Track Listing

1. Wexford Carol
2. Jesus Child
3. There is no flower
4. Donkey carol
5. Wild wood carol
6. Angels' carol
7. Nativity carol
8. Mary's lullaby
9. Star carol
10. Candlelight carol
11. Shepherd's pipe carol
12. Christmas lullaby
13. Dormi, Jesu
14. Love came down at Christmas
15. Sans Day carol
16. I wonder as I wander
17. What sweeter music
18. Joy to the world
19. I saw three ships
20. Deck the hall
21. The very best time of year
22. We wish you a merry Christmas
23. Silent night

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #268 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 78 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The John Rutter Christmas Album brings together most of the composer's Christmas songs and carols as well as several of his festive choral arrangements, including a rousing "Joy to the World" and the energetic "I saw three ships". Most of the 23 tracks have been taken from extant discs on Rutter's Collegium label although two, "Dormi, Jesu" and "Sans Day carol", were recorded especially for this release.

Rutter's first two published compositions, written while he was still a teenager, were Christmas pieces for choir, namely the glorious "Nativity Carol" and the infectious "Shepherd's Pipe Carol". Although very different in character, these two carols (for which Rutter also wrote the test) display the composer's sense of joy and wonder at the Christmas story. More than 30 years later, those sentiments are still there in pieces such as the melting "Dormi, Jesu", commissioned by King's College, Cambridge for the 1999 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

Under the direction of the composer, the youthful voices of the Cambridge Singers are on sparkling form, as are the City of London Sinfonia and vocal soloists Gerald Finley and Stephen Varcoe. This album deserves to be played over and over--and not just at Christmas. --Rebecca Agnew

Review
offers nearly 80 minutes of his delightful carols drawn from earlier recordings, and if you don't already have a Rutter CD this one will do nicely. --Mail on Sunday

Review
John Rutter is world famous for The Shepherd's Pipe Carol and Love Came Down at Christmas and he is beloved by amateur choirs the world over for his simple melodies, easy-listening harmonies and light syncopations. It's all amply represented on this disc...It's all impeccably performed by the excellent Cambridge Singers and fans of John Rutter won't be disappointed. --Classic FM Magazine

Customer Reviews

Beautiful CD.
The more technical merits have already been pointed out. I have this on in the background now as its very relaxing. I recommend this as a Christmas treat to yourself, it is like being at an upmarket Carol concert (in a good way!) and when the music stops you find yourself putting it on again and again.

John Rutter's Box of Delights
This compilation of some of John Rutter's work should be in everyone's Christmas stocking. With sixteen of his own original creations he has added seven arrangements he has made of traditional Christmas music and that written by other composers. What is useful is the grouping of the music into parts - Prologue, The Christmas Story, Christmas Night, Christmas Reflections, Christmas Joy and Epilogue - which allows the listener to select a long or short programme if required.
The performances, drawn from sources spanning the years 1985 to 2002, are sheer delight from beginning to end. The Cambridge Singers, with soloists Ruth Holton, Gerald Finlay and Stephen Varcoe, excel with the various moods and rhythms throughout, and the City of London Sinfonia adds stylish and colourful support. The direction of this wonderful festival of music for Christmas is in the capable hands of John Rutter himself who inspires his singers and players.
If I were to single out any items from the programme, who could possibly resist the lilting rhythms of `Jesus child' and the `Donkey Carol', and the jaunty bounce of `We wish you a merry Christmas'? On the reflective side, the various lullabies all receive sensitive performances.
If you are looking for the perfect combination of joy and reverence, not only at Christmas but at any time of year, you could not possibly rival this CD.

Christmas Magic
This is the first time I have submitted a review, but those loving John Rutter's own carols and arrangements should know that this is a superb, almost certainly the best, compilation. It includes the beautiful and ever popular Nativity Carol and Shepherd's Pipe Carol which he wrote in his teens and after that most of the carols he has composed. The accompanying notes include all the words, which is such a help, and give information about when and for whom or what occasion each carol came to be written. And most importantly they were recorded when John Rutter had put together a superb singing group, The Cambridge Singers. It doesn't get any better than this.