Christmas Angels

Vienna Boys Choir (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 15, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FW8
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,244 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #59 in Music > World Music > Europe > Continental Europe > Austria

Track Listings

1. Procession (Hodie Christus)

2. Wolcum Yole!

3. There Is No Rose

4. That Yongé Child

5. Babulalow

6. As Dew in Aprille

7. This Little Babe

8. Interlude

9. In Freezing Winter Night

10. Spring Carol

11. Deo Gracias

12. Recession

13. Ding Don! Merrily on High

14. Away in a Manger

15. We've Been Awhile A-Wandering

16. Coventry Carol

17. I Saw Three Ships

18. Once in Royal David's City

19. Deck the Halls

20. Good Christian Men, Rejoice

See all 28 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: VIENNA BOYS CHOIR
Title: CHRISTMAS ANGELS
Street Release Date: 09/22/1997
Domestic
Genre: XMAS CLASSICAL VOCAL

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a voice teacher and early music fan, December 2, 2006

By 

George Peabody "Ariel" (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Christmas Angels (Audio CD)

THEIR VOICES SOAR ON WINGS OF SONG!

There is no doubt that the Vienna Boys' Choir is one of the finest boy choirs and this disc is indeed a heavenly program of somewhat traditonal carols, some definitely moreso than others.

I think the centerpiece of this recording is the Britten 'Ceremony of Carols'. The genius of Britten sparkles in every note, and intricate ryhthms,from the exciting "Wolcum Yole!" to the lovely "There Is no Rose". There are 12 sections of this work beginning an ending with the same Chant. The voices of the Vienna Boys Choir do a "bang-up"job with this; their diction is excellent, both in the Latin and the English, their tone quality pure and bell-like and their emotional investment high. The German carols such as 'Stille Nacht' -'Frau Nachtigall, wach auf' and 'O Tannenbaun' were also well rendered, but the two English carols 'Once In royal David's City' and 'Good Christian Men Rejoice' I found to be less interesting partly because the tempi was on the slow side, and somehow the English words were not as clearly understood. However, if you are familiar with the carols it need not be all that annoying.

A highpoint was Placido Domingo's 'Adeste Fideles';just wonderful!

Concerning the 'Coventry Carol':I would like to know why arrangers like to "mess around" with this lovely melody. I found it painful to listen to, and could hardly wait till it was over. This has nothing to do with the singing of it; in fact, the choir deserves much credit for implementing the odd harmony required to sing it.

On the other hand the selection "Die Konige" was very pleasing to the ear. All in all the performance is excellent. and it's always refreshing to hear carols that do not have a 'shopping mall' mentality!

3.0 out of 5 stars The Vienna Boys do sing like angels, but why such awful arrangements?, December 20, 2011

By 

Andrew R. Barnard (Leola, Pa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas Angels (Audio CD)

I'll not cast any doubt upon the skill of the Vienna Boys. They are a wonderful group of young singers and it's only a slight stretch to stick the word "angels" in an album of theirs. The purity of these young singers is breathtaking, beautiful beyond words.

But in the case of this CD, there's a problem. It's not with the boys themselves, but rather with the arrangements. It's certainly no fault of theirs, but their singing can't make up for the disappointment. I'm not referring to the Britten Ceremony of Carols, which while very modern in texture, makes for great music, although it's hardly very festive. The real problem comes in the arrangements of the carols themselves, which are harsh and dissonant. I can listen to Schoenberg, but it ruins the essence of beloved Christmas carols to distort them in this way. A good Christmas CD should make you want to curl up in the rocker and sip hot tea while sitting next to the Christmas tree. I have dozens of albums that capture this effect, but it would clash awfully to listen to this while doing anything festive. I guess some people will be able to look past such shortcomings, but I can't.

If this were the only Christmas album the Vienna Boys produced, maybe we should force ourselves to enjoy it, but it's not. In my collection are two other discs with the choir, both featuring singing that is every bit as good, perhaps better, and the arrangements are great, adding to the festive spirit. I would recommend both of those discs, Christmas Greetings and The Little Drummer Boy. If you're obsessed with the sound of the choir and are desperate to hear them doing more Christmas, perhaps you should check this out. But otherwise, steer clear of this album, as you'll easily be disappointed.

2.0 out of 5 stars Christmas Angels Disappointing, April 17, 2007

By 

T.Aquin "TAquin" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christmas Angels (Audio CD)

The music was executed well, but the arrangements were terrible. I wish it was not Christmas music. The arranger chose to change it with very irritating harmonic combinations. If one likes music with strange modern disonances, this is your CD. If one is looking for Christmas music that reminds one of Christmas, look to another CD.
I was very, very disappointed.