A Festival Of Carols / Robert Shaw Chorale

Robert Shaw (Composer, Orchestra), Richard Storrs Willis (Composer, Orchestra), William Billings (Composer), John Henry, Jr. Hopkins (Composer), Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych (Composer), Robert Shaw (Conductor), Robert Shaw Orchestra (Orchestra), Robert Arnold (Performer), Robert Shaw Chorale (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Robert Arnold
• Orchestra: Robert Shaw, Richard Storrs Willis, Robert Shaw Orchestra
• Conductor: Robert Shaw
• Composer: Robert Shaw, Richard Storrs Willis, William Billings, John Henry, Jr. Hopkins, Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003EPA
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,856 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #49 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Hymns
  • #71 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Oratorio
  • #92 in Music > Classical > Sacred & Religious > General

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: SHAW,ROBERT
Title: FESTIVAL OF CAROLS
Street Release Date: 10/01/1999
Domestic
Genre: XMAS CLASSICAL VOCAL

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Voice of Christmas, December 17, 1999

By 

John Parker Marmaro "gilfaethwy" (Spring Hill, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Festival Of Carols / Robert Shaw Chorale (Audio CD)

I (as others reviewing this CD) remember these recordings as a child. They have included most (but not all) of the original LP "Joy to the World", which was entirely sung a-cappella. In this release, they have interspersed the a-cappella carols with big orchestrated numbers. But what stays in the mind, in the soul, are the beautiful a-capella hymns, and especially the less-known ones: the versions of "Pat-A-Pan" and The Carol of the Bells, to cite two examples, are exquisite. Some of the wonderful and rare carols included are "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella", "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day", "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" (one of the oldest carols in English), The Coventry Carol, and "I Wonder As I Wander (one of the earliest native American carols). Of all the albums we listened to while I was growing up, this is the one for which I have the deepest love. Even in its hybridized form, it's great to have it on CD!

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Carols for The Festival, October 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Festival Of Carols / Robert Shaw Chorale (Audio CD)

Compared to other collections of Christmas carols, this shines forth as the standard. It is as if Shaw tried not to "interpret" these classics, but rather perform them "as they were intended to be performed." I think you'll agree.

In 1987, I bought the cassette of the re-release. I played it even as it was so worn it squeaked. It was years before I was able to find it on the Internet (thanks, Amazon.com) and replace my worn-out tape.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Robert Shaw, August 10, 2000

By 

Daniel G. Berk (West Bloomfield, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Festival Of Carols / Robert Shaw Chorale (Audio CD)

There is such an immediacy and current feeling to these recordings that it seems hard to believe that they were made in 1957 and 1963. The reissue of 1987 was a welcome return of an old friend. Alas, it appears that that reissue is no longer available. One can only hope that that will not remain the situation for long.

This is an excellent and varied selection of carols, and the CD provides an hour-plus of extremely enjoyable listening.