Ancient Noels

Ensemble Galilei, Maggie Sansone | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 5, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Maggie's Music
• ASIN: B000003JLM
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,247 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #27 in Music > Indie Music > New Age > Celtic
  • #34 in Music > Indie Music > New Age > International
  • #38 in Music > Indie Music > Folk > International Folk

Editorial Reviews

ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION

"An enticing blend... unorthodox instrumental combinations result in interesting textures and imaginative interpretations."

"The relative unfamiliar melodies make this perfect and playable any time of the year."

"A perfect blend of tempos,instruments and eclectic tunes that offer something different. Enchanting and delightful."

Product Description

Ancient Noels:An INDIE finalist for "Best Seasonal Album of the Year" ( and listed in BILLBOARD magazine)Ancient carols, Renaissance rhythms and haunting medieval hymns bring to life images of desert landscapes, stone monasteries and the origins of Chrismas. Maggie Sansone on hammered dulcimer with members of Ensemble Galilei: Marcia Diehl on recorder, bowed psaltery and pennywhistle; Jim Brooks on recorder and concertina; Sue Richards on Celtic harp; Carolyn Surrick on treble viol & bass viola da gamba; and special guests Bonnie Rideout on Scottish fiddle, Zan McLeod on cittern and guitar and Ben Harms on hand drums and medieval tambourine.

Includes: Basque and Galician carols from Spain, medieval Dutch & French carols, and Renaissance tunes by 16th century master Tilman Susato.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Deserve A Break, October 22, 2002

By 

Ken Roberts "social historian" (Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ancient Noels (Audio CD)

One of the complaints heard over and over again at Christmas time is that "they start playing Christmas music in November, and you're sick of it by the time Christmas gets here!" There IS a point to that, I must agree. White Christmas, Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire, Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, Sleigh Ride, Silver Bells, and on and on. Over and over. No wonder you can tire of this music so fast. Then you pull out your own Christmas cd's and what do you find? Out of the maybe ten you may own, I'm sure virtually every one has 90% of the same songs AGAIN. Maybe a couple of religious songs - Silent Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, The First Noel - are thrown in as well. But, they're the SAME SONGS once again! Every disc - every artist. Now, I love these songs as much as anyone. And, believe it or not, I love them more now than ever. That's because over the last ten years or so I've amassed a rather large collection of Old World/Victorian style Christmas music, many of which I reviewed for Amazon. Done in the traditional style, even the songs heard frequently sound refreshing.
Maggie Sansone, a wonderful hammered dulcimer musician, has put out a number of traditional Christmas cd's, one of which is called Ancient Noels. It doesn't matter that not one of the songs on this cd mentions Santa or Jingle Bells, they are still Christmas songs, the way they were heard hundreds of years ago. Unless you are a collector, I'm sure you may not recognize most, if any, of these carols, which makes listening to them even better. They're NOT the same old songs heard daily for two months straight. Take up Amazon's deal to let you give a listen to snippets of these songs. I think you'll be glad you did. My personal favorite is the medley of Gloucestershire Wassail/Tomorrow Will Be My Dancing Day/The Sussex Carol. Other highlights are Riu Riu Chiu, The Friendly Beasts, In The Bleak Midwinter, and To Us A Little Child Is Born. Actually, there is not a bad song on the disc.
If you play this in between your Johnny Mathis and Bing Crosby, I think you'll find a nice variety and change in your Holiday listening. And if you like my suggestion, check out my other reviews for Christmas Music. Artists such as Madeline MacNeal, Robin Petrie, Revels, Chieftains, Opera Lite, and others. Even when these artists do the 'tried and true' carols, you won't mind, since, in most cases, these artists play them in the traditional/Old World way that makes them seem new again!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful medieval music for any time of year!, April 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Ancient Noels (Audio CD)

My husband and I love this CD. It's all medieval instruments (with no voices.) We bought it to play during the holidays, but since the songs are not typical "holiday" songs, we enjoy it all year long. Highly recommended!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ancient It Is, August 18, 2002

By 

Karen A. Decoster (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Noels (Audio CD)

Maggie Sansone covers some of the great old carols that are typically so hard to find. All medieval instrumentals, CDs like this are so necessary for an occasional withdrawal from all of the "Popular" Christmas music that we hear so often. In fact, one ends up getting hooked on this stuff, and looking for more and more of it to buy. Check out Sansone's _Sounds of the Season_ CDs, too.