Customer Reviews

The Holly and the Ivy: Carols from Clare College

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I never get tired of listening to this, one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums. My kind of Christmas is listening to beautiful music performed by incredible English choirs, not so much the Rudoplph & Frosty things (although I am a sucker for that too!). This CD does not disappoint, and while I do prefer all-male choirs (those heavenly trebles and such), the inclusion of female voices does soften and sweeten the overall sound. A lovely addition to the Christmas Cd collection!

One of the absolute best choral Christmas CDs I've ever heard. The performance of Wexford Carol, In the bleak midwinter, Gabriel's message are just incredible. The sensitivity of the singing, the arrangements, the selections -- it takes the breath away.

I had a vinyl copy of the import version ("Christmas from Clare" - now unavailable) and I'm so happy I found it under the new title. This album has so many unique qualities. There is some instrumental accompaniment, but it is clean and spare and devoid of the usual holiday bombast. The blend of the voices is perfect. Many of the selections are different from what usually clogs the radio waves in December. I can't really do justice to the beauty of the singing here, but it has a lovely peaceful quality that I treasure at this time every year.

After listening to this album once, I immediately ordered several copies to give as gifts. This beautiful disc conveys the joyful mystery of the Christmas season without a hint of commercialism. It is pure and simple, and quite soothing in the face of the chaos that the holiday has become.

I agree with all the previous reviews. This is one of the prettiest CD's I've ever heard. "Donkey Carol" caught my attention a few years ago when the classical music station played it during the Christmas season. It is so heavenly, you really think angels are singing to you! I also loved "Cradle Song", "Ding dong! Merrily on high", but all of the songs are beautiful. It really does have an almost "other-worldly" quality to it, and I'm not usually a large fan of choral music! Thanks to the other reviewers, I purchased the CD and was so happy I did. Highly recommended!

Another quiet and delightful Christmas cd to play on a snowy December night in front of a crackling fire and a scented candle with a snifter of cognac. "Donkey Carol" was one of my favorites. But check out "Child in a Manger", it's definately the inspiration for Cat Stevens "Morning is Broken" A beautiful cd worth listening to even after Christmas.

This is the best Christmas album that I have EVER heard. It would not surprise me if it became for you the definitive album of Christmas. It was released in Europe under the title "Christmas from Clare," which is now available only from collectors. Good news though! This IS that classic recording. Buy this one up quick.

In a world where new is better and change occurs at an ever-increasing rate, it seems logical that seasonal music would be included in the rush toward mass marketing and commercial airplay. It is amazing, but not surprising, that "carols" which extol the virtues of an electrically-illuminated ungulant, or which humourously recall the tragic events surrounding the collision of an elderly woman and another ruminating creature of the forest should be featured so prominently in the playlists of the popular culture.

Tired as I am of such artistic efforts, Rutter's efforts in leading the Clare College Choir and Orchestra on this collection come at the right time and to the right place. This is true and beautiful music of the season: it is performed well and interpreted with Rutter's master's touch. For those of us whose tastes run to the traditional, this is welcome stuff indeed.

As many have mentioned here, this is a simply beautiful cd. The selections are some you may not have heard before, but they rapidly become old familiar favorites. Everything is perfect, from the blissful arrangements to the choir's and orchestra's soothing timbres to the enveloping emotion the performances convey. The flow of the first five tracks just completely sucks you in - Up! Good Christian Folk and Listen, Gabriel's Message, Donkey Carol, and Wexford Carol are wonderful back to back. Mary's Lullaby is, as others have described this disc, abosolutely Heavenly. I, as well, am thankful to the other reviewers whose words encouraged me to give this disc a chance. It is undoubtedly a holiday favorite I listen to repeatedly; often, I even go right back to the beginning and play it again. I'll definitely be looking for more similar discs this year to round out my collection.

The Holly and the Ivy is one of two absolutely must-have Christmas CDs from Clare College. This is a traditional English choir with adult male and female voices, trained in the utmost clarity and sweetness of voice that is rarely found elsewhere in the singing world. Clare College Choir is coupled with a most delightful orchestral score that seamlessly melds voices and orchestra into something surprisingly merry, uplifting, and completely satisfying. There are both familiar and lesser known carols here, and every single one is a joy.