"Yes, most of the stuff was originally recorded in the 50's and 60's and it's not going to win prizes for signal to noise ratio. However, if you, like me break out in a sweat hunting for a xmas cd which won't contain some desperate wannabe modernised rehash of carols or a "listen to me aren't I a good tenor/diva and by the way here are some carols?" tracks, then this is your album.From the moment track one started, with a belting rendition of "Hark the Herald Angels", I had a grin on my face from ear to ear. Warm memories of xmases past flood back, cooking, carols, snow and presents. Yes - dreamily rose-colored, revisionist and traditional it is, but worth every penny in this cynical cyber world."
The Best Christmas CD Ever
L. Crow | United States | 12/18/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are seeking a CD of traditional Christmas music to help you 1) focus on the true meaning of the holiday and 2)draw near to God, this is it. The choral arrangements are alternately beautiful and powerful, delicate and majestic. There is a rich heritage of European carols which 99% of Americans know nothing of. Broaden your horizons with this disc. You won't regret it."
A masterpiece.
L. Crow | 01/03/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"David Willcocks has produced, without question, the most elegant and dignified collection of Christmas choral music available. This CD is a masterpiece."
Christmas Carols at there best
NY Hobbit | OH | 10/18/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It does not get any better. This 2 cd set is outstanding.
As one reviewer notes the second disk has many carols not heard by most people in the USA. I heard them growing up, but most are hard to find on an album.
Christmas is not Christmas without King's College Choir singing carols.
A great collection... :)"
Excellent compilation of traditional carols
M. Peever | North Carolina | 09/07/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Noel---Christmas at King's has become the de facto standard of carols at our house. It really is an excellent collection of Christmas carols. In fact, the only real blemish on this album is that there is discernible noise in some tracks: I had to examine the CD when I first heard them, and realized the recordings on these discs are more than forty years old: they were recorded from 1959 to 1965.
But venerable recording technology and associated sound artifacts aside, this album is a collection of superb renditions of classic Christmas carols.
One strength is the size of the collection: 36 carols on two discs. And as others have pointed out, these carols are an English selection: there are several on these discs I hadn't previously heard in America. Some we have over here too: "Hark! the herald angels sing" or "Ding, dong! merrily on high"; but the vast majority are songs I've only heard on English recordings, like "See amid the winter's snow" and "Joseph was an old man".
And of course, this is King's College Choir: the strength of the actual performance goes without saying. The choir of King's College is renowned for their carols, and with good reason. There are other excellent performers and recordings in this genre, but King's College Choir has maintained their status as the standard for many years.
The two discs contain a wide variety of classical carols, including an amazing rendition of "Hark! the herald angels sing" (with stunning descant in the last verse); "See amid the winter's snow" with precise and beautiful harmonies; a rousing recording of "Rejoice and be merry"; "Unto us is born a son"; a solid performance of "In the bleak midwinter"; and a stirring "Personent hodie".
Noel is a Christmas album: it's compiled from several Anglican services. Like much (by no means all) holiday music I have, it's overtly Christan. If you're looking for something more neutral, there are several excellent holiday music collections; but this one is overtly devout. And frankly, even if you're not looking of the devout persuasion, this album is worth a listen just for the excellent choral music.
Noel---Christmas at King's is one of my "top shelf" Christmas albums. I find myself listening to it throughout the year, enraptured anew by the beauty of the voices on it."