usually not far from the surface. After a tasteful introduction, his first statement of the melody in Home for the Holidays is a wistful sigh of pure nostalgia, much as yours or mine might be: "Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays." (Sigh!) There are some rolled chords and a few clichés, just the right whiff of sentimentality. Sort of like you or I might play it-assuming I could play. Then ... what's THIS? The second verse breaks into a groove of stride-jazz piano in an album Christmas carols! After a verse and chorus that fall into a warm and cozy pace, our wayward boy really starts cooking; this thing really struts and swaggers! OK, jazz and Christmas has been done before, but by jazz pianists, not-to my knowledge-in this kind of album. This is one of the surprises that marks Emile's imagination, one of the proofs that he really listens. And it's genuinely funny.

A professor of mine once described genius to me as Picasso seeing a bull's head when he looked at the handlebars and seat of a bicycle. When Picasso welded the two together, the rest of us saw it, too. Juxtaposition is the key element, and originality of vision. I'm not claiming that there's genius at play here, though I have some opinions on the subject, but I'd certainly never have thought of putting the first, melancholy verse of Home for the Holidays together with several foot-stomping jazz verses to complete the wonderful version that Emile has created.

If his rendering of I Saw Three Ships is the most impressive demonstration of his virtuosity on this album, A Cradle in Bethlehem proves that Emile Pandolfi appreciates the power of plain, unadorned beauty. This is a cradle song which I had not previously heard; now, I'll probably listen to it more often than anything in this collection. It begins, "A Mother tonight is rocking/A cradle in Bethlehem." A halting left hand pattern limps tenderly beneath a one note melody of singular beauty. How can such unpretentious plainness touch so deeply? Because we hear, in the hesitations of that left hand, the beating of the uncertain mother's faltering heart as she sings her lullaby. (As W. B. Yeats wonders in his poem The Mother of God, how must Mary have felt knowing whom she had born?) Slowly, intensity and complexity build as wise men come to worship; ancient Prophets and present angels are evoked as the music swells. This magnificent drama, however, is understated. Emile never tries to overwhelm the listener with huge fortissimos; there is always the feeling that, no matter how loudly he is playing, there could always be more, and I'm grateful to him for his impeccable taste, for sparing me the bombast. Throughout this beautiful song, we have never wandered far from the manger, and at the end, we return to mother and child. I may be wrong, but the once faltering left hand seems a little steadier, now.

When I think of the packed houses at Emile Pandolfi's concerts everywhere I've heard him play, for nearly fifteen years, I can't imagine why this marvelous recording hasn't been reviewed before now. I'm also the only reviewer of his latest album, Believe. I hope you'll read that review and buy that CD. But you can do yourself an even greater favor: if you get wind of an Emile Pandolfi performance anywhere within a couple of day's drive in the next year or two-or the next ten-gas up the car, do yourself and your SO a favor, and go to hear the man in person. Once you've done that, it's very unlikely that it will be the last time.

Most warmly recommended.

(You can get on Emile Pandolfi's mailing list by going to [...]. His newsletter will notify you of all his upcoming concert appearances.


John Pendley

Absolutely great! I heard one clip over the sound system at my church and immediately knew I had to get this CD.

Each Christmas I buy music from a genre that is relatively new to me. This year it was Yolanda Adams, and I'm so glad! Delightful and inspiring!

Yolanda's first christmas project (the second one was released today - What A Wonderful Time) is very well crafted soft project. She does what she does best on this project. That is sing well and provide great variety of gospel music (pop/r&b/contemporary gospel/jazz/traditional gospel). Standout tracks are: HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, BORN THIS DAY, CAROL OF BELLS/WHAT CHILD IS THIS MEDLEY, OH HOLY NIGHT, IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR!

Get it, you'll enjoy it. Great for family and party gatherings. Excellent to have around the house. It'll lift your spirit and bring you to a place of gladness.

Kudos Yolanda~

I was poking around the holiday section of the local library's CD collection, just hoping to find something a little different, when I came across this collection by Yolanda Adams and thought,"Hmmm. "Get Here" was a powerhouse song, so how bad can this be...?"

How embarrassing to get my Adams(es?) confused, but then I had the same problem back in high school when I'd constantly be mixing up John and John Quincy. Call it a mental block. Or something. All I know is there are two soulful, powerhouse singers named Adams out there (more, if you count Ryan, Bryan--still more confusion--and Edie).

I always tell folks that if there's a singer whose work they DON'T know, check out their holiday album (if any). It's often cheaper, and it does provide the ultimate test. I mean, if you can breathe new life into some of the standard Xmas warhorses, you can pretty much do anything. So believe you can fly, Yolanda, cuz it's clear you can.

Adams is never less than professional when attempting the standard holiday fare, and much of the album is just that: soulful but not overwrought interpretations of songs like "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," the umpteenth version of "The Christmas Song" (nicely done, if not exactly a revelation) and, yes, even "The Little Drummer Boy." But the gospel inflected original (I believe) "Born This Day" truly soars. There is also an imaginative medley of "Carol of the Bells" and "What Child Is This?" And while soul versions of "Oh Holy Night" are hardly unheard of, you'd better be worth your salt, frankincense and myrrh to even attempt it. Yolanda Adams is up to the task.

Good stuff. And a great stocking stuffer.

What sheer delight listening to this, one of the finest ever Christmas CD's. Could listen to this one 12 months of the year and keep the Spirit of Christmas gloriously alive. Yolanda's voice simply radiates with beauty, clarity and that motivating energy of pure love. This is one of those "must" albums you have to buy for yourself and then for your friends - just maybe in that order!

Anyone who truly loves the choral and carol traditions of Christmas cannot miss Mr. Rutter's work. He is truly possessed of extraordinary talent and this fine recording puts it on proper display. The collection here houses the best of Mr. Rutter's original/edited works for the Christmas season, and one can sense the composer's affinity for the spirit of the holidays of which he has written so prolifically and well.

This is just an outstanding collection of choral, Christian selections. The majority are composed by Rutter, who it turns out was led into this field for which he is so well known and loved when in school, he was motivated by a fellow student who was composing a Christimas carol to do the same. Thanks be to God for that motivation!

Rutter's work simply in this humble reviewer has no other contemporary peer. He is reverent, fresh and excellent theology to boot! This collection has his best, including my favorites: "Shepherd's Pipe Carol, What Sweeter Music, The very best time of year, Angels' Carol."

To his compositions, added is Kirkpatrick's "Away In a Manger" and of course, Gruber's "Silent Night", both skillfully arranged and performed. Bonus selections of traditional pieces such as "I Wonder as I wonder."

The City of London Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Layton provides the orchestra background marvelously for Polyphany, the outstanding choir on this work.

You will be delighted to add this CD to your collection, and it will rise in most collections to near the top.
Well worth

Excellent Christmas CD. I especially liked the "Angles Carol" track!
Would recommend this CD to one and all.

Ok, it may not be the best album Ottmar has ever made, but, as it's one of the few Ottmar albums I haven't got, and being Christmas, I bought it despite some poor reviews. I was surprised to find a very relaxing laid back album. I think Ottmar was aiming for exactly that effect. I don't understand the people that criticised this album as being boring. Ottmar keeps it interesting by putting his own spin on all the tracks. Even so, if you buy a Christmas album you should expect to find Christmas music on it. After all, the case does have the titles on it. So put it on Christmas morning and you may unexpectedly find yourself in such a good mood you may even look forward to Christmas lunch with extended family. Or not.

I have other CDs by artist, which are better, but this is nice for the Christmas season.

The first track or two may seem a bit canned and mechanized, but the CD soon yields to the most gentle and beautiful guitar renderings of some favorite Christmas songs. The gentle melodies, the beautiful guitar themes, the Latin percussion and the Mexican horns soothe your soul and remind you of the beauty of the Southwest . . . you find yourself thinking about mountains, desert, firelight, travelers, caves and mangers. . .

This is a solid xmas disc that is neither edgy nor particularly innovative but makes up for it with beautiful accoustic guitar. This is one of those xmas albums that flows thrugh you unobtrusively, perfect music for hanging the southwest chile lights to a cozy fire! It definitely has the southwest flair. The Latin rhythms abound and are highlighted by the percussion work. The traditional songs are very familiar and with few exceptions rarely go out of bounds to unrecognizable dimensions in sound. It seems some people have complained about this disc but being a long time OL fan I can say that I was not dissapointed but rather enjoy the peace and serenity this disc invokes. By comparison "Angels and Poets" is a tad bit more on the innovative scale where he allows himself more room to improvise. The music is very soothing and has a calming effect on your soul. One of the things I like about this disc is the jazzy Latin intonations such as those heard on his holiday buleria "Greensleeves." The most traditional of xmas songs like "Hark the Angels Sing, "Silent Night" and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" stay close to the original but OL expands and improvises just enough to maintain the integrity of the original medley's without overplaying. There is a suttle beauty to these songs that lingers throughout the xmas season and beyond. It is music that can be played most anytime of the year and not seem unseasonal. I would recommend this disc to anyone who appreciates quiet music for those special moments to reflect on the beauty of the season any season. Peace on Earth and goodwill to all.

I enjoy the music of Ottmar Liebert, but this cd is dreadful. The disc opens with a rendition of "Deck the Halls" that's slow enough for a classful of six-year-old violin students to keep up with. The over-emphasized downbeat in "I Saw Three Ships" ruins that song as well.

The problem with Christmas music sometimes is that, since we've grown up hearing these tunes, we forget to appreciate how lovely some of the melodies really are. This disc does nothing to remind us. I can't imagine any less soulful or heartfelt versions of these songs. Skip this disc and get Joe Pass: Six-String Santa instead. Six-String Santa has got to be one of the best instrumental Christmas Collections of all time. Trust me.

Wonderful CD. Received quickly. Would highly recommend. A pleasure to deal with.

I ordered this CD because I had received one for the music library at the public radio station where I was music director before my retirement. I loved hearing it every Christmas when I programmed music from it to air on my station, so I decided to get one for my own library at home when I no longer had access to the CD at work. I love it! And amazon.com processed my order quickly. Thanks!

~Mary Lee Warner

This is one of the cleanest orchestral recordings of the 90s and shows the Boston Pops to great advantage. The production values are amazingly good to my ears, as is the wonderful interpretation of Maestro Lockhart. Amazon should list his name (not Mark Oswald's) to increase sales. This one will put you in the spirit of the holidays, for certain!

John Whitney, Music Director, Southern Tier Symphony

This is a great cd and Farandole has been a favorite of our son for over a year (he's 2 1/2). I highly recommend it!

In an age of Christmas artists like Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Who came up with these names anyway?), it's a blessing that we still have artists who have become as timeless as the Christmas music that they play. For many years, the Boston Pops Orchestra has had an annual tradition of performing Holiday Pops concerts in December, with the audiences enjoying champagne and refreshments on the floor. And Keith Lockhart has certainly done an excellent job of carrying on the tradition long maintained by Arthur Fiedler and John Williams.

This CD is an excellent compilation of the Boston Pops at its finest. From the opening "Gloria" to "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas," each selection has its own unique touch applied to it. My favorites are "Gloria," "Christmas Waltzes," "Carol of the Bells," "The Shepherds' Chorus," "Christmas Time Is Here," and the swinging compilation "Frosty All The Way!"

He also presents a different version of the tune "Sleigh Ride," long a Pops Holiday staple, but I still think it sounds better without the lyrics. Fortunately, I have other recordings by Fiedler and Williams of this work. But other than this, it's a great CD overall. Thank you, Keith Lockhart, for keeping the tradition of great holiday music going. Your orchestra certainly has the timelessness that Mannheim Steamroller will never have.

Poor Keith Lockhart did not have the easiest time when he first came to Boston. He made a few major mistakes. First, he shortened the 1812 Overture at the July 4th Concert at the Esplanade, which may have been a decision of the television stations carrying the broadcast, but it, went over with a thud. His first few Christmas concerts were not critically acclaimed, though crowds still attended. By the time his album HOLIDAY POPS was released, things got a bit better for poor Keith, and now he is as much of a Boston institution as anyone.

The collections greatest strength is the lush sound of the orchestra and Lockhart's excellent handling of the ensemble. No matter what he selected as music for this album, it probably would have worked rather well. The track has a "Gloria" that was commissioned by the Boston Symphony. There are also familiar arrangements in the style associated with the Boston Pops of Christmas waltzes, a track called "Frosty All the Way," "Good Swing Wenceslas," and perhaps the best track on the disc "Tomorrow Is My Dancing Day." The chorus adds to numbers such as "The shepherd's Chorus," "Sleigh Ride," and John William's "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas" from HOME ALONE 2.

Lockhart's style differs greatly from the legendary Arthur Fiedler and his successor John Williams, but for those who love the Boston Pops, especially at Christmastime, will not have a complete collection without this disc.

Christmas music in a magnificent setting. A beautiful way to help celebrate the Christmas Holiday

You won't be disappointed by this CD from Andre Rieu. He brings new life to best-loved Christmas carols and songs while also introducing us to some less-familiar, but very beautiful, Christmas songs.

Personally, this is one of my favorite relaxing Christmas CDs, though some of the songs do have a more up-beat tempo, which is nice too. Really, this CD is what you've come to expect from Andre Rieu-taking well-known songs and causing you to experience them in a whole new way.

I was very pleased with the CD and would recommend it to everyone.

All of Andre Rieu's music is very enjoyable to listen to.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas DVD . I want to buy more of Andre Rieu.

Sometimes I think the only person who is happy that Public television is financially challenged, other that certain legislators who believe that it is too liberal and the culmination of all that is evil, is Andre Rieu. Now don't get me wrong, this happy Dutch musician who models himself after Johan Straus is not a cruel or vindictive person. At least from what I can tell he's not, but let's face it. If PBS did not have financial woes, Andre Rieu, one of its favorite stars, would not have received the exposure he has, and his sales in the United States would probably be next to nothing. Of course for anyone who has ever seen one of his extravaganzas, we would be missing something enjoyable. He's musically sound and he knows how to entertain, and quiet frankly, though some classical purists may cringe at his name, I don't believe the composers whose music he uses are rolling in their graves because it's become popular once again.

Of all his concerts and CDs, I enjoy THE CHRISTMAS I LOVE the most. The jitterbug version of "Jingle Bells" shows that an old tune can produce new tricks. His arrangement of "The Holy City" (a.k.a. "Jerusalem") is almost as moving as when it is performed with a vocalist. The recording has a number of medleys that include favorites from all over Europe show how Christmas has such an international flair. For me, however, this album provides true variety. Many of the carols are not familiar to Americans, so we hear something different yet also authentic to the holiday season.

I'm surprised that there have not been other Rieu Christmas discs. He's an original musician and a consummate showman, so I'm sure there's more he could do with holiday music, but maybe he knows he has a classic with this collection and it will stand the test of time.

The music is awesome, especially "The First Of May" and "Walking On The Air." The whole concert was a delight to listen to!

Excellent Christmas music with some very good vaiety of voice and composition.

After unsuccessfully trying to enjoy this CD over the past several years, I finally decided to throw it in the trash -- and write a review to share with you all. This may have been enjoyable as a simple TV variety show, but it's unpleasant to listen to as a CD. The vocalists have such different styles and degrees of quality, that they don't belong on the same CD. The different types of songs are jarring when put on the same CD. The pairing of some of these vocalists with some of these songs is downright unpleasant. The orchestra music is simplistic, non-nuanced, and does not stand on its own; it is simply at the service of the vocalists, with songs generally starting with the briefest of orchestral introductions before some vocalist starts belting out the words. I give it 2 stars, because the title still gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling -- I LOVE the idea of Christmas in Vienna!

I am a great fan of Helmut Lotti. This particular recording is one my husband I already own and enjoy. We purchased this one for our adult daughter. Each of the performers on this disk are first rate and the recording as a whole is well worth adding to one's holiday pleasures.

FOUR FOR THE PRICE OF ONE; BUT WHO NEEDS IT!?

Herein we have four skilled vocalists who by themselves are most enjoyable, especially Brightman and Domingo. But together singing songs that are wildly different as are their voices is just painful.

Of course, we all know the reason: the commercial money-making powers that be are interested only in doing just that. And their logic we know is that four will sell better than one. NOT ALWAYS TRUE!!!!In fact, there are no two voices on this disc that blend well and somehow the Christmas Medley mixing 'Child in a Manger' with 'Santa Claus is coming to Town' I find downright offensive.

Buy it if you must,but I am certain that each of these singers have individual discs that are much more flattering to their voices.

Just a beautiful caldron of passion and magnificence! Sarah Sanctuary The Sacred Pyramid Voices of Eternity

I really like this CD as it plays. I would not exactly call it energizing, but still it is good, and inspiring.

Very rarely is one able to find songs that both date back to old times in Celtic and Northern European life and new songs that connect the ancient to the modern. But this album does just that.

The songs are good for celebrating the entire Celtic season of Samhain, and are good for both Christian and pagan purposes. Though the songs are all good, the best ones are probably tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9.

Song one is about celebrating life in the midst of death, an old Celtic way of viewing the New Year. The second song is a mix of ways of celebrating Yule; it begins with a Medieval Gregorian chant, then moves onto an older Celtic view of Yule (using the same mellody). Track four is about the year being renewed by the beginning of winter; track five is an old (Northumbrian?) Medieval English song sung in pubs on cold nights. Song seven is the Greensleeves mellody with more traditional/ancient words. And song nine is an old Scottish-Christian tune about the Christ Child.

This is a wonderful collection of songs to either add some mystery (and older ways) to your Christmas holiday or to celebrate Christmas and/or the Winter Solstice.

I loved this music! I've always been really into Yule, but for years I've been looking for music that celebrates the season, not the Christian holiday. This is a lovely collection of songs, some traditional, some original, that remind us what Yule is all about: joy, light, music, good friends and warming celebrations during the darkest time of the year.

I adore this album for Solstice-time. "Yule is Come" is such a happy, upbeat song, that I've used in ritual since hearing it. "Gaia's Lullaby" is one of the most moving songs I've ever heard and makes me tear up. "Bring Us Good Ale" is hilarious and for some reason makes me think of Hobbits..."Dance to Your Shadow" will make you do just that.

Buy it, love it, and put it on constant repeat right after Samhain!