Customer Reviews

Silent Night: A Christmas in Rome

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

 

 

I bought this last year on the strength the Chieftains' Bells of Dublin -- my favorite Christmas album -- and was intially disappointed as this is a very different project. Much of the music seemed too highbrow for my tastes and some of the different styles clashed. But it grew on me upon repeat listenings and I could hardly wait for Advent 2001 to hear it again. The pieces are uniformly joyous and spiritual in a sense that is lacking in the vast majority of "holiday" music.

Opening with a haunting a capella rendition of Silent Night, and continuing with delightful lilting Celtic tunes, joyful gospel, sacred chant, and grand orchestral pieces, this album is a journey around the globe, singing in a dozen languages and musical traditions. While each track can stand alone, Paddy Moloney's arrangements blend the disparate styles and languages into an operatic telling of the story of Christmas, with a masterful sense of narrative pacing. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or Hanukah, this is an essential recording for the season.

The Chieftains and all the guest performers, orchestra and vocals, combine to make an international holiday for all of us stay-at-homes. I have listened to it over and over, even though Christmas is now history for this year.

Many of the reviews I have read are misleading. This cd features the Chieftains, but they are not dominant on most tracks. This album features many folk carols from around the world. There are songs from Bulgaria, Italy, France, Norway, Ireland, etc. Maire Brennan and Carolos Nunez are two other familiar artists performing. There is a wide variety of music that gives only a glimpse into Christmas music from other parts of the world. A wonderful album for world music enthusiasts.

(Except for Joy to the World, which does not match the wonderful angelic sound of the rest of the album. A Gospel arrangement in the middle of heavenly tone of the rest of the music just does not go!)

HOWEVER, this is not your run of the mill, sappy christmas music. It is one of my very favorite albums.

This is a glorious compilation of music reflecting The Birth story with voices and styles from around the world (the initial idea of the album was discussed one evening in Rome - hence, the title). I have been collecting Christmas music recordings for years - a very eclectic mixture, I must admit, so I'm used to His Birth being played and sung about from many cultural styles; BUT, I'm also picky about the sincerity from which it is recorded, and this album truly seeks the spiritual style of which I am fond (of reflection as well as celebratory). The richness of the arrangements leads me to the Wonderment of The Season regardless of my prior mood. If you buy this with the actual artists and religiosity in mind, I think you will find as I did that this is one of your favorite Christmas albums of all time!

This CD contained a wonderful compilation of Christmas music. Although I did find that it was missing the usual Chieftain foot-stomping flair. It was definately an easy listening type CD. If you like to sing along to your Christmas music, this isn't the CD for you. It wasn't what I expected, but it was a great Christmas album no less.

I bought this CD thinking it looked interesting and a bit different. Well, different it is, interesting it is not.The Vatican Orchestra is so out of tune and full of flaws that is was at times painful to listen to. The accompanying choir is equally bad. Even the Harlem Gospel Choir is not up to par. Maybe it's also a case of bad audio mixing. About the only track I enjoyed was the the Bulgarian Voices-with their unusual and raw vocal sound. In this day of great Christmas recordings, this lags far behind.

I was really hoping for something special in this CD: something different, well-done, and capturing the best of the season. Different was about all I got. Much of the singing was bad, and one soloist had such a grating voice my husband and I couldn't understand the arrangers' choices. I'll try to give it a listen again and get what I can out of it: I have a feeling this may be one of those CDs where I program out half of the songs every time I listen to it. Very disappointing.