classical music:

	Cambridge Singers Christmas Album Stephen Orton, Adolphe Adam, ... Collegium, 2003 average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

For more than a decade, John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers have shared the Joy of Christmas with the world. The ethereal sound of perfectly blended voices, singing the most beautiful seasonal music ever composed never fails to touch the heart or lift the spirit. This year, John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers have assembled a NEW collection ? compiled from the archives, including FOUR NEVER BEFORE RELEASED TRACKS! This is a holiday feast you will NOT want to miss!


Glittering Chrismas Music

I own virtually all of the CD's of John Rutter (whom I greatly admire) and the Cambridge Singers, and I am a fan of English Choral music in general. If I were asked to recommend only one of the many Cambridge Singers Christmas albums, or indeed one of any English Christmas album, a hard choice, this would be it. As others have noted, this CD is a compilation of songs from previous cds with four new releases. It is, I believe, longer playing than the other Cambridge albums. In style, it is a mostly quiet sounding collection--in fact several carols are sung a cappella-- with pieces ranging from carols such as "The Holly and the Ivy" to the more robust "Fantasia on Christmas Carols". In sum, this is a sensitively arranged and performed collection of beautiful Christmas music.

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The Spirit of Christmas On CD

I have never been disappointed by any Cambridge Singers release, so it isnt surprising that I thoroughly enjoyed this offering as well. This CD is a compilation of songs from previous cds with one or two new tracks, so check your library to make sure you arent duplicating your collection in the order to complete your collection. I purchased this disk to obtain a copy of the Fantasia On Christmas Carols by Ralph Vaughn Williams which was originally released on Christmas Day In The Morning. As usual, every song is performed in a precise yet heartfelt manner. If you dont own any cds by the Cambridge singers I would personally recommend Christmas Night as the first disk to own, but if you know and love the Cambridge Singers as I do, then you will enjoy having this wonderful addition to your library.

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Superb voices!

This CD was beautifully sung by the Cambridge Singers, a boys/mens choir, mostly a' capela. It's the first Christmas CD I've bought that really tempts me to crank up the volume so I can revel in every note.


Almost angelic

Choral music by the Cambridge Singers is always top-notch. An older album that might have sounded better with newer technology but no complaints. Has great vocals and orchestral support.


Great choir, but mostly recycled material

I have the utmost respect for John Rutter and his Cambridge Singers, probably the best choir in the world (at least, the English-speaking world). I have almost all their CDs. Two of their Christmas CDs are "desert-island" class for this listener.

Unfortunately, I cannot give this otherwise excellent CD the same high marks. If they wanted to release a "best of Cambridge Christmas" CD, this would not be it. It does a few of the absolute best Christmas selections, including Sweelinck's "Hodie", Willcocks's breathtaking arrangement of "The Infant King", and Rutter's own quirky reading of "Personent Hodie". And it does contain a few tracks not previously released.

However, if you want the best of Cambridge and Christmas, start with "Christmas Night", which is always the first CD I pull out the day after Thanksgiving. The sound of the famliar Persall setting of "In Dulci Jubilo" sets my holiday in motion. And that CD also has Rutter's own magical "There is a flower". After that CD, get "Christmas with the Cambridge Singers", which has "The Infant King" and some other treasures.

So, you can't really go wrong with this CD, especially if you just want an introduction to how this fine ensemble addresses the most choir-friendly holiday of all. But if you're serious about getting all the good stuff, start with the other two mentioned above, then add "Christmas Day in the Morning" and the early "Christmas Star".

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Tracks
The holly and the ivy (arr. H. Walford Davies)* | Blessed be that maid Mary (arr. David Willcocks) | Somerset Wassail (arr. John Rutter) | Shepherds, in the fields abiding (French, arr. Willcocks)* | The Infant King (Basque, arr. Willcocks) | What is this lovely fragrance? (French, arr. Healey Willan) | Gabriel's message (Basque, arr. Willcocks)* | Still, still, still (German, arr. Rutter) | Quittez, pasteurs (French, arr. Rutter) | Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle (French, arr. Rutter) | Personent hodie (German, arr. Rutter) | The shepherds' farewell (Hector Berlioz) | O holy night (Adolphe Adam) | O magnum mysterium (T. L. de Victoria) | Hodie Christus natus est (J. P. Sweelinck) | For unto us a child is born (G. F. Handel) | In dulci jubilo (Samuel Scheidt) | Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child (Kenneth Leighton)* | A New Year Carol (Benjamin Britten) | Balulalow (Peter Warlock) | I saw a fair maiden (Peter Warlock) | The Lamb (John Tavener) | Fantasia on Christmas Carols (Ralph Vaughan Williams)

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