This is one of the few Christmas compilation CDs I have that gives no credit to who the performing artists might be.  This CD was extremely difficult to put together for this review, and I’m still not sure if I have it right.  First off, the track listing on the back of the CD shows 11 songs, but there are actually 12 songs on the CD itself.  At first, I assumed the extra song was at the end, but upon close listening, I discovered I was wrong.  I had to spend a lot of time with a few carols that I am not that familiar with.  Some were easy to hear the title in the lyrics, and others were hard to discern with all the choral voices singing in layered harmonies; it was difficult to understand the lyrics.  To the rescue SoundHound and Shazam!  In addition to playing music on demand, SoundHound and Shazam are music service apps known for discovering song titles and artists of unknown songs.  I played all the songs through both services to get confirmation as to who the choirs were.

During the process, one song came up mis-named, I think.  Both SoundHound and Shazam came up with the same song title for the song, but it did not match with what is on the CD.  I went with the SoundHound and Shazam results.

Through these services, I was able to put names to the artists on all the songs except one.  I couldn’t get solid confirmation for Hark! The Herald Angels Sing on either SoundHound, or Shazam, and they were coming up with different names, but they had the song title right.  I wasn’t able to listen to the results, so I just left that one as ‘Unknown Artist’.

I think I have it close to being right.  I can’t guarantee anything.  Many of the few choruses present all sound the same.  But when you have large cathedral choruses singing a cappella, they’re at the very least going to sound similar.

This Christmas compilation CD comes to us from the Platinum Disc Corporation, but insights into the record label don’t produce any new information.  The CD itself comes up on Discogs.com, but they also list it as ‘Unknown Artist’.

The CD cover shows a painting of a house covered in deep snow.  The house appears brightly lit inside with all the windows showing that the rooms inside have their lights on.  I guess we are to assume that this is an old English cottage that is entertaining a Christmas party inside.  The CD title appears in the top right corner in white letters with dark shadowing.

The back of the CD shows the same painting as found on the front cover, except the CD title appears at the top left in the same white letters with dark shadowing.  To the right is a numerical track listing.  Label logos and typical copywrite notices appear at the bottom left.

The back of the CD cover is completely blank.  I’m not too surprised.  This is obviously an inexpensive CD.

All the songs featured here are, as the CD title declares, great Christmas carols.  All are old traditional carols, and most titles should be familiar.  There are a few titles that are not heard as often, but they should still be familiar to some listeners.

If my research is correct, there are four different English cathedral choirs presented on this CD.  One is the Norwich Cathedral Choir, another is the Ely Cathedral Choir, another the Wells Cathedral Choir and the last is the Chapel Choir of Marlborough College.  And there is still one unknown, but I think they are one of the ones already here, I’m just not sure which one.

Norwich Cathedral is located in Norwich, Norfolk, England.  The choir has been in existence since 1096.  The choir contains 12 men, 20 boys and 24 girls.  The Norwich Cathedral Choir performs six carols on this CD.  Three of those, Unto Us A Son Is Born, O Little Town Of Bethlehem and O’ Come All Ye Faithful feature the choir accompanied by Neil Taylor on the cathedral organ.  The three other songs, The Holly And The Ivy, Away In A Manger and Deck The Halls are a cappella.  The best ones are the a cappella ones.  It is always pleasant to hear just the voices without any instrumentation.

Ely Cathedral is located in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England.  I don’t know how long the choir has been in existence, but the cathedral itself dates to 1083.  The Ely Cathedral Choir presents two carols.  The first, The Three Kings is performed a cappella.  The other is Once In Royal David’s City, accompanied by a cathedral organ.  I believe this song is the extra track included on the CD but not listed in the track listing.

Wells Cathedral is located in Wells, Somerset, England.  The choir has been in existence since 909.  The choir contains 12 men, 18 boys and around 18 girls.  The Wells Cathedral Choir performs two songs.  The first, Hail Blessed Virgin Mary, is sung a cappella.  The other, Sussex Carol, is performed accompanied by a cathedral organ.  Hail Blessed Virgin Mary is the one I believe is mis-named on the CD.  Shazam brings up this title, and the song is the same exact song.  SoundHound brings up an entirely different carol, and it doesn’t sound the same as the one on the CD.

Marlborough College is located in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England.  I don’t know how long the choir has been in existence, but the college was established in 1843.  The Chapel Choir of Marlborough College has only one song on here.  Ding Dong is the last one listed on the CD.  The choir is accompanied by a cathedral organ, flute and light chimes.

Unfortunately, the CD begins with the one carol I can’t put a name to the performers.  Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is accompanied by a cathedral organ only, but they could be any of the four that were mentioned earlier.  The title matches the lyrics, so I know that’s right.

England is certainly known for its large, expansive cathedrals.  And each one houses a choir.  There are many, many English Cathedral Choirs to choose from.  I like having them in my Christmas music collection, and one day I will set out to get most of the ones I don’t already have.  I don’t feel the need to get every Christmas CD by every English cathedral choir, but I would like to have at least one from as many as I can find.

This Christmas CD is in a very specific area of desiring.  Most people like having one or two in their collection, but if you’re wanting Rudolph, Frosty or Santa, this will disappoint you greatly.  Cathedral choir releases are similar to the Trappist Monks and other Gregorian chant CDs available.  One or two songs are great, but to sit and listen to them all day would require a special fondness.  (I have at least two Christmas CDs of Gregorian chant music, so look for reviews of those in this blog’s future).

The choirs are certainly enjoyable to listen to, but to force your friends to listen to one straight through would probably put a damper on any festive get together.  These mix in well with a large Christmas song playlist because they offer more of what the season is about.  Production is usually minimal.  The large cathedrals give the choirs a lot of room to fill, and their voices fill the chambers with festive, solemn and sacred harmonies.  The instrumentation, if any at all, is usually a cathedral organ.  Some choirs use light orchestras as well, but the music never overshadows the voices.

If those qualities interest you, I recommend you seek out a Christmas CD or a double CD set of an established English cathedral choir.  But I recommend you don’t go out of your way to find this one.  There is no information as to what you are listening to.  If you see this at a yard sale for $1.00, pick it up, put it in with all the others and you’ll be fine.

There isn’t anything wrong with this CD per se, just the lack of performing credits.  If they were here, and the CD track listing was more accurate, then I’d be all in on this one.  But it’s not.

I give this CD :

**