Festival of Christmas Carols

Davis (Artist), John Alldis Choir (Artist), Lso (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B0000040XM
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,477 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

2. Conventry Carol

3. Joy to the World

4. In dulci jubilo

5. Silent Night

6. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

7. The Holly and the Ivy

8. What Child Is This?

9. The First Nowell

10. Good King Wenceslas

11. Deck the Halls

12. O Tannenbaum

13. Patapan

14. We Three Kings of Orient Are

15. Away in a Manger

16. I Saw Three Ships

17. I Wonder as I Wander

18. O Come All Ye Faithful

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lavish and tasteful renditions of traditional Christmas Carols..., November 27, 2006

By 

vmzfla "vince819" (Orlando, Fl.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Festival of Christmas Carols (Audio CD)

Colin Davis and the LSO are in top form in this 1979 digitally remastered
program of some of the most beloved Christmas Carols. The arrangements go
from the sublime(ie. Silent Night)to the bombastic(ie. Patapan), though nothing is over done. The LSO sound shines with occassional selections(six)including the John Alldis Choir. The tracks are attractively strung close together giving the 18 carols the flow of a symphonic suite. This is tops at the cheap price asked. My only reservation for a fifth star is the relatively short 47min. timing, by today's CD standards.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Collection of Christmas Standards, November 24, 2004

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Festival of Christmas Carols (Audio CD)

This collection of carols is a wonderful collection at a reasonable price. Classical music fans will know that in general, a recording by Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra is a guarantee of quality, and this collection would certainly be in this category. Most of the works are orchestral arrangements in suite form. Some tracks are accompanied by the John Alldis Choir which gives the collection variety. The arrangements are somewhat standard, but there are some interesting aspects to the recording as well. It makes excellent background music for holiday preparation, gift wrapping, addressing Christmas cards or would be relaxing when stuck in a traffic jam outside a mall (or I suppose something soothing to listen to in the car on the ride home after dealing with crowds in a mall). However it is listened to, it certainly will get a person in a holiday mood.

Enjoy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless, January 18, 2007

By 

J. Retra - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Festival of Christmas Carols (Audio CD)

Since my teenage years I can not imagine a christmas without this music. The songs are beautifully arranged with a good balance between royal big orchestrations and intimate small settings. Although the orchestrations are classical they come with a large contemporary, one might even say filmish twist, which makes them fresh and draws everything above dusty traditional sounds. The recording is from 1979/1980 which has the advantage that it is not as sharp and 'clean' as we often hear today. This gives it a wonderful nostalgic quality. However, this is also a matter of taste. Some carols are performed with and some without the choir: a nice alternation. The choir has a warm sound and you can actually hear the words they sing most of the time. A real festival of carols with what I would name an ultimate positive feeling.