Customer Reviews

Traditional & Modern Carols

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This is a wonderful Christmas CD, especially for folks who like melodic singing that comes with songs that are not on the well beaten track. The Shaker and shape-note carols are especially invigorating. The price indicates this is a gem that hasn't been discovered. That is too bad for many traditional music lovers.

Paul Hillier, having lived in the U.S. for several years, developed a love for early American music, which shows in his release of the 2-volume "Early American Choral Music." This love continues in "Traditional and Modern Carols," a Christmas CD which includes several early American spirituals, as well as English songs from other eras and locales. Some of the American spirituals Hillier includes are several Shaker songs, such as the first track, "This is Jesus' Birthday," as well as "Babe of Bethlehem," and "Hail the Memorable Morn." These songs will show you why the Shakers are unjustly neglected for their contribution to American music (which includes "The Gift to be Simple" by the way). We get to hear some lovely renaissance songs as well, such as the 16th-century consort song, "Swete was the song the Virgin sang"; the beautiful 15th-century carol "Ecce, quod natur"; the immemorial "Coventry Carol"; and the beautiful French/English song "Nowell, Nowell". "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" and a version of the Wassail ("Kentucky Wassail") are justly included as well. The Indiana University Children's Chamber Choir are a pleasure to listen to, and Paul Hillier brings out the artistry in the performers and the music as always. "Traditional and Modern Carols" is a great CD for fans of Chirstmas music who are looking for something a bit different.

Paul Hillier masterfully directs a great choir with beautiful arrangements of some very old and some more traditional Christmas music. If you're a fan of Hillier and his Theatre of Voices, be forewarned: this is a repackage of the CD "Carols from the Old & New Worlds II", which was released about 10 years ago. It is a great CD, but I'm frustrated that Hillier has done this with a number of his albums instead of releasing new ones.