The Joy of Christmas
Product Description
No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: BERNSTEIN,LEONARD
Title: JOY OF CHRISTMAS
Street Release Date: 09/16/1997
… More >>
Product Description
No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: BERNSTEIN,LEONARD
Title: JOY OF CHRISTMAS
Street Release Date: 09/16/1997
… More >>
I ordered two copies of this CD, one for me and one for my daughter. It will not play on my CD player, a Technics model. We have never had anything like this happen before. My spouse took the CD to a neighbor’s home and was able to play it on his player. On the strength of that, I gave my daughter her copy. I have no idea whether she has tried to play it or not. My guess is that she won’t until next Christmas. She is overworked and that won’t be a high priority. In case you are wondering, our CD player continues to work well, playing all our other CDs.
Rating: 1 / 5
There’s no denying the strengths and abilities of the people involved (Bernstein, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the NY Philharmonic), and I can’t really fault the presentation either . . . . It’s their whole approach to the material that I have a problem with. Now, I don’t mind a little bombast in my Christmas music (the Robert Shaw Chorale’s “Festival Of Carols” is one of my favorites, and the arrangements on that album are quite big), but in the case of “The Joy Of Christmas” the whole thing is so in-your-face that I want to step back from the speakers when I listen to it. This music doesn’t sound very happy or festive, and is lacking in the warmth I associate with Christmastime and Christmas music. I much prefer the more chipper stuff like Percy Faith & His Orchestra or Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops.
Rating: 2 / 5
I think I have already reviewed this item but Amazon has asked me for another. I can not recommend this Christmas album enough. We had it in my family when I was growing up and it was usually the record we chose to play when decorating the tree and opening gifts on Christmas morning. The arrangements are beyond compare. My favorites are the upbeat “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful” and the less popular “Twelfth Night Song”. I have never heard a better rendition of “Once In Royal David’s City”. The music is powerful and compelling and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has never sounded better. I give this CD as a gift often. It seemed as thought it took forever for Columbia to re-issue this on CD – and I hope it remains available for many years to come. You can’t go wrong with this recording. True, the arrangements are more “classical” – so if your taste is for the “pop” or “standard” fare, this may take getting used to – but it is a great addition to any holiday music collection
Rating: 5 / 5
This CD features a gay, Jewish, conductor from liberal Massachusetts and a choir full of Mormons from conservative Utah, and matches them up with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Let us meditate on the words: “New York”: melting pot of the USA and of the world. Of course, this CD will explode into the most exuberant, festive, electric, over-the top, Christmas record to come out of the genre of classical music. It’s loud and bombastic, in a truly American, “bigger-is-better” sort of way. If you want a quiet, reflective, soulful, slightly meloncholy, “European” Christmas CD, then look for Luciano Pavarotti and the Vienna boys choir. If you want something loud, festive, and optomistic (in a very American sort of way) then go with Leonard Bernstein and the Mormons. They really unlock the flavor of Christmas!
Rating: 5 / 5
No more beautiful rendition of the Christmas songs presented on this recording exist, from the rousing trumpet flourishes of O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL, the exotic treatment of PATAPAN, the obscure but lovely LULLAY MY LIKING, ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID’S CITY, and SILENT NIGHT the way it is supposed to be done. Quiet and reverent, not bellowing out like the eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s. A beautiful cd. A must for any collection.
Rating: 5 / 5