A Little Christmas Music

Richard Hickox (Conductor), City of London Sinfonia (Performer), Kiri Te Kanawa (Performer), The King's Singers (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: City of London Sinfonia, Kiri Te Kanawa, The King's Singers
• Conductor: Richard Hickox
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000002RRF
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,968 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: KING'S SINGERS
Title: LITTLE CHRISTMAS MUSIC
Street Release Date: 09/18/1997
Domestic
Genre: XMAS CLASSICAL VOCAL

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impeccably performed, adds some variety to your collection., December 12, 2000

By 

Paul Martin (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Little Christmas Music (Audio CD)

The King's Singers, a spinoff of the famous choir of Kings College, Cambridge, is a unique ensemble. Technically a close harmony ensemble, the addition of the countertenor gives the group a unique sound. While they are capable of unparalleled beauty, they can't play it straight for too long, and launch into humorous parodies and inventive variations when you least expect it.

Every christmas album draws from a large pool of songs we all expect to hear. The better ones add some variety, which is present here in spades not only in the material but in the arrangements. Unique features of this recording are a number of non-English carols including Gaudete and Riu, riu, chiu, as well as an original variation on Eine Kleine Nachtmusique (hence the album title). The use of dissonance in their arrangement of the Coventry Carol is a bit unsettling to these ears, but does not detract from the album as a whole.

Reviews of Christmas albums often contain the phrase, "If you could only buy one album . . ". Well, if you could only buy one album, this is probably not the one. This is not your father's Christmas CD. On the other hand, some of us appreciate a little variety now and then, and the quality of the singing here is so impeccable that this album is impossible to pass up.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among My Top 10 Christmas Recordings, December 25, 2002

By 

K. B. Martin (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Little Christmas Music (Audio CD)

King's Singers maintains the highest standard for all those who aspire to create spine-tingling a cappella harmony. Somewhat akin to the small number of their peers worldwide, no style seems off limits to their abilities. But certain aspects set the King's Singers apart. Perhaps it is their early and consistent training in the English choral discipline, or the many, years of touring together in one combination or other. Their most remarkable quality is their quintessentially English sound -- the pipe-like tone produced especially in the mid- to upper registers -- that is at once remarkably free of vibrato, but still alive with overtones. If one listens closely to the solo parts, it becomes evident: the sound isn't produced merely by excellent group intervallic intonation, but by individual voices capable of producing overtones. Thus, it's the sound you can't hear that takes your breath away.

Because the recording is so excellent on the whole, one disappointment stands out: I wish that Coventry Carol had been saved for another recording. The dissonances conjure up distressing images at odds with the overall effect they seem to have been trying to accomplish with the recording, and I can certainly imagine that in another context, I might have been interested and emotionally moved, rather than unsettled and annoyed.

In any case, this has remained for years one of my favorite Christmas recordings, and I have to give it 5 stars.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable Harmonies, December 13, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Little Christmas Music (Audio CD)

I love this cd. It is the King's Singers doing what they do best - close harmony with feeling and depth in performance. The only caveat I have with this cd is Patapan and Farandole. It gets a bit rambunctious and I'm not fond of the loud dissonances. It seems of out keeping with the rest of the cd, but just program your cd player to skip it. This is one wonderful Christmas cd.