Superlative!
11/28/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In this compilation, we hear Virgil Fox at his virtuosic best. From the stillness of "Silent Night" to the majesty of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," the great Aeolian-Skinner of New York's Riverside Church is displayed in all its glory. Pay special attention to the last variation of Daquin's "Echo Noel" for the sparkling pedalwork added by Marcel Dupré and played as only Fox could! Some lovely pieces not composed for Christmas, but certainly appropriate, shine in this collection, notably Franck's "Panis Angelicus," the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria," Schubert's "Ave Maria," Guilmant's "Marche Religeuse," and, of course, "The Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's "Messiah". Fox's registrations are, at times, symphonic but the full organ in "Adeste Fideles" and "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" will make you glad you bought that subwoofer!"