The Trapp Family Singers.  Doesn’t everyone know who the Trapp Family Singers are?  If you saw The Sound Of Music, whether the 1959 Broadway production, the 1965 Hollywood movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, or any recent adaptations, then you know The Trapp Family Singers.  The movie, et al, was based on the von Trapp Family.  Julie Andrews played their Austrian nanny in the movie version.

I’m guessing 50% of people have NOT heard of the von Trapp Family.  I had vaguely heard of them until I got this CD.  I had not seen The Sound Of Music yet.  I got this because it contains an original 1951 Christmas album of carols sung by a family chorus.  Perfect.  I’ll take it.  And the cover really sold me.

The von Trapp Family was a mix of ten children from two different marriages.  Capt. Georg van Trapp of Salzburg, Austria and his wife had a family of seven children when their mother died.  He became romantically involved with the nanny he hired to watch the children and after marriage, he and his second wife had three more children.

The von Trapp Family were a very musical family.  Their new stepmother, Maria, would get them to sing together.  They enjoyed it and continued to get better with practice.  During one of their rehearsals, they were encouraged to enter a local contest, and they won.  Shortly after, they started touring all around Austria.

Mind you, this is all taking place around 1938.  After Germany annexed Austria, the von Trapp family moved to the Netherlands.  They began touring the world and after touring the United States, they returned to stay in 1939.  They eventually settled in Vermont and bought a six-hundred-acre farm.  They became very famous throughout the world, but as a family group, they stopped performing in 1957.

After retiring, most of the children, who were all adults by now, went their separate ways.  One of the sons and Maria von Trapp managed the Trapp Family Lodge as a tourist attraction.

They recorded five or six albums for Decca, but overall, their record output was small compared to how much in demand they were.  Of these few albums, The Trapp Family Singers, as they were now called, released Christmas With The Trapp Family Singers in 1953.  The original album was recorded in 1951.

This is a terrific reissue from Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg.  There are all the 18 songs from the original album, plus an additional seven bonus tracks.  The track list for the CD follows the original album track list.  The first 18 songs were recorded in 1951 and the seven bonus tracks are from 1953.

The cover of the CD reissue is quite different from the cover of the album.  The original album had a light green background with The Trapp Family Singers name in big red letters and the words “Christmas with” above their name.  There were graphics made to look like a Christmas ornament, one of which contains a picture of The Trapp Family Singers.  It has a very 1950’s look to it, but plain in comparison to the cover of this CD.

The cover of the CD has a color photograph of The Trapp Family Singers with their choir conductor, Dr. Franz Wasner.  This is presented as a postcard on a red background with the CD title above in gold letters.  The back of the CD features the CD name at the top and below is a running numerical list of the songs included, all on a red background.

The good stuff is inside the CD cover.  The CD cover comes out and has a 20-page booklet that talks about the von Trapp Family’s difficult journey escaping Nazi occupied Austria in 1938.

Inside the front cover is a couple of black and white photos of the von Trapp Family.  On the opposite page and continuing the following page is a numerical list of the songs included.  The songs are grouped according to their composers and the composer’s name comes first and then the songs written by him are listed.  Then the next writer is listed, and those songs are listed.

The songs The Trapp Family Singers sing are old German and European carols with many titles in their native languages.

Starting with the third page, the history of the von Trapp Family and their hardships and achievements is described.  Then there is a brief story about Christmas in Austria.  There is also a great story about how the carol Silent Night was written.

Throughout the booklet are black and white photos of The Trapp Family Singers.  After the story of Silent Night, all the text is repeated in German.  After the German text are notes on the original recording dates and reissue copywrite notices.  I like it when the liner notes include the information as is on this CD reissue.

The last two pages are dedicated to a personal note from Johannes von Trapp and a picture of the Trapp family Lodge in Vermont, covered in deep snow.  The back of the CD insert features a great black and white photo of The Trapp Family Singers against the same red background found on the covers.

I’m not sure if it needs to be said or not, but all the songs presented here are old Christmas carols and hymns.  Many have German ancestry with authors such as Michael Praetorius, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Abraham Peter Schulz and Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.

There are a few titles I recognize, Deck The Hall, Jesus, Jesus Rest You Head and The Carol Of The Drum (The Little Drummer Boy).  But with most titles in German or Latin, they are unrecognizable to me.

Don’t let that intimidate you!  These are fantastic Christmas carols and hymns, and The Trapp Family Singers do an incredible job of bringing them all to life.  All but three songs, Ihr Kinderlein, Kommet, and Pastorale And Quem Pastores – Den Die Hirten, are a cappella.  Without having the financial means to hire orchestras and combined with the fact that after fleeing Austria with just backpacks, they had to find a way to make some money and quickly.  Their decision to perform a cappella was brilliant and they became well known for it.

The only accompaniment for Ihr Kinderlein, Kommet, is flute.

Pastorale opens with piano, cello and two flutes.  Upon closer listening, Pastorale is actually an instrumental and no vocals from The Trapp Family Singers are present.  Unfortunately, there is no information on the small group that provides this solemn performance.

Cellos and flutes open Quem Pastores – Den Die Hirten and stay with The Trapp Family Singers throughout the song.

One song in particular, track 13, Nu Ar Det Jul Igen, I had to listen to a few times to see if it too was a cappella, which it is, but the voices are arranged to sound like instruments.  I thought I was hearing a string quartet only to realize it was all being performed by human voices.  The same can be said of The Carol Of The Drum (The Little Drummer Boy).

Because of the a cappella arrangements, there are a lot of quiet passages in the songs, which give this whole CD a reverent aura to it.  This is some of the most beautiful Christmas music you could seek.  After listening to this it seems almost sacrilegious to listen to Frosty The Snowman, or I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.

There are two more songs that deserve mention.  They are Puer Natus Est Nobis (Gregorian Chant) and Senex Puerum Portabat.  Both feature the male vocalists more prominently than most of the other songs.

First the bad news…there is none.  All songs are terrific renditions of Christmas carols and hymns sung reverently and beautifully.  The Trapp Family Singers were dedicated to their craft and outside of Gregorian chant Christmas compilations, you will not find anything remotely like it.

When I listened to this CD multiple times while composing this review, I know why I do this.  If you enjoy the old English choral groups from King’s College and the Royal Choral Society, then you will enjoy this just as much if not more.  Christmas music does not get more reverent, more beautiful or more solemn than what is presented here with The Trapp Family Singers.

I give this CD :

*****