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A Winter Symphony

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
by: Sarah Brightman

October 28, 2008

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Disney's Princess Christmas

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
by: Disney Songs

October 24, 2005
This CD features 14 original & classic Christmas songs, 13 of which are sung by the original voices of Disney's most beloved animated heroines - Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan and Pocahontas.
The voices of Aurora, Belle, Cinderella & Snow White on this album aren't the originals.

The 14th song on this album has Jim Brickman on the piano and Wayne Brady from WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? U.S.A on vocals, and is called BEAUTIFUL.

Track listing:
1. CHRISTMAS IS COMING - Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty & Snow White - 3:37.
This song has Disney film references in it, Jasmine says "its more fun than riding a carpet" etc. A song about the build up to Christmas - 5/5.
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Verve Presents: The Very Best of Christmas Jazz

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
by: Various Artists

November 05, 2001
This is my favourite Christmas CD, it has something for everyone! It's the perfect antidote for the tired old tunes that everyone plays at Christmas (if I hear "I wish it could be Christmas every day" one more time I won't be responsible for my actions), the highlights being "Zat you Santa Claus?" by Louis Armstrong and "Silent Night" by Dinah Washington.
Give it a go and you won't be disappointed, especially at this price!!

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Mario Lanza: The Ultimate Collection

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
from: RCA

January 22, 1994
A superb collection of some of Mario Lanza's finest recordings. Considering some go back to 1949 - 1958, the recordings to CD are excellent. You'll never walk alone, sung as it was originally intended by the great Mario Lanza. A perfect collection for new comers or fans looking for the best of Mario Lanza. A track for every occassion.

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Britten - St Nicolas; Christ Nativity; Psalm 150

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
from: Naxos

November 03, 2003
I have particular interest in the main piece on this CD, Britten's 'St. Nicolas' cantata, because a choir I sing in will be doing it later this year with our local professional chamber orchestra; interestingly, a previous performance of it by this group was so successful that a repeat has been requested. Britten, of course, wrote the work for amateur chorus and a professional tenor soloist, in this case his long-time lover, Peter Pears. Enough time has now passed that, although Pears/Britten recorded the work, it is appropriate and welcome that new forces give it a go. Philip Langridge, the tenor here, is actually a better-sounding singer than Pears, although no one would ever question Pears's musicianship. And I say that even as I am one of those ... Read More:

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The Val Doonican Christmas...

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
by: Val Doonican

September 08, 2003
I have particular interest in the main piece on this CD, Britten's 'St. Nicolas' cantata, because a choir I sing in will be doing it later this year with our local professional chamber orchestra; interestingly, a previous performance of it by this group was so successful that a repeat has been requested. Britten, of course, wrote the work for amateur chorus and a professional tenor soloist, in this case his long-time lover, Peter Pears. Enough time has now passed that, although Pears/Britten recorded the work, it is appropriate and welcome that new forces give it a go. Philip Langridge, the tenor here, is actually a better-sounding singer than Pears, although no one would ever question Pears's musicianship. And I say that even as I am one of those ... Read More:

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Vaughan Williams: Vocal Works

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
from: Hyperion

July 01, 1994
This is a splendid disc! The Serenade to Music is performed in its original version for soloists which is quite different (better?) than the subsequent choral version. The soloists present a marvellous account and the orchestral textures provide a ravishing counterpoint. Of particular note is the violin solo at the beginning which ably sets the scene for this account.
The Mystical Songs (text by George Herbert) are wonderfully sung by Thomas Allen and yet again are accompanied with great sensitivity and skill. The orchestral texture in Love bade me welcome is particularly fine as is Allen's performance which captures the tentative steps of the narrator into relationship with the Divine with an understated passion.
Nabuko Imai's Viola Solo ... Read More:

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My Kind of Christmas

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
by: Christina Aguilera

October 30, 2006
I love this, its my favorite holiday album. This album is modern yet you still feel there are traditional elements in this album. I bought this album a year ago and i'm glad i did because it still sounds just as fresh.

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Angel Voices Vol.1

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
by: St. Philip's Boys Choir

October 30, 2000
If, like me, you have two sons and two grandsons, you will know that boys aged seven to fourteen are seldom angelic. Raising two generations of them provides undeniable proof of this. And yet, here is a CD that seems to belie my lifetime's (often painful!) experience. How, for example, could anything but a host of angels provide the sounds as beautiful as 'Panis Angelicus', as rhythmic as 'Adoramus Te', as beaty as 'Orinoco Flow' or as moving as 'One Voice'? Known these days as Libera, the St Philips Boys Choir provide a superb variety of songs ranging from favourite hymns to chart hits and perform every one with the sort of professionalism expected of more seasoned artists. Every track leaves the listener wanting more; a sort of musical addiction, if you ... Read More:

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Vaughan Williams - Hodie; Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Childrens Toy Shop > > Christmas music
by: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Stephen Gadd

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 EMI recording ... Read More: