Spirit of Christmas: A History of Our Best-Loved Carols (Booknotes) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Lesley Ehlers (Author) "What would Christmas be without our beloved Christmas carols?..." (more)
Key Phrases: herald angels, holy night, Ave Maria, Christmas Eve, The Messiah (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The history of our best-loved carols, including Silent Night; God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen; Ave Maria; and many more. Gorgeously illustrated throughout with Renaissance art. The enclosed high-quality CD has melodious renditions of the carols,with complete lyrics provided to help you sing along.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 57 pages
• Publisher: Peter Pauper Press (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880884142
• ISBN-13: 978-0880884143
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #209,137 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars musical magical inspirations, July 13, 2001

By	Mary (Sunol, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For an accurate history of carols, this is the book to own, January 19, 2005

By	Bill Egan "Christmas Historian" (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

"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.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars History of Carols?? DON'T buy THIS one!, December 8, 2004

By	K. Mahood "musikdok" (Northern Virginia, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.