This release is a companion or second volume to the Albion label's 2016 release, A Vaughan Williams Christmas, containing similar material except that the earlier recording included a few original hymns by Vaughan Williams. Here, all of the pieces are arrangements made for the Oxford Book of Carols , of which Vaughan Williams was the editor. Two volumes of unaccompanied carols may sound like a lot, especially as these are not familiar carols in the main; the Gloucestershire Wassail, better known as the Wassail Song, is the ...
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This release is a companion or second volume to the Albion label's 2016 release, A Vaughan Williams Christmas, containing similar material except that the earlier recording included a few original hymns by Vaughan Williams. Here, all of the pieces are arrangements made for the Oxford Book of Carols , of which Vaughan Williams was the editor. Two volumes of unaccompanied carols may sound like a lot, especially as these are not familiar carols in the main; the Gloucestershire Wassail, better known as the Wassail Song, is the exception. Listeners in search of a general collection of favorite Christmas carols should look elsewhere. This said, the album is an absolute delight. One attraction is the in-depth booklet by Jeremy Summerly and John Francis, exploring the background of this book of carols and the reasons for its lasting influence. One might not expect to find humor in such a situation, but there is plenty of it. To take just one example, in describing the book's folklike ethos and the...
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