The CD set to get for Christmas
Jay Young | Austin, TX USA | 12/12/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I will just reiterate that this is a compilation of 4 existing CDs- Legends of St. Nicholas, Wolcum Yule, On Yoolis Night, and A Star in the East. If you don't own any of them, or even if you just own one of them, I would strongly suggest buying this set, since you'll save a lot of money from buying each disc individually.
Anonymous 4 performs all the music flawlessly. If you're looking for Christmas music that lifts up the spirit, you can't do much better than these recordings. Legends of St. Nicholas is an interesting and beautiful collection of chants devoted to the historical figure Nicholas of Myra (who became Santa Clause in our culture); Wolcum Yule is focused on Christmas songs from the British isles, some of them familiar and some not- after listening to Britten's "New Year Carol" on the "Wolcum Yule" CD, I wish people would replace Auld Lang Syne with that on New Year's celebrations; "On Yoolis Night" focuses on Christmas music from the Medieval period and is a must-listen for any early music lover; "A Star in the East" is a sublime and haunting collection of music from medieval Hungary- you won't find music like this anywhere else. What can I say? Highly recommended- this is perfect music to listen to this holiday season, and particularly when you're at home on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning."
Bringing back the spirit of Christmas
capefearcinema | Harpers Ferry, WV | 01/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I recently read that there are really two Christmas holidays: the federally-recognized secular "day off", and the true holy day. Quite true. If you seek to return to the latter, look no farther than this collection of music that harkens back to when Christians really understood the significance of the day. The angelic voices of Anonymous 4 will quickly become a seasonal favorite."