CD-Charts Position 1
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Vaughan Williams: Fantasia On Christmas Carols, Hodie

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: British Composers

Release Date October 02, 2000
I bought this a couple of years ago and return to it regularly - a sure sign of a good recording. I like the music of Vaughan Williams and this is a good example of his music. The Fantasia was a big surprise - its a lovely setting of some well known carols. John Barrow has a superb baritone voice. The Hodie takes a little more getting into but it is worth the effort. Both choirs and orchestra have good sounds. At this price you can't go wrong!

CD-Charts Position 2
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One Chance - Christmas Edition

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: Paul Potts

Release Date November 26, 2007
Isn't it amazing what TV and a whole bucket load of hype can do.
This guy would not get a part in an amateur production of Gilbert & Sullivan!Of course it's all a question of "the kings new clothes",if we criticise him we don't have a heart/cannot hear how well he sings, or just don't appreciate talent.(Where is it?)
Well, Mr Potts sings off key(often)and when he finds the key he continues by singing flat.
Make the best of it Mr Potts because the fickle world of "popular" music will soon tire of you,and when they do they will tear you to pieces, as they discover the fabrication that has been passed off as talent.
Talent cannot be invented,as has Paul Potts,it comes naturally;and this voice is decidely unatural.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Nutcracker & Christmas Eve

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: Naxos

Release Date October 01, 1999
It's true that the narration style of Prunella Scales is cool and restrained, but that is entirely in keeping with the tone of her script. The music sparkles, and The Nutcracker is full of memorable tunes that children warm to. Can it hold up against all the competition for kids' attention at Christmas? I think it probably can.

CD-Charts Position 4
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Bach: Christmas Oratorio

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: Archiv Produktion

Release Date October 05, 2000
It's true that the narration style of Prunella Scales is cool and restrained, but that is entirely in keeping with the tone of her script. The music sparkles, and The Nutcracker is full of memorable tunes that children warm to. Can it hold up against all the competition for kids' attention at Christmas? I think it probably can.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Vaughan Williams - Hodie; Fantasia on Christmas Carols

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Stephen Gadd

Release Date October 29, 2007
This is a great CD. I had always thought that Hodie, despite great moments of inspiration (such as the marvellously inspiriting conclusion)was a rather inferior score to earlier choral scores like Sancta Civitas and Dona Nobis Pacem, but Hilary Davan Wetton's new Naxos (super-budget) version has forced me to revise my earlier view. I still believe that the beautiful Sancta Civitas is Vaughan Williams's choral masterpiece ( although Dona Nobis Pacem and the late, neglected Epithalamion are, respectively, works of great power and beauty) but Hodie comes across as a much greater score in this recording. The main reason for this, I think, is because the conductor takes many crucial sections at a considerably slower tempo than David Willcocks in his fine ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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The John Rutter Christmas Album

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: Collegium

Release Date November 04, 2002
I thought this CD had got lost in our recent house move and was delighted when it turned up in one the last boxes to be opened. I immediately rushed to listen again even though it is early March and am once again entranced by the warmth and beauty of the music and the singing. You really can play this CD anytime in the year and that is what I am doing now! If you buy it you will not be disappointed!

CD-Charts Position 7
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Aled Jones / The Christmas Album

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: Aled Jones

Release Date November 22, 2004
Another lovely album...Aled has such a soothing voice, abrilliant Christmas album, I know it will be well listened to over the festive season...A must have Christmas CD...Well done again Aled.
Riponian.

CD-Charts Position 8
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A Classic Christmas: the Ultimate Collection of Christmas Classics and Carols

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: EMI Classics

Release Date November 03, 2003
I might well write my previous review of this album anonymously - the theme-tune for the TV coverage of the London Olympics is NOT the Bacchanale from Glazunov's 'The Four Seasons', but the music which the late Ron Goodwin wrote for the film 'The Trap'. The two tunes share an exhilarating,wintry feel, but that is no excuse. Apologies to Ron, and to any readers misled by my error!

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

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A Carol Symphony

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Release Date November 04, 2002
If you’re seeking a quieter, more restful and (dare I say) traditional form of Christmas Spirit than you’re getting from Slade, Wizzard and Phil Spector, then here’s something very beautiful: a collection of classical, orchestral pieces all themed around the Yuletide season.
Victor Hely-Hutchinson’s splendid Carol Symphony (the third movement of which achieved greater fame in the 1980s as the creepy-but-festive theme to the BBC series “The Box Of Delights”) appears here in one of perhaps only two recent (and available) recordings and is beautifully played/ recorded. This alone justifies Naxos’ bargain price!

But let’s not ignore the remaining tracks. Each one is a miniature gem that manages to ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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Christmastide (Higginbottom)

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: Choir of New College Oxford

Release Date November 24, 2003
If you’re seeking a quieter, more restful and (dare I say) traditional form of Christmas Spirit than you’re getting from Slade, Wizzard and Phil Spector, then here’s something very beautiful: a collection of classical, orchestral pieces all themed around the Yuletide season.
Victor Hely-Hutchinson’s splendid Carol Symphony (the third movement of which achieved greater fame in the 1980s as the creepy-but-festive theme to the BBC series “The Box Of Delights”) appears here in one of perhaps only two recent (and available) recordings and is beautifully played/ recorded. This alone justifies Naxos’ bargain price!

But let’s not ignore the remaining tracks. Each one is a miniature gem that manages to ... Read More: