Customer Reviews

Noel: Christmas at King's

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes, most of the stuff was originally recorded in the 50's and 60's and it's not going to win prizes for signal to noise ratio. However, if you, like me break out in a sweat hunting for a xmas cd which won't contain some desperate wannabe modernised rehash of carols or a "listen to me aren't I a good tenor/diva and by the way here are some carols?" tracks, then this is your album.

From the moment track one started, with a belting rendition of "Hark the Herald Angels", I had a grin on my face from ear to ear. Warm memories of xmases past flood back, cooking, carols, snow and presents. Yes - dreamily rose-colored, revisionist and traditional it is, but worth every penny in this cynical cyber world.

If you are seeking a CD of traditional Christmas music to help you 1) focus on the true meaning of the holiday and 2)draw near to God, this is it. The choral arrangements are alternately beautiful and powerful, delicate and majestic. There is a rich heritage of European carols which 99% of Americans know nothing of. Broaden your horizons with this disc. You won't regret it.

David Willcocks has produced, without question, the most elegant and dignified collection of Christmas choral music available. This CD is a masterpiece.

It does not get any better. This 2 cd set is outstanding.
As one reviewer notes the second disk has many carols not heard by most people in the USA. I heard them growing up, but most are hard to find on an album.

Christmas is not Christmas without King's College Choir singing carols.

A great collection... :)

Noel---Christmas at King's has become the de facto standard of carols at our house. It really is an excellent collection of Christmas carols. In fact, the only real blemish on this album is that there is discernible noise in some tracks: I had to examine the CD when I first heard them, and realized the recordings on these discs are more than forty years old: they were recorded from 1959 to 1965.

But venerable recording technology and associated sound artifacts aside, this album is a collection of superb renditions of classic Christmas carols.

One strength is the size of the collection: 36 carols on two discs. And as others have pointed out, these carols are an English selection: there are several on these discs I hadn't previously heard in America. Some we have over here too: "Hark! the herald angels sing" or "Ding, dong! merrily on high"; but the vast majority are songs I've only heard on English recordings, like "See amid the winter's snow" and "Joseph was an old man".

And of course, this is King's College Choir: the strength of the actual performance goes without saying. The choir of King's College is renowned for their carols, and with good reason. There are other excellent performers and recordings in this genre, but King's College Choir has maintained their status as the standard for many years.

The two discs contain a wide variety of classical carols, including an amazing rendition of "Hark! the herald angels sing" (with stunning descant in the last verse); "See amid the winter's snow" with precise and beautiful harmonies; a rousing recording of "Rejoice and be merry"; "Unto us is born a son"; a solid performance of "In the bleak midwinter"; and a stirring "Personent hodie".

Noel is a Christmas album: it's compiled from several Anglican services. Like much (by no means all) holiday music I have, it's overtly Christan. If you're looking for something more neutral, there are several excellent holiday music collections; but this one is overtly devout. And frankly, even if you're not looking of the devout persuasion, this album is worth a listen just for the excellent choral music.

Noel---Christmas at King's is one of my "top shelf" Christmas albums. I find myself listening to it throughout the year, enraptured anew by the beauty of the voices on it.

Ever wonder what it's like to be in church on Christmas day?

This recording is Possibly the best Choral recording of it's kind. The sound is exquisite with the extraordinary acoustics of their chapel. I especially enjoy both the organ and the choir together. If you have a quality subwoofer you will especially enjoy this recording due to the lows the organ hits.

The Choir owes its existence to King Henry VI, who envisaged the daily singing of services in his magnificent chapel. 14 choral scholars and two organ scholars, who study a variety of subjects in the College.I have heard several Choral recordings but this one stands out as one of the best. If you are looking for a very traditional choral arrangements for Christmas look no further.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Christmas carols. There is something about them that is so wonderful, yet so difficult to explain. When I saw this CD from one of my favorite choirs, I knew I wanted to check it out. I'm quite glad I did. David Willcocks does a great job conducting the famed choir. The arrangements are all fantastic; quite a few of the carols are heard in arrangements by Willcoks himself - he's a masterful arranger. Possibly the most memorable track on this "Double Decca" set is the last track on the second disc: Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on Christmas Carols". King's College Choir is joined by the LSO (the London Symphony Orchestra, if you're new to Classical music) and baritone Hervey Alan.

There are a couple things the buyer should be aware of, however. First of all, these recordings are quite old. Some of them are from the '50s, I believe. So this is no "DDD" perfect recording. Secondly, this CD is not Kings College Choir's best Christmas album. For that, you will have to get their recording from the early '80s with Stephen Cleobury - O Come All Ye Faithful.

Still, I would recommend this album. Just don't get it expecting fabulous recorded sound or instead of O Come All Ye Faithful.

Superb renditions and unrivalled ambience

Because my extensive CD collection was sadly bereft of any Christmas music I decided to rectify that situation, and this year I purchased the following Christmas CDs:

i) A Classic Christmas
ii) The John Rutter Christmas Album
iii) Nöel - Christmas at Kings
iv) Legends Christmas Collection

If I were to rank this CD amongst those four, I would put it firmly in first position; the clear winner.

Whilst I do note the varied recording quality is a negative issue with some purchasers, for me it is exactly the opposite. How magical to find that on this wonderful CD there are recordings from as far back as 1959! FIFTY YEARS AGO... What joy! What an honour to be able to put these discs in one's player and drift back to an age when the world was on the cusp of modernity, when society still had structure, morals and the social contract was still firmly in place. It is amazing to think that those youngsters who sang so beautifully on these varied recordings and fathers and possible grandfathers, what an amazing thought!

It is rare to find such a slice of history that has stood the test of time so well and remains as appropriate and joyous to the listening audience today as it did half a century back. Surely this CD does, and is a definite must for anyone interested in not only English Christmas Music, but also the wider historical and anthropological reverberations.

This compilation does contain some wonderful arrangements and settings of classic Christmas coral music, including a very impressive production of Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas carols. Exceedingly bothersome was the constant need to manually adjust volume settings between pieces (this CD is a compilation from several other recordings) and more annoyingly, even within a few pieces, particularly on CD 2. One would need to be captive by the volume knob to allow oneself and guests full ability to enjoy this collection.

There are better compilations from the Choir of King's College (one example is "Classic Christmas Carols, published in 2007 by EMI.) I would have given this CD 1 star if the reputation and artistry of the Choir were not so renowned. However, even on this attribute, the compilation is fraught with inconsistency and at times surprisingly variable quality. Again, particularly on CD 2, there are times when the choir's diction falls apart and a few voices stand out aggressively. While CD 1 has fewer of these more obvious problems, I believe there are more inspired representations of almost each of these pieces on other recordings. If this weren't a compilation CD, I would have assumed that this was from a live performance, with a misplaced recording system, tired singers and poor editing and mixing staff.

I am an Anglican and have been spoiled by exposure to beautiful choral music.This is ok and a great value for 2 cds;however,
after listening to Noel and then John Rutter's various offerings-ie-A Christmas Festival-John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers
and Christmas Star-I find them far superior to this one.For wonderful music try John Rutter's cds.Amazon.com has numerous offerings by Rutter and at unbelievably low prices.