Mason

I LOVE this CD! Rutter's own music and his arrangements of the music of others and of ancient carols, as sung by the Cambridge Choir, is uplifting and joy-full.
The perfect accompaniment to the season.
Highly recommended.

I cannot add much to what other reviewers (who gave 5 stars) have already said, except I agree with them. Oh, I can add that this album has the best rendition of "Angel's Carol" I have every heard. You can actually hear the various choral sections (including basses) singing their solo parts. Since I sing the bass part, I "auditioned" several other choral versions of "Angel's Carol" but I found their recordings sounded "muddy". Very difficult to distinguish the Altos from the Tenors, etc. Not so with this album and the Cambridge Singers have recorded a first class album of John Rutter's Christmas music. Fantastic!

Christmas has come a bit early to my little apartment. Tonight I purchased The John Rutter Christmas Album. I'm listening to it on my laptop right now...

How amazing, delicate and worshipful this music is. Exquisite voices, perfectly balanced and harmonized by Rutter's arrangements.

There are so many favorites on this album. One delight is the Donkey Carol. It is written in an unever 5/8 time, so you have the feeling of being carried on a clumsy donkey!

Another is I Saw Three Ships. Very light and happy, with a key change that is like the opening of a flower. How Rutter does it, I can only marvel. "And he did whistle, and she did sing on Christmas Day in the morning!"

This is a perfect album to get you in the mood for Christmas. Light a few candles, turn down the lights, and put on this collection of music. There are 23 tracks, so you get a very good value. (Many of these have been published on earlier albums.)

However wonderful, these are not new recordings, but a compilation of old ones from various CDs, so that if you have recordings of Rutter's carols, you might want to compare titles and dates of issue before you order this one. This should have been made clear in Rutter's own editorial note.

excellent! Inever heard a Rutter that I didn't like. This cd reinforces my enjoyment of his music.

This CD, is fabulous. I have seen The Philadelphia Orchestra perform, and the CD is as good as they are in person!

This music represents what Christmas joy is all about,the thrill of old favorites presented in top quality form. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I have always preferred classical Christmas music as opposed to something like Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" and the 10,000 versions of "Silver Bells" so this album really fit the bill. Great pick if you prefer classical music to pop Xmas songs.

Since I am a musician and director of music also, I really get into the listening of music. Christmas music is my favorite next to religious choral pieces we do in my church. This particular CD ranks quite high on my list because of the fullness of the music and the selection of pieces. The use of dynamics is quite effective as well. It really puts me into the spirit of Christmas and in particular, the reason for Christmas, the birth of Christ. Enjoy!!

This wonderful CD has everything to celebrate the great joy of the Christmas season. Recorded in the early 1970's it still sounds as fresh and timeless as it did way back then.
The orchestrations are majestic and imaginative without being mushy or too symphonic in structure.The addition of the chorus in most of the carols is an added bonus. The singers and orchestra blend wonderfully without either dominating the other too much. The programme of selected songs is excellent and with some lovely orchestra only tracks the CD is not tiring to listen to creating a well balanced programme.
Maestro Eugene Ormandy conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra with great zeal and a passion for the music that is felt by the listener.The chorus master is the very talented Robert Page and the carols are arranged and orchestrated by the great Arthur Harris.
The sound quality is excellent and the CD has been beautifully remastered without any loss of crispness or dynamics.The stereo balance and instrument placement sound superb with the singers centre stage.
This is a remarkably good CD from the RCA Gold Seal range and is a must for lovers of really good seasonal music played with love and passion for the joys of the Christmas season.
Thank you for taking the trouble to read my review and I wish one and all much enjoyment from this lovely CD.

Happy listening!

Great songs, fabulous voice, I love this man! I was so happy to see that he finally had a new CD out; it's been way too long. It always puts me in a good mood just listening to it.

After hearing the new and long anticipated CD from Dave Mason (it has been 18 years since his last release), it was definitely worth the wait. The new CD is vintage Dave Mason. Age has not slowed him down one iota. He still plays with passion and his voice is as strong as ever. I would definitely recommend this CD to anyone who likes Dave Mason, or is simply a music lover. It's a fantastic listen.

I really really enjoy this CD. It's been awhile since Dave Mason has put out anything new but this CD was worth the wait.

I am as likely to do either, before I hear a better singer/songwriter than Dave Mason. This new release is a welcome return to the studio by this Hall of Famer and master of the blues/rock romantic ballad. The songs and arrangements are fresh, edgy and contemporary, but they stay anchored to Mason's signature style. Excellent new band members, but also a great thrill to see Gerald Johnson and Mike Finnigan on the credits again. (Great scream, Mike; took me back to the Dave Mason and Certified Live albums!)

The appeal of Dave's work, and this album specifically, continues to cross generations. My 24 yr old daughter loved the new work, so you can feel free to pass it on to a blues/rock fan of any age!

Dave's voice and guitar work continue to set him apart from oceans of mundane "pop" artists in the business. His vocal range is broad, and his tone continues to richen, never losing that "growl" that works so well when he needs it. And his guitar...what can I say. (I still wish he would release a full-on Blues album, but that's another story...)

I loved this album. and I hope we don't have to wait quite as long for the next release of new material. Feels like you never left...

Saw Dave Mason in concert (2nd time in 30 years)a couple of months ago. The concert was so good I had to buy his newest release. Vocals are still strong (most of the guys his age have lost their voice---ask CSNY)and his guitar work is super! Mostly a bluesy album, with a couple of tongue in cheek numbers, overall a strong effort!

This is the most satisfying Christmas CD I've found, and its a fraction of the cost of any others I've bought! Nothing but children (and an ocassional adult) singing traditional carols with piano. I am a sap, but I cried the first time I listened to it! Enjoy!

Very dreary song selection. I was hopinig for something more upbeat for my child. The entire middle of the cd is somber and contains adult singers... not very good ones either. The songs actually sung by children are accompanied by a single pianist. It very much sounds like an elementary school choir recital... not something worth paying money for. This was not a "deal"... but, a waste of money.

This CD had a very nice selection of children's Christmas songs. They were easy to learn and sing and the price made it an excellent buy.

I bought this CD as I figured I couldn't go far wrong for this price. I am EXTREMELY pleased with the CD. I would say it's one of the best Christmas CDs I own, and especially perfect for children. It features children singing---TALENTED children that sing on-key and seriously. However, when a song warrants it, adults do much of the singing, such as in O Holy Night, which I just can't picture being done by kids! This CD also takes a unique spin on Christmas carols that have 2 tunes, such as Away in a Manger and O Little Town of Bethlehem---it does a verse in each tune! I loved that! The songs included are the ones you would probably really want your children to hear and learn---the only one I wasn't sure I loved was Jolly Old St. Nicholas, and even that was very nicely done. The songs had enough emotion that my 3 year old didn't want to hear We Three Kings---as it sounds sad! I would certainly say this CD is worth the money---with 25 tracks, it's more than worth the money!

Finally! A CD for children and adults that you can actually understand what they are saying! The children can learn the words to the songs very quickly even our 2 year old. Great music, overall just perfect.

I bought this CD to hear more of Jacqueline Schwab. Everything she plays is gold. Aside from Ms Schwab, Ashokan Farewell is more than beautful..a true throwback of over a hundred years. I was stunned to learn it was not original 19th C music. Aside from the eight pieces J Schwab plays on or in, there are many other fine musical jewels, all paying a tribute to this terrible time in U.S. history.

The CD was fantastic. I have wished for it a long time and finally was able to find it. A wonderful listening experience and a masterpiece of composition. Recommend Burns Civil War to anyone with appreciation of Americana at its best. Thanks to Amazon for making it available.

What wonderful music. It will take you back to that wonderful series on the Civil War. The Ashokan Farewell has got to be one of the most beautiful and touching songs I have ever heard. When I hear this exquisite music in the background while the letter of Sullivan Ballou is read...it just tears me apart.

Ashokan Farewell has been a hit in the UK, especially on the radio station I listen to during the day. I remembered the tune, and with the help of your search system found and purchased the music. I do remember the TV production, which in itself was superb, and the very atmospheric music helped it to be, in my view, a classic. Next will be the DVD.
cheers,
TERRY.

this soundtrack cd is really good,it evokes a lot of feeling too.Now,here's a surprise the piece of music titled ''Marching through Georgia'' is actually used in scotland uk as a secterian song/music,just shows how the one piece of music can be used for different things.The civil war tv series was excellent too.

I gave this to my husband as a Christmas gift and we both love it!

This is a good album. Listen to it on his myspace if you don/t believe me. I wish more people listened to this so I would have heard it sooner than I did. ENOUGH SAID.

How does Mason Jennings do it? More specifically how does he deliver album after album of catchy, introspective, emotionally lived in folk songs that make you want to sing along even as they evoke strong emotions without ever resorting to cheap sentimentality? The answer is that he is a superbly gifted singer/songwriter who has been flying under the radar ever since his self titled debut album over a decade ago.

On his latest release, Mason once again delivers the goods. The songs are melodic and simple and can get stuck in your head for days. Lyrically, Jennings touches on themes he has visited before, love, faith, spiritual yearning and the need for human connection. He even tosses in some humor this time around with "Your New Man", a song in which he ponders how to win his ex back from her new love interest.

While this album is not as strong as his last two efforts, "Use Your Voice" and "Boneclouds", it is nevertheless an essential addition to his catalog. Jack Johnson may be surfing the wave of mainstream popularity these days, but it's Mason Jennings who, despite living in his shadow, is building a lasting and meaningful collection of popular music that will stand the test of time.

Hemingway once said, "...a writer needs to go out, beyond where anyone can reach him..." (Nobel prize acceptance speech) Meaning, take some chances to make art that is important and original. Mason has done that here.

If a casual fan of MJ, this one is safe to buy. If new to him, buy it, then go back to Use Your Voice and his self-titled debut. Diehards will be delighted with, In the Ever. It has the staple sing-alongs, but then ventures off into new territory; not as clean as Boneclouds which is a good thing. It's Use your Voice with more life under its belt.

Wow. Another great addition to the Mason Jennings catalog. It's hard to compare 'In The Ever' to Mason's previous albums, just that it has its own brand of super-dooperness. Like his other albums, however, it takes a few listens to truly appreciate the subtleties, most notably Jennings' fantastic songwriting. He continues to write clever, thoughtful and succinct lyrics, and is not afraid to take risks and experiment with new styles. Mason Jennings is a rare gift to today's music.

Arrived in great condition and got it at a fraction of the cost. I have played it over and over and over and it sounds just like new each time.

If you enjoyed the movie, now enjoy the music. Great complilation of songs from the motion picture soundtrack. A worthy add to anyone who enjoyed the movie as well as good music.

The CD was delivered timely. The sound quality is excellent. Sounds as though I'm in the theatre watching the movie.

As stated,the CD was in excellent condition and the shipping was expediate. Very Satisfied!

Jennifer Hudson's booming voice makes it worth the price of the CD. If you saw the movie listening to the CD is almost like reliving the movie.

This was a gift to my daughter. She asked for it and now that she has it she loves it.

The old expression 'gilding the lily' has never been more appropo than in this instance. If you love William's fantastic piece, the immortal "Classical Gas", look elsewhere. It's not that Chip Davis & co do a bad version; it's simply that they overwhelm the rich guitar, drowning it in unneccessary musical fripperies. If you like overbearing horns with your music, this is the version for you. Otherwise, look elsewhere--ideally Mason William's own 'Phonograph Album', which contains the original "Classical Gas".

it was great alum/cd. Really liked most of the songs.
Classical gas was good, but look for different verison of the song.

I bought this album for "Classical Gas". 1967 the TV show Smothers Brothers was on, Manson Williams was writing for the show, and having been away from his guitar for awhile, he "fueled up", the result was this Masterpiece. If you have never heard it, this is a must. When we heard him play it on the Smothers Brothers, we were stunned! This is a "must" no matter what type of music you are into, I would elevate it to the level of the Brandenburg concerto. This is guitar, you may have heard Flamenco guitar, or any other guitar, but this guitar piece stands alone, classic.

This rendition of this "classic" with Mannheim Steamroller is well done. However, most of the other songs are more Mannheim than Mason Williams. Since I like both, this is not a problem for me, but I wish there had been a little more classical guitar in it.

The Best Carols in the World...Ever! is not the only CD needed to build an excellent Christmas carol collection, but it is definitely a key ingredient. My CD shelves are arranged left-to-right in roughly descending order of enjoyment. The Best Carols in the World...Ever! sits on the far left, accompanied by Noel: Christmas at King's, A Traditional Christmas Carol Collection, and Christmas with the Academy.

The album is interesting just for the breadth of carols on it: "Gaudete," "A Virgin Unspotted," "Masters in This Hall," and "Methinks I See an Heav'nly Host" are included along with more standard offerings like "In the Bleak Midwinter" and "Once in Royal David's City." And the breadth of carols is highlighted by excellent performances and high-quality recording.

The artists include Mediaeval Baebes, Choir Of King's College Cambridge, and Taverner Choir. These are excellent performers with solid material. And the recording quality is a bonus: I've more than one excellent Christmas album blemished with tape artifacts and other technical flaws. It can be frustrating to hear a gorgeous piece of music touched with a fault that's not from either the music or the performance. This CD is generally free from those flaws.

Really, there is no glaring fault on this album. I can't call it perfect:that would infer no other albums are necessary. But it's really a very excellent recording, at an extremely attractive price. It is an integral piece of my Christmas music collection.

If you love Christmas carols, you will find this to be a real treasure trove. This double-CD is compiled from various Christmas albums recorded by English choirs. Between them, they seem to have included every famous carol and a lot of obscure ones.

The seven choirs are the choir of King's college (Cambridge), the Bach Choir (London), the Clare College singers (Cambridge), the Temple Church choir (London), the Taverners choir, the Midiaevel Baebes and the Huddersfield choral society. A brief history of each is included in the liner notes.

Some of these carols are world famous including Hark the herald angels sing, The first noel, O little town of Bethlehem, Away in a manger, Silent night, Joy to the world, We three kings and O come all ye faithful.

Some others are famous in Britain but (judged on what I've seen of American Christmas albums) are not especially well known in America. These include While shepherds watched, Once in Royal David's city, In the bleak midwinter and The holly and the ivy. I have come across American covers of these songs - but not often.

There are yet other songs which are obscure even to me, but it's great to have them all in one collection. At the import price, it might look expensive, but what would you have to spend to get all these Christmas carols any other way?

If you enjoy Christmas carols, I doubt if you'll find a better collection anywhere, although a modified version of this compilation (Best Christmas Carols...Ever is also available with a different sequence and some different tracks. Really, there's not much to choose between them in quality, so compare the prices and availability and select accordingly.

This two cd offering has almost all my favorites.the classics, not the Rudolph ones. Can't recommend enough.Listen and read Dickens...That's enough Christmas for anyone.

This album provides 2.5 hours of excellent carols, from excellent choirs and soloists, and with great sound. I was worried that a compilation this large, and with such an extravagent title, would be B-side offerings, but that's not the case at all.

This isn't an album if you are looking for something "fresh and new." The arrangements are traditional, and even newer carols are done in a fairly conservative style. But that said, some of the pieces provide the best orchestration and voice arrangement I have ever heard. This is like the pinnacle of the classic English Christmas carol; clean, precise, glorious and celebratory.

This album contains traditional carols performed in a traditional way at the best quality. It is an excellent album to ensure the spirit of christmas is present and to bring the true meaning of christmas back. The double CD selection has all the golden favourites as well as not so wellknown carols to complete a very good christmas album. Merry Christmas to you all!

This Gardiner is a fine human recording but the Richter with Wunderlich Janowitz Ludwig Crass is divine.

Serious voice students will study the techniques of all four of Richter's soloists forever.

One other reviewer said their voices were right for opera theatres not Bach's churches. What nonsense. Of the four only Crass sang big heavy roles. The others are lyric singers. FW, GJ, and CL were all famous lieder singers and FW left records of obscure early religious music accompanied by local church organs. All three were totally at home in small settings. FC does a nice job of restraining his size, considering the part lies mostly at the top of his range.

The whole argument about what kind of singers Bach was writing for is wrong-headed because unlike say Mozart or Wagner, Bach wasn't thinking much about how the performers felt. He wrote as if for keyboard. What he requires IMHO is more of the astonishing consistancy of vocal color and volume which Richter's soloists maintain over long phrases, and less of the undersing-up-to-just-before-the-climax-and-then-crecendo-rapidly strategy one hears so often today. Overtargetting. It's cheating.

MONTEVERDI CHOIR AND THE ENGLISH BAROQUE SOLOISTS THE 'STARS' OF THIS RECORDING!!!!!
Johann Sebastion Bach (1685-1750) wrote very little church music after 1730, so it is not surprising that when he produced for Christmas, 1734, an 'oratorio' in six parts he adapted much of it from earlier compositions, mostly from secular odes. Recitatives and chorale settings were, of course, new, but otherwise all but one of the arias and nearly all of the choruses were 'parodies'. The six cantatas of the 'Christmas Oratorio' are designed to be performed on separate days from Christmas to Epiphany, but it does not necessarily follow that they are unconnected. Bach must have composed the work continuously, and there are many, sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle connections between the separate parts. The 'Christmas Oratorio' was virtually the last of Bach's major contributions to the music of the church, later works being almost exclusively either parodies or versions of cantatas written in former time.

Gardiner employed a large choir in this 1987 recording: 9 sopranos, 5 altos to which he added Michael Chance making it six; Chance was not a regular member of the Choir at this time, but Gardiner frequently added him for additional strength in the alto part and he was needed just based upon the other voice parts, 7 tenors and 5 basses. The choir iw truly outstanding in this recording: they are powerful, display unusually clear diction, especially considering the superfast tempos in some of the choruses. At no time are the words lost to the listener. The tone quality is appropriate for this music, especially the chorales where everything is exposed. Gardiner also managed to achieve excellent balance as per usual.

I was very impressed with the English Baroque Soloist; they had a 'bright' sound, clean articulation and did a great job of matching the emotional investment of the choir.

As for the soloists (and this is one reason I didn't give 5 stars); they were adequate, but not exciting, skilled but not inspiring. They are: Nancy Argenta (soprano)-von Otter (alto). Blochwitz (tenor) and O. Bar (bass). In all fairness I kept comparing them to the 1989 recording by Collegium Vocale, with Herreweghe, for his soloists were outstanding: B. Schlick (soprano) M. Chance (alto) H. Crook (tenor) and Peter Kooey (bass). A pity I cannot combine Herreweghe's soloists with the Monteverdi Choir!!!!Well, it's all a matter of what you like, so do whatever your ear leads you to.

This disc is a bit of an oddity. I can give it a perfectly sincere recommendation, but I think I had better explain myself carefully, and explain exactly what I am recommending.

The spirit of the selection is much what you would expect in a disc entitled `Christmas Treats from JSB' or `Immortal Melodies from The Christmas Oratorio' or something of that sort. Bach's Christmas Oratorio is not an oratorio in the Handelian sense. In the 1720's Bach faithfully turned out a cantata for each Sunday and major feast, but in one particular year he elected to reprocess some of his older music, most of it secular originally, and string the numbers together for the entire festive season under the overall title of `Christmas Oratorio'. Borrowing, adaptation and recomposition of earlier music, sometimes one's own sometimes someone else's, was a standard practice at the time. Nobody saw anything wrong with it, and to this day neither do I. Neither Bach nor Handel can exactly be taxed with lack of original output in astonishing quantities, and it is not as if the recycling of the material was not quite a major task in its own right. The Christmas Oratorio is commonly viewed as a lesser work than the B minor Mass or the St Matthew Passion, and while I probably go along with that view to a certain extent, I don't do so for the reasons I usually see argued. The secular origin of the music is neither here nor there in my opinion - all Bach's music is explicitly written for the greater glory of God. Also, when I see this work compared to its disadvantage with the B minor Mass on grounds of recycling, I have to recall that the B minor Mass itself is made up of recycled material practically from start to finish.

To anyone who does not know the Christmas Oratorio and who may have been put off by any of this foolishness, my own advice is simply to ignore the whole fuss. What you will find in it is a set of Bach cantatas produced to the same astounding standard of inspiration, consistency and workmanship that you will find in any of the others. What makes this disc a one-off is first that everyone has taken advantage of the single series-title to pretend that the Christmas Oratorio is a single work like Messiah or the St Matthew Passion and extract a selection of goodies from it to make a single disc's-worth, leaving out the more workaday and `business' elements, notably recitatives. The engaging oddity to go along with this demotic proceeding is that the style is uncompromisingly severe, almost as if we were dealing with Bach's motets.

Nineteen numbers - solos (plus one with an echo-effect), a duet, a sinfonia and choruses both traditional and composed either wholly or over traditional material by Bach - have been selected. The four standard types of vocal soloist have been given work, and it is probably not a coincidence that there is no counter-tenor in a production like this. 20 years ago the `authentic' movement was starting to relax a little, but the instruments used here are uncompromisingly authentic, and so is the penchant for brisk speeds. By now I am so inured with this way of doing things that I adapt to it naturally, but readers of this notice should perhaps take warning from comments by other reviewers who are not so reconciled to the idiom. For me, the quickstep approach (even in 3-time as in the first two numbers) enhances the sublime sense of a march in Bach's wonderful polyphony, but I'm not you. One thing that ought to be a bonus for any listener is the quality of some of the instrumental work at this pace. I looked to see in particular who was the trumpeter - yes, you've guessed: Crispian Steele Perkins of course.

Given the slight sense of facing in two directions, I can report that the quality of the work is exemplary. All the four main vocal soloists distinguish themselves, and it was a particular pleasure to hear Anne Sophie von Otter so early in her career, especially as she is given the loveliest and tenderest number of all, Schlafe, mein Liebster, surely something to win over the doughtiest opponent of this school of interpretation. I shall also highlight the tenor Hans Peter Blochwitz for the ease with which he overcomes the formidable technical demands of his first two arias - the coloratura of his first test in particular is blatantly instrumental in inspiration, in a way that Handel's, however florid and rapid, just never is.

This issue is obviously not part of Gardiner's recent `pilgrimage' series offering all the cantatas. The 1987 recording is not as beautiful as he is given in the recent sets, but it is perfectly adequate. The liner-note gives the texts with translation, and that is all one basically needs, although some comment on the music itself would have been welcome, as not everyone is familiar with its genesis. There is nothing about the singers either, but there is a picture of Gardiner J E P as he looked 20 years ago, if not more. Also looking out at us in the familiar study is the composer himself. How often, I wonder, have I looked uncomprehendingly at that face and tried to infer from it what are specifically the features of a man possessed of an infinite musical talent. I shall never work that one out, but at least he knew not to hide the talent from us and I can be well satisfied with that.

The Monteverdi Choir delivers, as it usually does, in the big choral numbers. The soloists are all top-notch ("Bereitet dich Zion" so well executed). Always a pleasure to come back to again and again.

Once again I have purchased a Gardiner disk based on his reputation only, and have been completely satisfied. I love Bach and I enjoy Gardiner's interpretations, so how could I go wrong. The choir and orchestra maintain the energy and intensity throughout the entire recording. I was particularly impressed with mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie von Otter and soprano Nancy Argenta. Both are favourites of Gardiner (see his recordings of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and B minor Mass) and are fast becoming favourites of mine.
Some reviews have trashed Gardiners expression and tempo, but I think the spirit of Bach is captured beautifully with this recording.