52 carols sung by 7 English choirs - brilliant
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 10/27/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Track Listings (52) - Disc #1
