Customer Reviews

Christmas Angels

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

 

 

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!

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.

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.

It took Me awhile to find this CD in the local stores[Before I started using this web site].When I got it and listened to it,I was glad I did'nt give up, it was worth the effort. Still another great job by the Vienna Choir Boys

I have a large collection of Christmas Music and many are on CDs. I have been converting them to digital for easy listening during the Holiday Season. This Lable is a classic for any collector and will be a wonderful addition to your library.

It took Me awhile to find this CD in the local stores[Before I started using this web site].When I got it and listened to it,I was glad I did'nt give up, it was worth the effort. Still another great job by the Vienna Choir Boys