Customer Reviews

Renaissance Holiday

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay, there's been some debate in these reviews about whether or not this is a Mannheim CD. It is a collection of works performed by various artists (some of whom have worked with Mannheim Steamroller.) Chip Davis, who is the creator of Mannheim Steamroller, assembled this collection and put it all on this one CD. Contrary to what some people are saying here, I wouldn't consider Chip Davis to BE Mannheim Steamroller. He's the creator, and the composer of their works, but he is merely one of several performers. For this to really be a Mannheim Steamroller album, you would need to have Chip, Jackson Berkey, Arnie Roth, Ron Cooley, Roxanne Layton, etc, etc all performing together. And the arrangements would all have to be done by Chip.

Okay, technicalities aside... There is some good music here, and none of it is duplicated from previous Mannheim CDs as one reviewer said. They all have a Renaissance flair, so some of the arrangements may sound like ones that were done before, but these are definitely different enough to be called new. If you enjoyed the Renaissance bits from the Mannheim albums, you will enjoy this album. On the other hand, if you prefer the electronic, synthesizer stuff from the Mannheim albums, you may be disappointed. Overall, I'd say this is a worthy edition to the Steamroller albums, even if it isn't technically a Steamroller album itself.

Chip Davis, the arranger-conductor of Renaissance Holiday, IS Mannheim Steamroller. This particular album brings together Davis, his New Age synthesizers and various instrumental and percussive groups, with the great London Symphony Orchestra. With Renaissance Holiday, Davis surpasses the Mannheim Steamroller. This is Davis' most ambitious work in the area of seasonal music and a magnificent, glorious work of Christmas beauty.

Beautiful. This is wonderful, creative, medieval Christmas music - you name it, this CD has it. It's by Chip Davis, not Mannheim Steamroller, as some people assume. But don't be put off by that. Only Mannheim's 2nd CD can outdo this one by Chip Davis, who IS Mannheim Steamroller, by the way. I find that most folks - even those of fairly mainstream taste - find this type of stuff compelling and worthy of buying.

This wonderful CD is collection of Renaissance Christmas tunes which all date from the fourteenth (well, 1592 anyway) through to the seventeenth century. Though compiled by Chip Davis of Mannheim Steamroller fame, these tunes are all performed by world-class musical groups, including the London Symphony Orchestra Strings, the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass, the Chicago-based Asbury Brass Quintet, the Chicago Chamber Musicians Brass Quintet, and the Musica Anima Renaissance Consort. I found the tunes to be quite enjoyable to listen to any time of the year; they are masterfully done, and I found the sound quality to be quite good.

I enjoyed and enjoy this CD, and highly recommend it to you!

Six Praetorius pieces, Hieronymus and Michael, make this CD worth much more than the price: they bring beauy to the ears and heart, especially M. Praetorius's opening track "Volte" by the Pittsburg Symphony Brass. Others are equally beautiful and played by such artists and organizations as the London Symphony Strings, Asbury Brass Quintet, Chicago Chamber Musicians Brass Quintet, and the Musica Anima Renaissance Consort. Here is a CD presented by Chip Davis that proves its value in its ability to be heard far beyond the December holiday season. Buy it now and enjoy it all year!

I love my Renaissance Holiday CD. I have several CDs by Chip Davis. This is a good addition. Don't know how I missed it years ago. Thank you for the reasonably priced and speedy service.

Boy, are there reviewers of this who don't know what they're talking about. The compositions here are not Davis', but the likes of Praetorius, Franck, et al.

This is good stuff if you like the sounds of this period of music, which I do. I can't take a steady diet of it, but every now and then, and especially at the holidays, this is good CD's to spin.

This album is a wonderful collection of classical Christmas music performed by American Gramaphone artists and others who have previously collaborated with AG. I enjoy listening to it at work, and it's great as the background to a holiday party.

Before there was Mannheim Steamroller, there was Chip Davis, a composer/arranger in his own right. Here he has teamed up with the LSO, and the result, while different from Steamroller arrangements, is quite nice. I like Renaissance and "ancient" music, and found much of this CD to be very pleasing. There are a few melodies I've never liked, no matter who played them, so I skip over said melodies and go to the next. I've been known to play this CD in my car whether it's Christmas or not.

This collection of medieval pieces captures the spirit of what one imagines that Christmas feels like: It is GLORIOUS!!

I have owned this cd for 10 years and wanted to buy copies for friends...I had no idea that it is now a small fortune to find such a treasure.

If you can find it, buy it!!