The Wonder of Christmas
5-Dec-2004
Buy As You View Band
Conductor: Dr. Robert Childs
Soloists: Owen Farr, Joanne Dean, David Childs, Ian Williams, Christopher Thomas
Amadeus Recordings: CD078
Total Playing Time: 73.16
'At Christmas play and make good cheer,
For Christmas comes but once a year.'
Thomas Tusser (1524 –80)
It is very easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas. Findings from the recent 2001 National Census suggested that over 70% of the population of the UK understood themselves to be Christian in belief, yet an even more recent poll taken to find out exactly how much people actually knew about the birth of Jesus Christ saw less than 5% able to name at least four main characters from the story itself.
Christmas for far too many people has become a time of conspicuous crass consumption; from the size of the turkey on the table to the number of presents around the tinsel clad fibre optic tree. Eat, drink and be merry – and all to excess is the mantra of the consumer age, and whilst celebration is surely a good thing in life, it is surely more important never to lose sight and understanding of what we are actually celebrating in the first place. Thomas Tusser hit the nail on the head nearly 500 years ago – we have taken play and cheer as the central purpose of Christmas; the wonder of the modern age is how we manage to afford it all.
That said, it is always a joy to seek out those things that do take time to reflect upon the true meaning of what occurred over 2000 years ago, and this little gem of a CD from the Buy As You View Band has been produced with reflection very much in mind.
The 31 tracks cover the usual selection of well-worn tunes, carols and songs of praise, but what makes them stand out is the thought that has gone into producing them for this release. The usual suspects are there in abundance; from ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing', 'Once, in Royal David's City' and ‘Silent Night', right through to the more modern up tempo fun items such as ‘Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' and ‘I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus', but all are played with a professional slickness and many are enhanced by some wonderful new arrangements by Rodney Newton, the bands Composer in Residence.
The reflection of the release is highlighted by the split of the tracks into two main parts; ‘Nativity' and ‘Festivity' and that thoughtful process means that you can enjoy the music whilst also understanding the unfolding story of the birth of Jesus itself. In fact, this release would be an ideal accompaniment to enjoy that story with young children in mind. The tracks allow the ability to join in with the traditional well known carols whilst an imaginative adult could use it as a lovely means to illustrate and enhance the great story.
From the opening of Peter Graham's ‘The Wonder of Christmas' march, right through to ‘Ding dong! Merrily on High', the 17 tracks of the ‘Nativity' bring it all to vibrant life and it works wonderfully well with the solo items in particular catching the ear.
With the story covered, the tracks take into account the festive nature of the occasion that has grown up over the years. Therefore we get everything from the ubiquitous ‘Jingle Bells' (a sure fire winner in the singalong stakes for young children) right through to Jonah Louis' ‘Stop the Cavalry' and ‘Auld Lang Syne'. In between there are a couple of ones you may want to skip - ours was the terrible reminder of Cliff Richard and his truly awful ‘Mistletoe and Wine' (which surely should have been spelt with a ‘h' inserted), but on the whole it is a pretty good selection to get the feet tapping and the ‘X Factor' wannabees up and singing.
This is an excellent themed release from the Welsh Champions – thoughtful and reflective in the opening ‘Nativity', bright and cheerful in the ‘Festivity', and whilst it was recorded in the middle of the summer, you can't tell, as the professionalism of the playing makes it feel fresh and truly seasonal. We cringed a little at the cover (a somewhat over romanticised Welsh Christmas scene, complete with egg yolk street lighting, snow clad chapel, terraced houses minus satellite dishes, Salvation army band and a kid in a the type of Welsh rugby scarf that was last seen in 1968), but then, more than a little of the essential romance and naivety has been lost in the overt commercialism that now engulfs us every December.
'The Wonder of Christmas' is a fine release that will bring a little bit of love, caring and understanding of the festive season back into our cynical world – and that cannot come soon enough.
Iwan Fox
What's on this CD?
1. The Wonder of Christmas, Graham, 2.45
2. Good King Wenceslas, Neale, 1.18
3. In The Bleak Mid-Winter, Holst arr. Newton, 2.50
4. Little Donkey, Boswell arr. Newton, 2.03
5. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, Trad, 1.24
6. How Far to Bethlehem, Chesterton arr. Steadman-Allen, 1.52
7. Away in a Manger, Kirkpatrick arr. Ball, 2.01
8. Silent Night, Gruber, 2.56
9. While Shepherds Watched, Tye, 1.27
10. The First Nowell, Trad arr. Stainer, 2.25
11. We Three Kings of Orient Are, Hopkins, 1.41
12. When a Child is Born, Zacar arr. Norbury, 2.30
13. Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Mendelssohn, 2.33
14. Once, in Royal David's City, Gauntlett, 1.51
15. Joy to the World, Handel, 0.57
16. O Come All Ye Faithful, Trad, 2.33
17. Ding Dong Merrily on High, Arbeau arr. Wood, 1.38
18. Jingle Bells, arr. Ashmore, 2.07
19. White Christmas, Berlin arr. Newton, 2.48
20. The Christmas Song, Torme/Wells arr. Sparke, 3.45
21. We Wish you a Merry Christmas, Trad arr. Norbury, 1.49
22. Sleigh Ride, Anderson arr. Tomlinson, 2.44
23. Little Drummer Boy, Davis arr. Newton, 2.41
24. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Marks, 1.46
25. Troike, Prokofiev arr. Farr, 2.23
26. Winter Wonderland, Bernard, 2.55
27. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Conner, 1.44
28. Mary's Boy Child, Hairston arr. Newton, 2.33
29. Stop the Cavalry, Lewie arr. Broadbent, 2.40
30. Mistletoe and Wine, Strachan/Paul/Stewart arr. Barry, 4.07
31. Auld Lang Syne, Burns, 1.54
Total playing time: 73.16
