The Mystery of Christmas

Carl Thiel (Composer), Harold Darke (Composer), Healey Willan (Composer), Franz Xaver Gruber (Composer), Arthur Honegger (Composer), Francis Poulenc (Composer), Elizabeth Poston (Composer), John Rutter (Composer), Noel Edison (Conductor), Elora Festival Singers (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Elora Festival Singers
• Conductor: Noel Edison
• Composer: Carl Thiel, Harold Darke, Healey Willan, Franz Xaver Gruber, Arthur Honegger, et al.
• Audio CD (September 8, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B0000014GZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,937 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very lovely Christmas disc, August 28, 2000

By 

Patrick A Daley (Fredericton, New Brunswick) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mystery of Christmas (Audio CD)

According to the notes, the Elora Festival Singers is a professional chamber choir founded in 1980 by their director, Noel Edison. The name comes from a musical festival given every summer in Elora, Ontario. They have performed on the Canadian Broadcasting System, and given concerts in Eastern Canada and the United States. They are now the professional core group of the famous Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

They are a very competent choir, singing everything on this disc with ease and beauty. Most of the carols are pretty well known, and include some from Canada, England, France, Holland and Poland. There are the 'Huron Carol,' 'O Come All Ye Faithful,' 'Harold Darke's 'In the Bleak Mid Winter," "Ding Dong Merrily on High,' 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing,' and some less common ones. The less usual items include Honegger's 'Laudate Dominum' and Poulenc's 'Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël,' which are performed very simply and effectively.

The Elora Festival Singers is not apparently a very large group, but the reverberant recording makes them sound larger. Their excellent diction is not obscured, and the sound is very smooth.

The organ accompaniment by Michael Bloss are very effective, and include some room filling bass, although it is not super low.

The music ranges from the more peaceful and meditative to the more dramatic, and the choir conveys the varying moods of the music. The recording is quite lovely.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Christmas album ever, December 26, 2006

By 

Global Mom (Paoli, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mystery of Christmas (Audio CD)

I found this album quite by accident in a college bookstore in a small town outside of Toronto. We played it (June!) on our way to Northern Ontario, gasped at its beauty, read the liner notes, and discovered that we were actually passing by Elora! On our return trip, we stopped in at Elora and learned more about the singers and the festival. This album is so remarkable in its clarity, sensitivity, and variety, that it ranks as my all-time favorite Christmas album. The family members and friends to whom I have since given this CD share my enthusiasm for this magical Christmas tour.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfectly delightful Christmas recording, September 20, 2007

By 

Richard A. Hendry (New Wilmington, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mystery of Christmas (Audio CD)

In my search for a Christmas CD that would be suitable for a gift, I came across this recording. After reading the previous reviews and listening to the excepts of the 20 provided tracks, I decided that this would be the recording. My CDs arrived today and I can say that I was not disappointed. This is one of the most beautiful Christmas CDs that I have heard. The Elora Festival Singers under the direction of Noel Edison and with organ accompaniment by Michael Bloss have put together a compilation of hymns and carols that cover the range of the familiar to the less known. If you purchase this CD it should be one of your favorites for many years.