The Many Moods of Christmas

I love Christmas Music!

There are two things going on with this recording. 

1. Short, a cappella Christmas hymns from the Robert Shaw Chorale, ones which are simple on the ears, also recorded in mono.

2. The Many Moods of Christmas for chorus and orchestra arranged by Robert Russell Bennett.

While I love the material from the first, and many will enjoy it it for its contemplative, religious fervor, boy howdy is the second a hoot-and-a-half!

Robert Russell Bennett was an orchestrator of many very familiar Broadway musicals from the 20s into the 60s. Some might find his choral/orchestral carol arrangements coarse or uncouth, but they are exciting and hit the right spot every time. When Patapan comes in all guns a-blazing, my goodness what a moment!

Some of it could be Robert Shaw leading the RCA Victor Orchestra. They are scrappy sounding, and Robert Shaw is leading at an energetically charged pace. Some will find Shaw's later recording of this same music with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus from decades later, but I find it dull as ditch water. Never having lived next to a ditch, I can only assume water from such a source is very dull indeed...

 

A review from 2019

RCA’s 71-minute A Festival of Carols, featuring the Robert Shaw Chorale under the direction of Robert Shaw, is a mixture of two recordings: Christmas Hymns and Carols Volume 1 from 1957 which has simple, a cappella, multi-verse, straight-forward carols and hymns, and The Many Moods of Christmas from 1963 which has four, 12-minute Christmas carol medleys that were orchestrated by Broadway arranger Robert Russell Bennett and accompanied by the RCA Victor Orchestra. The Many Moods of Christmas can be found remastered by themselves, but the runtime of those medleys is a paltry 45 minutes, and the Christmas Hymns and Carols can be found altogether on Christmas with the Robert Shaw Chorale , not to mention numerous others: Christmas with Robert Shaw, and the separate Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 of the Hymns and Carols. Suffice to say, there is a lot of carry over and additionally Shaw later performed The Many Moods of Christmas with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on Telarc which cleans up much of the orchestral work and older sound, but loses the energy and immediacy of the performances and up-close soundscape, and is still a meager 45-minutes long on its own.

The Robert Shaw Chorale was influential in their day for their solid singing of folk songs and dusty Victorian Society classical masterworks, particularly Robert Shaw’s arrangements with Alice Parker. However, it was these Christmas albums that thrust them into the general spotlight and I appreciate the RS Chorale’s upgrade from the older singing style of the Fred Waring Singers, Harry Simeone Chorale, and Roger Wagner Chorale.

The 11 individual carols and hymns are completely a cappella and are in simple strophic form, with pretty straightforward harmonies and progressions, but at only 1-3 minutes in length, rarely outstay their welcome. The Robert Shaw Chorale’s sound is virile but rarely brazen, sensitive but clear without overdoing their vibrato, and their technique is quite fine; listen to how long Shaw makes the phrases in ‘O Come Emmanuel’ while still sounding natural, and their rhythmic vitality in ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’ without thrusting into impetuosity or coarseness. That said, a few choices raise an eyebrow such as the sliding pitches in ‘We Three Kings’ and the closing to ‘N’s in ‘star of wonder’ that may be an affectation of the group. The 1957 sound is older, but since there are no instruments to compete with, the sound is pretty clear and detailed, the stereo not the widest in definition and the entire disc is at quite a low level, forcing me to turn up the sound system, but overall, small distractions.

It is Robert Russell Bennett’s orchestral arrangements of his medleys of Christmas carols for The Many Moods of Christmas that is most attractive to me. Each medley contains four carols, giving a decent chunk of time for each, but ably showcasing the choir, such as the a cappella ‘O Sanctissima’ opening of the second medley, and plenty of orchestral features without choir, for very well-rounded and thoughtfully put together medley spectacles. Much like Arthur Harris’ arrangements of carols for Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra's Glorious Sound of Christmas on CBS Records, Bennett’s medleys come close to coarseness, the blazing juxtaposition of ‘Fum’ and “March of the Kings’ and the hearty Middle-Eastern swing of 'Patapan' are surprising. However, these are very colourfully composed from the dainty danciness of ‘Bring a Torch’, the evocative luting during 'What Child is This', and the jaunty ‘Three Ships’ are all charming and engaging alongside the big hitters ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Adeste Fidelis’, for example.

While the RCA Victor Orchestra is not the most virtuosic here, some sour bassoon notes, instrumental solo fraks a-plenty, and the pipe organ isn’t quite tuned with the orchestra, especially in the final solo registration choice, these are blazingly played with great virility, and the tutti ensemble moments take ones breath away. It only helps that RCA’s sound captures the ensembles up close and personal, especially compared to Shaw’s later 1983 outing with Atlanta on Telarc, although the RCA sound gets a little blustery and congested in the loudest passages. Additionally, the 1963 sound is gratifyingly more colourful than the 1957 choral offerings, and despite Telarc’s finer sound quality in the 80’s, there is an electric performance quality to these 60’s medleys.

Despite the obvious older sound with low-level playback, imperfect orchestral virtuosity, and carry-over selections from other records, A Festival of Carols is a treasure for exemplary singing from the Robert Shaw Chorale, electric playing from the RCA Victor Orchestra, and colourfully, well-rounded arranging from Robert Russell Bennett’s medley of carols, and simple, well-sung offerings from Robert Shaw, along with a hearty helping of nostalgia, all around make this recording recommended! 

 

 

Listen on YouTube

Works
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (1.33)
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (2.50)
Shepherd's Carol (1.19)
Go, Tell It On the Mountain (1.32)
I Wonder As I Wander (2.36)
We Three Kings (3.41)
My Dancing Day (1.35)
Coventry Carol (2.57)
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen (1.14)
Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming (2.19)
Carol of the Bells (1.21)
Many Moods of Christmas, Suite 1 (11.24)
Many Moods of Christmas, Suite 2 (11.21)
Many Moods of Christmas, Suite 3 (12.21)
Many Moods of Christmas, Suite 4 (12.03)

Ensemble
Robert Shaw Chorale
RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra
Robert Shaw, conductor

Label: RCA
Year: 1957-1963; 1987
Total Timing: 71.18

 

A terrific set of Christmas Carols from the respected Robert Shaw and the late Alice Parker.

These have been reissued and repackaged into a cataloguing nightmare. Catch my review to find the one you want (or need!)

This one with The Many Moods of Christmas is to die for!

Find more Bennett recordings HERE!