Customer Reviews

An Evening in December

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's been at least 10 years since I first heard this CD, but it is still the first one I get out each Christmas season and the last one I put away. The opening tune never fails to choke me up - it is just SO beautiful and poignant. I have sung in choirs and barbershop quartets over the years, and this CD simply blows me away with the AWESOME breath control, dynamics, and tight, tight harmonies. This CD is totally a capella, but you would swear their was instrumentation because of the depth and intricacies of the harmonic vocal accompaniments. Some of the arrangements are the best I have ever heard of these traditional carols. I have never loaned this CD to someone without receiving a frantic request to know where they can get their own copy. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is the most astounding example of voice control I have ever heard. The final phrase of this song amazes me every time I hear it. There is nothing pretentious or strained about this CD. Simply the most wonderful, beautiful blending of voices singing the best arrangements of Christmas songs you will ever hear. This CD is PERFECT!

I found this album years ago and its the first one i bring out at Christmas and the last i put away when the holidays are over. If you are a lover of close harmony,madrical approaches to music and yet almost a touch of the Four Freshmen then this is a disc for you for the holidays.

This is truly the "must have" of any Christmas library. It satisfies your Popular, Classical and Crooner styles perfectly. The most cherished songs in the most enjoyable arrangments. Beautifully blended voices and full harmonies.

This is my favorite Christmas album of all. The vocal arrangements and its performance is just perfect. I've had this album for over 10 years now and it has never ceased to bring me and my family lots of Christmas joy every year.

Of all the Christmas c.d.'s I own (and as a certified "Christmas-a-holic", my collection is probably near 200 <G>), this incomparable c.d. would undoubtedly be in my Top 5. It's become such a tradition, that I don't consider my Christmas Eve complete without a listen to the title track. In fact, if the title song doesn't bring tears of nostalgia to your eyes, nothing will!
The remarkable thing about this c.d. is that every little bit of it consists of some of the most amazing acappella singing that you'll ever hear. The harmonies are so intricately layered that you NEVER miss the instruments. In fact, quite often, many of the backing vocals are arranged to even -sound- like musical instruments as they back up the lead soloist or other harmonies. Simply astounding.
Add to this a wonderful array of some stellar soloists such as the incomparable Cynthia Clawson, Larnelle Harris and Wayne Watson....and you have a c.d. that is simply one of the best Christmas c.d.'s ever recorded. It says a lot about the Christian music industry that they've let titles such as these go out of print. So expect to pay a little more than you would for an average c.d. for this one (the vol. 2 collection is also amazing, though not quite up to the original).
To say that this is a "perfect" c.d. is not quite true, since I definitely don't love all of the tracks "equally". But even the weaker moments are counterbalanced by the brilliance of the arranging and singing. Favorites are the aforementioned title track, "Starlight", all of the carols and the brilliant "12 Days of Christmas" (the best arrangement of this song EVER, bar none).
I was able to meet the original members of First Call several years ago during a reunion tour and took THIS c.d. for them to autograph. It was nice to be able to tell Bonnie, Marty and Mel just how much this c.d. brightens each and every holiday season!
If you simply adore Christmas music, you owe it to yourself to add this treasure to your collection along with it's sibling c.d. "An Evening In December: Vol. 2". Just thinking about the lyrics to the chorus of the title song puts me in the Christmas spirit...even now in early April <G>:
"I'm so glad we're here together for this evening in December...
we'll watch the falling snow and hold each other close....."

The rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas alone is worth the full purchase price of the CD.

The lush chords and thick harmonies in David Maddox's arrangements are irresistable. Arrangers like Gene Peurling and Phil Mattson comment on the beauty and power of his peices. I've sung in choirs that have performed some of these songs and you can't help but to shed a tear and shiver with joy. I will, undoubtedly, listen to this all year!

I heard an audio tape of this in 1990 - 20 years later it's still my favorite Christmas CD. In 2001 I found a CD of Vol II in the Philippines in a small booth at a mall, it too was pretty nice.
You will simply enjoy it.
-Merry Christmas

I start listening to this CD in early November. It's so perfect for preparing for the Christmas season. If there's a song in existence more beautiful than "Starlight," I don't know what it is. Lovely arrangements and harmony on this CD.

A friend who knew I was involved in choral music was kind enough to loan me this CD over the holidays. I had never heard of First Call before, but given my friend's religious convictions, I was not surprised to learn that they were a Christian vocal group. Like a good deal of contemporary Christian music (and I use the term "contemporary" in the braodest sense, since it appear this recording dates back to the mid-80s), there is little that is overtly evangelistic, and in fact, largely secular holiday songs like "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" are given prominence (although--not surprisingly--they alter the line "if the fates allow" to "if the Lord allows," which is--as the Amazon reviewer above noted-- kind of "religious correctness" but certainly understandable, given the artists' convictions, and really should not bother anyone but the most die-hard secularists.

Although the core group consists of just three singers, there are several guests artists on board to help flesh out the selections. It would also appear that all the singers are, at least some of the time, multi-tracked. The effect is more fully "choral" than the three-part harmony you might expect. In fact,the record reminded me of the kind of stylized vocal ensembles so popular in the 50s and early 60s, such as the Ray Coniff Singers or Mitch Miller's troupe or any number of such vocal groups who used to pop up regularly on the television variety shows of the era.

That kind of sound is largely considered passe these days, at least for the "secular" market, but there was real musicality and skill to such projects, and it's nice to see that the largely Christian market is helping to keep the genre afloat.

Listening to this record did get me thinking about some of the differences between this kind of smooth, polished vocalizing and the kind of material that non-professional choral groups such as the one I am involved in tend to do. We usually have at least keyboard accompaniment, for one thing, whereas this release is a capella. The vocals are lush, and while a guess bass, David Maddux, is audibly present most of the time, the emphasis really seems to be on the higher ranges. And even with the multi-tracking and the presence of guest vocalists, the sound is still that of a relatively small ensemble--not the 35 to 50 voices I am used to working with. There is vocal fullness here, but it is still lithe and flexible.

What is also striking for me is that--while most amateur choral groups do do poppier and even jazzier arrangements of standards from time to time--First Call and Co. often seem to incorporate pop elements, like time shifts, in arrangements that seem to start off as more standard treatments. The effect is surprising--certainly not jarring or unpleasant--but little musical surprises do pop up when you might least expect them.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable Christmas release that should appeal to Christian and more secular audiences alike.