14 best loved christmas carols

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Media Type: CD

Artist: 50 MOST LOVED CHRISTMAS CAROLS

Title: 50 MOST LOVED CHRISTMAS CAROLS

Street Release Date: 09/27/2005

Domestic

Genre: XMAS VOCAL COLLECTIONS

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The Christmas Song

One of the most famous modern-day Christmas songs was written on one of the hottest California days on record. The song, which resulted from a collaboration between two of America's best singer-songwriters, has touched millions and made both men (Nat King Cole and Mel Torme) a fixture of every holiday season.

Jingle Bells

"Jingle Bells" is perhaps the most well-known, must sung Christmas carol in America. Yet in one of the season's greatest ironies, "Jingle Bells" does not contain a single reference to the holiday with which it is associated and was actually written for a completely different day of celebration.

Silent Night

Even though "Silent Night" has been recorded more than any other song in history, the fact that we know it at all is a miracle. Created out of necessity and performed in a tiny village on a solitary Christmas Eve by two ordinary Austrians and a tiny choir, this incredibly beautiful and simple carol owes its debut to an organ that wouldn't play and a priest who wouldn't hold a Christmas mass without special music. Later, just weeks into the new year, the beloved carol's march to worldwide popularity was begun by the man who came to fix the faulty instrument.

Candy Canes

There are probably as many legends centered on the candy cane as on any other Christmas tradition. Many of the tales that are known today about this familiar hook-shaped peppermint stick are probably as much fable as fact. Nevertheless, in the last seventy-five years, the symbolism of the candy cane, born of legend and now brought to life by a unique striping design, has made it one of the best teaching tools of the holiday season.

Christmas Trees

Universal acceptance of the Christmas tree as a holiday essential occurred less than two centuries ago, but the roots of bringing an evergreen into one's home during the darkest days of Christmas can be traced back more than one thousand years. The evergreen tree, along with the Christ child and Santa Clause, has evolved into a central symbol of the world's most celebrated holiday. To Christians, the Christmas tree is often more than just another decoration; it is a vibrant part of the spiritual essence of the season as well.

Movies of Christmas

Over the past ninety years, hundreds of movies have embraced Christmas. These films have employed every motion-picture genre, from musicals to family dramas, from war movies to horror flicks, from comedy to fantasy. Yet of the hundreds of films churned out by the show-business machine, only a few have been so loved that watching them has become a holiday tradition in the United States and around the world.

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Originally recorded between 1964 and 1985, this generous 2-CD compilation ranges from carols dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries to timeless, mostly traditional popular favorites. The arrangers include such eminent composers as Vaughan Williams, Gustav and Imogene Holst, Arthur Sullivan, Peter Cornelius, and Felix Mendelssohn, as well as the Choir's own Directors, David Wilcocks and Philip Ledger. The 50 carols are carefully chosen for maximum contrast of tempo, mood and character; the settings, too, endeavor to create variety of texture and dynamics between the often numerous verses by alternately using solos and choruses, male, female and combined voices, creating cumulative build-ups, and adding a descant to the final strophe. However, even all these techniques and devices tend to become predictable, so it may be advisable to enjoy the program in judicious doses. Among these riches, listeners will find their own favorites, but it may be worth noting that "Silent Night" appears twice, once in English and once in German, and that two of the most famous carols--"O come, all ye faithful" and "Hark! The herald angels sing"--are accompanied by a very loud brass band playing fanfares with incongruous, "up-dated" harmonies--the only false note in the program. By contrast, the organ, employed in several introductions, as well as to provide powerful chordal support and all kinds of tinkling, bell-like effects never seems out of style or character. The singing is splendid. Basically "white," without vibrato, the sound has a wonderfully pure, truly celestial quality, but can rise to full, rich, ringing sonorities in the climaxes. Intonation, balance and ensemble are impeccable, the soloists are excellent. The reverberant acoustics of the Chapel of King's College, where the recordings were made, cushion the voices without obscuring the clarity of the lines. --Edith Eisler

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the best loved christmas carols LP

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Kelsey Grammer brings Ebenezer Scrooge to life in this musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale.

A musical setting for Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a natural, and this holiday TV-movie (based on the Broadway version) generously crams music into its quick spin through the venerable story. Kelsey Grammer uses his musical pipes (and some of his "master thespian" style of acting) as Ebenezer Scrooge, the man whose miserliness needs no introduction here. There's some experienced musical-comedy talent in the cast, from small roles to large, with expert stuff from Jesse L. Martin (who was in Rent, the Broadway musical, before he joined the Law & Order team) as the ghost of Christmas Present and Jane Krakowski as the ghost of Christmas Past. Jason Alexander, another TV person with a background in stage musicals, does deftly as the chain-rattling Jacob Marley's ghost (and his number is one of the most tuneful of the mixed bag of songs). Alan Menken, the veteran tunesmith of Beauty and the Beast fame, contributes the music, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime); the bigger numbers are spirited but a little rote. (The Styne-Merrill songs from a wackier version of the story, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, are a more memorable bunch.) This version moves so quickly across the main points of the story that Scrooge's redemption feels a tad rushed, but maybe the songs are supposed to be the point. Still, the razzle-berry dressing is missed. --Robert Horton

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1. Deck The Hall 2. The First Noel 3. Jingle Bells 4. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen 5. Go Tell It On The Mountain 6. Joy To The World 7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 8. O Come, All Ye Faithful 9. Good King Wenceslas 10. O Christmas Tree 11. I Saw Three Ships 12. The Christmas Hymn (Echo Song)