Customer Reviews

The Spirit of Christmas: A History of Best-Loved Carols

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

 

 

The book A HISTORY OF BEST-LOVED CAROLS THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS by Virginia Reynolds is beautifully put together as a hard bound book. Just to look at it is inspirational. The pictures are spell binding, the written history of the songs are captivating, so very informative and easy to read. The music lifts you to a higher level. The fonts used in the making of the book makes for such a elegant vision to look at. The CD to listen to, is so spirtual that you feel you are in a gothic cathedral. The music gives you chills of spiritual bliss within. It is a sincere gift of heartfelt angelic magical inspiration.

"The Spirit of Christmas" by Virginia Reynolds, is a well-researched and quite accurate account of the history of Christmas carols

Having done extensive research in Austria on the background of "Silent Night," I can say that this book contains the most accurate story of the carol ever published in the United States - only one small error. Reading through the rest of the carols, it's obvious that the author didn't depend on popular legends and fairytales about the composers and their songs. She obviously did her homework.

The book has beautiful artwork and also comes with a CD of the carols.

I have read the other comments concerning this cd/book combo and just want to say that it makes a perfect gift for someone who simply enjoys listing to these carols during the holidays. Who really knows the whole truth about them anyway? I think the stories behind the songs are condensed for the lay reader yet very informative. We don't need an exhaustive history, just a little info. The accompanying CD has beautiful versions of the carols, which are often hard to find. (A lot of the CD's out around the holidays are cheesy remixes/arrangements.) The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I personally prefer full choir to solos. Big deal.

I've taught and researched music education and the history of music for 35 years. If you want to know about the history and background of Christmas songs, there is ONLY one book I highly recommend: "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas" by Ace Collins; published by Zondervan. The book by Mr. Collins is thorough and coincides with my own research on carols. This book, on the other hand, relies on half told stories and the use of the "Free CD". Hey, I know about all the 4 and 5 star ratings this might have received, but how many of those reviewers have read more than 5 books on the subject and taught music history for over 35 years. You can purchase the great book by Mr. Collins right here at Amazon--as I did. You will not regret it. On the other hand, if you wish to purchase a nice looking gift of a CD with traditional carols and brief paragraphs about the carols (some of which leave out much information), purchase this book. The artwork is attractive: that is the ONLY reason why I rated it two stars instead of one.

Beautiful art and beautiful music complement the stories of the origins of our most beloved traditional Chrismas carols.

I love this collection. Virginia Reynolds and Lesley Ehlers are to be commended on such a beautiful collection. I have no idea what others are looking for, but this collection is fantastic!

My copy of the book and the accompanying CD were mislaid long ago--after everything started to transition to mp3s. I just spent maybe 20 minutes trying to match unnamed audio tracks to this music on iTunes (I had no album name, titles or artists) and finally found it! I remember the book and I loved it. Maybe I'll find the book again someday; I might even repurchase it!

Here is the complete track listing of titles and artists:

1. O Come O Come Emmanuel- Robert Shaw & Robert Shaw Chamber Singers

2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Perry Como

3. Good Christian Men Rejoice - The Robert Shaw Chorale

4. Joy To The World - George Beverly Shea

5. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - The Augustana Choir

6. Hallelujah Chorus - The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Chorus

7. Adeste Fideles - James Galway

8. Silent Night - Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, Conductor, with Chorus

9. Ave Maria - Gladys Night & The Pips

10. The First Noel - Marian Anderson, Contralto

11. O Holy Night - Mario Lanza

12. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Sergio Franchi

13. Angels We Have Heard On High - Gordon Langford & Orchestra

14. What Child Is This (Greensleeves) - The Augustana Choir

15. O Little Town Of Bethlehem - Mario Lanza

16. Away In A Manger - The Vienna Choir Boys

It's just OK. It's REALLY small and doesn't contain much information in it. There are some errors as well. One of them is saying that Handel composed THE MESSIAH. It is not THE Messiah, it's just MESSIAH. I think more research could have been done on a book that small.