Customer Reviews

Candlelight Carols

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my favorite discs at Christmas time. It is at once peaceful and calm, yet joyous and expectant. There are the usual brass and organ carols, but also stunning arrangements and performances of lesser-known things. Prime among these are the setting of "Away in a Manger" that makes me want to pull off the highway and listen just to that song without distractions, and the pulsing, exciting "What Strangers are These", which I have never heard anywhere else. Chorally, the disc is a little unsatisfying because of balance issues with the rest of the disc--some songs are loud, others very soft, so it makes it hard to listen to without having to adjust the volume periodically. However, I still wouldn't trade it for all the Messiahs in the world!

I have been listening to this choir since 1982. I wore out the original tape, in the days before CD's. I have been to the actual performance, a week before Christmas three times and am going back this year 2005.

The performance is so delicate, yet so powerful that it is emotional and moving, regardless of your orientation. Imagine this performance, in the manificent HH Richardson-designed Trinity Church, Copley Square, Boston. People wait for hours to get in. The lights go out, the Choir, brass timpani and organ just work so well together. One by one, candles are lit, and the huge church comes alive. The choir processes down the asiles singing in strength and everyone joins in.

It is a spiritual experience even if you are not religious. The strength of the performance invites you to participate. I find myself singing louder than I do anywhere else.

After my first child was born, I held her in my arms, and "Candlelight Carol" became my anthem:
How do you capture
The wind on the water?
How do you count all the stars in the sky?
How can you measure
The love of a mother
Or how can you write down
A baby's first cry?

I am not a musician and to my ear, the Chorus is professional. The tunes are classic, but they bring a new life to familiar tunes.

If you've been feeling stressed out, this is the perfect time to calm the nerves, focus on meaning and purpose, and let you enjoy yourself for a few minutes.

If you can't attend, do the next best thing, get the CD, turn it up till you hear the bass of the organ rumble your rafters and sing your heart out.

Enjoy!

Excellent songs - bad sound. Some songs are very soft and some are just soft. When listening, I have to contantly turn the volume up and down. I would not recommend this.

Beautiful, beautiful carols and performance (just not engineered well as others have stated); I ripped the CD and did a little volume-boosting on the quiet cuts, and am much happier listening to it now.
I've given this CD as a gift and always been complimented on the choice; if you can look past the one technical issue, this album will be a favorite --