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Thanks to my months of patience,the folks at Amazon had finally mailed me the "NITCS" CD and when I gave it to my "significant other" as a gift last May, she SCREAMED. You would think I had given her a million dollars. Now she's "counting the days" to the "holiday season" when she will play her favorite Xmas CD on her new BOSE system.
I first heard this as a little boy. Fred Waring was the master. This "album" is one of the best at portraying Christmas carols in a wholesome, but thrilling manner. There are no stars trying to sell their brands, but much better, top notch arrangements and voices making the Season Bright.
For years, I searched for this album to no avail. The album is a mixture of sacred and secular, with hymns mixed in with pop fare like "The Christmas Song", "White Christmas", etc. My wife and I love to listen to Christmas albums during the holidays. The album is like a series of suites, all bound together by the repeated link of the song "Now is the Caroling Season". Really a unique album from the past. I found a library copy which I recorded to cassette, but it was full of snaps, crackles and pops.I was thrilled to actually find it on CD after years of searching. As one Amazon reviewer said, "Sleigh Ride" is a particular delight.
This piece is part of Bizet's L'arlesienne Suite and is sometimes included on Xmas albums in its original orchestral form. This was a favorite of hers before we met, and all she had left was the album cover. One of the great highlights brings the album to an end: "March of the Kings". As others have said, the recording was not "restored", but is sure sounds better than the scratchy library LP.The Waring style may seem unusual to some. Several fine singers have solos, but most of the pieces are choral. The Waring version is exciting, and the lyrics describe a person viewing a mighty retinue of the Three Kings themselves. It's a nostalgic treat for some (like my wife), but for others I recommend it as a creative choral collection of Christmas favorites.
If you want the true spirit of Christmas with choral music both sacred and contemporary.(for the 1950's) with a touch of nostalgia from a simpler time, this is the album for you and your family. With a tenor that can sing like an angel and the rest of the choir of solo quality, yet blending so wondrously.keep this cd in your collection. It's the best every made.
Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians were radio and TV stars from the 1930s to the 1950s, and released "Now is the Caroling Season" in 1957. Fred Waring has long been a family favorite of ours for Christmas music. This disc contains 21 songs full of strong harmonies that will put you in a festive mood.
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