Customer Reviews

Christmas Experiment

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

 

 

The Canadian Brass combine their creative talents with the voices of children's choirs to bring a refreshing new sound to traditional Christmas songs! Five stars from me for a great CD!

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I purchased this CD last year on a whim. Christmas Experiment quickly became one of my favorite Christmas CDs. We know that Christmas is particularly special for children, and that really came through with the singing of the children on this CD. The first track ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) immediately caught my attention with the child's narration backed up by the full, lucious tones of the Canadian Brass. Jingle Bells is high-spirited and lots of fun to listen to. I especially love the young soloist for Drummer Boy. There are a few tracks with just the Canadian Brass--as always, they demonstrate wit and charm with their arrangements. Give yourself a treat and buy this CD.

The Canadian Brass is an ensemble known for both its virtuosity and its creativity. Both attributes can be found in its Christmas recording A CHRISTMAS EXPERIMENT. The disc was recorded in conjunction with an A and E television special which is available on DVD.

This is not a traditional brass choir Christmas album, though certainly there are elements of this in many of the tracks. Most of the tracks involve the vocals of two children's choirs: The Bach Children's Chorus and The Georgian Bay Children's Choir. The voices of these two groups are almost angelic. The pleasing quality of the children's voices makes the recording worthwhile. Most of the arrangements are original, and lovers of the Canadian Brasses antics will enjoy the arrangements of "Jingle Bells" and the original "Sleigh Runners." While a carol such as "O Come All Ye Faithful" is so standard that people are hardly excited by it, the powerful version of this recording will make listeners stand up and take notice. Perhaps one of the most original pieces is the Brass's version of "Jolly Old St. Nick." It begins like the groups prior recording the Pachelbel Canon, but moves into the familiar song.

I will have to admit, when I first purchased the recording and saw the title A CHRISTMAS EXPERIMENT, I have expected it to fail. I am glad I was wrong. The experiment is definitely a success.

The music on this album works astonishingly well as part of the television special (metioned in other reviews).

However, listening to the music on its own, it doesn't really work. As a fan of experimental, challenging music, I hate to say this, but: this is just too "weird" for a Christmas album. If you do not already have the Canadian Brass' other Christmas album, that is the one to get.

Great to hear a mixture of singing and instrumentation. It's not as beautiful as their original Christmas album but it's a nice addition to the Christmas repetoire.

Christmas gift that arrived in plenty of time and in great shape. Already being enjoyed. Thanks it was a pleasure doing business with you.

I've been a fan of the Canadian Brass for about 30 years now. I've bought all of their Christmas albums, but this is not quite as strong as some of their others. The high point is the magnificent piccolo trumpet solo which begins The Angel Choir and the Trumpeter; it is absolutely exquisite. However, other tracks, especially The Little Drummer Boy, are ruined by the vocal soloist. The childrens' choir sounds nice, but the kid singing the solo is simply awful. I can only assume he must have been the record producer's kid or something. If you're buying the songs via mp3 download, do yourself a favor and skip that one.

If you're a Canadian Brass form, this is christmas music in fine form. They have two Christmas CDs, one more traditional, one more snappy modern carols, they're both pretty good.