This CD is reissued by ArkivMusic.
Notes and Editorial Reviews
Another nostalgic treasure for the holidays is Carmen Dragon's classic recording of his own arrangements, The Music of Christmas, performed by the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra and recorded at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios in 1957. First released on LP in 1958, it was issued on CD (briefly) 40 years later but has since been out of print. It's a Hollywood Bowl Christmas, and ArkivMusic is thrilled to finally reissue this holiday classic.
The breathless, sweet expectancy of Silent Night, the reverent organ chords of O, Little Town of Bethlehem, the triumphant horns and bells of The First Noel, and the progression of O Tannenbaum from toy-shop quaintness to a magnificent finale, exemplify the vibrant symphonic setting in
Read more
which this beloved music is presented. All of the carols respond warmly to Mr. Dragon's expert and sympathetic treatment, and the program which results is an unusually fresh and ardent testament to one of the world's most cherished traditions.
While most of the carols resemble one another in their mood of glad rejoicing, they differ greatly as to their origin and inspiration. Some, such as Deck the Halls, seem to be of pagan derivation. And Mendelssohn originally wrote the music of what is now Hark! the Herald Angels Sing in honor of Johann Gutenberg and the invention of printing. But whatever its lineage, from the most ancient Celtic shepherd's song to the more recent Christmas hymns of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, each carol has contributed to the total significance and splendor of Christendom's great day.
"I have often thought," Joseph Addison wrote in the Spectator, back in the seventeenth century, "it happens very well that Christmas should fallout in the middle of Winter." And a century later, Sir Walter Scott added, "A Christmas gambol oft could cheer/The poor man's heart through half the year." In the days when bitter weather and widespread hunger were real problems, Christmas cheer and Christmas carols sparked a glow in the hearts of men that warmed them through the long grey winter months. We of the twentieth century have our own, though different, problems and we need the comfort and the hope, the faith and the promise of the Christmas carols as urgently as our long-ago forebears did.
Album liner notes
Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
O Tannenbaum by Traditional
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Written: Westphalia, Germany
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
2.
Away in a manger by William J. Kirkpatrick
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
3.
Festgesang "Hark! The herald angels sing" by Felix Mendelssohn
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1840; Germany
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
4.
Carol of the Bells by Traditional
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Written: Ukraine
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
5.
O little town of Bethlehem by Henry Walford Davies
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: England
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
6.
It came upon the midnight clear by Richard Storrs Willis
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
7.
Joy to the World by Lowell Mason
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 19th Century; USA
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
8.
God rest ye merry, gentlemen by Traditional
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Written: England
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
9.
Adeste fideles "O come, all ye faithful" by John Francis Wade
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: by 1782; England
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
10.
The first nowell by Traditional
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Written: England
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
11.
Minuit, Chrétiens "O holy night" by Adolphe Adam
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: France
Date of Recording: 6/1957
12.
Deck the Halls by Traditional
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Written: Wales, UK
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
13.
Silent Night by Franz Xaver Gruber
Conductor:
Carmen Dragon
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1818; Austria
Date of Recording: 06/1957
Notes: Arranged: Carmen Dragon
Featured Sound Samples
O Tannenbaum (Traditional)
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Mendelssohn)
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 
( 2 Customer Reviews )
Treasured Scratched Record Replacement finally Fo December 24, 2012
By L. Vincent (Auburn, WA) See All My Reviews
"42 years ago my wife and I heard this record playing in Fred Meyer electronics department in Vancouver, Washington. We bought the record album and have played it until it no longer proceeds past the scratches. We have searched far and wide for this album on CD. Today, my wife heard "Joy to the World" on the Classic King FM station playing glorious Christmas Music. She immediately recognized the album. Looking up the playlist I found the album CD with total joy. This rendition of Christmas is one of the most wonderful presentations of brass and orchestra that bring many memories from our family Christmas times."
Report Abuse
Such memories! December 20, 2011
By Laurel Elizabeth Baile (Madrid, Spain) See All My Reviews
"My parents bought this album when it first came out in 1958, and it became our family's treasured favorite. As a small child I thought these were the most beautiful and splendid orchestral arrangements of the the beloved carols it contains--and 53 years later, I still do. It brings back such warm memories of our Christmas traditions. Heartfelt thanks for re-editing it!"
Report Abuse
Review This Title
