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Track Listings
| 1. Fantasia on Christmas Carols |
| 2. Hodie |
Product Description
Review
In Hodie there is an attractive medieval flavour to these settings of Christmas texts, with sharp cross-rhythms, which is well brought out on Naxos with Janice Watson an excellent, creamy-toned soprano. The main vocal items are linked by narration in recitative, with the recording bringing excellent separation of the different elements, including the organ. The brassy March of the Three Kings brings a colourful oriental flavour. The much better-known Fantasia on Christmas Carols, dedicated to the leading folk-songs collector, Cecil Sharp, makes an ideal coupling, similarly well performed, making this Naxos disc a fine alternative to the EMI pairing.*** --Penguin Guide,Jan'09
CD Description
A collection of Vaughan Williams' Christmas choral works
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a great CD. I had always thought that Hodie, despite great moments of inspiration (such as the marvellously inspiriting conclusion)was a rather inferior score to earlier choral scores like Sancta Civitas and Dona Nobis Pacem, but Hilary Davan Wetton's new Naxos (super-budget) version has forced me to revise my earlier view. I still believe that the beautiful Sancta Civitas is Vaughan Williams's choral masterpiece ( although Dona Nobis Pacem and the late, neglected Epithalamion are, respectively, works of great power and beauty) but Hodie comes across as a much greater score in this recording. The main reason for this, I think, is because the conductor takes many crucial sections at a considerably slower tempo than David Willcocks in his fine EMI recording (although the overall timings are very similar) or Richard Hickox in his disappointing later recording (also EMI). Wetton thus invests the score with greater power and dignity. The whole work hangs together much more effectively here than in either earlier recording (although I would not want to be without the Willcocks version, especially for the unsurpassed conclusion "Ring out, ye crystal spheres": one of the best moments in all Vaughan Williams).
Another advantage here is the recording (made at Cadogan Hall, London). It is much clearer than the Willcocks or Hickox versions, with the organ making a much more audible contribution. Janice Watson, Peter Hoare and Stephen Gadd are outstanding soloists and all credit to the Guildford Choral Society and RPO and their conductor. Paradoxically, the performance of Fantasia on Christmas Carols is, perhaps, not as effective as the Barry Rose version coupled with the Willcocks recording of Hodie and Naxos don't provide any texts (unlike EMI with the Willcocks recording), which is a drawback, although they are available online.
In conclusion, this is a great CD, especially as it is so inexpensive. In this performance, my attention was gripped throughout and any longeurs were much less apparent. Hodie contains some great music (the setting of Hardy's "The Oxen" for example) and is a remarkably inspiriting and life-affirming celebration of Christmas from the octogenarian composer.
Don't hesitate!
Another advantage here is the recording (made at Cadogan Hall, London). It is much clearer than the Willcocks or Hickox versions, with the organ making a much more audible contribution. Janice Watson, Peter Hoare and Stephen Gadd are outstanding soloists and all credit to the Guildford Choral Society and RPO and their conductor. Paradoxically, the performance of Fantasia on Christmas Carols is, perhaps, not as effective as the Barry Rose version coupled with the Willcocks recording of Hodie and Naxos don't provide any texts (unlike EMI with the Willcocks recording), which is a drawback, although they are available online.
In conclusion, this is a great CD, especially as it is so inexpensive. In this performance, my attention was gripped throughout and any longeurs were much less apparent. Hodie contains some great music (the setting of Hardy's "The Oxen" for example) and is a remarkably inspiriting and life-affirming celebration of Christmas from the octogenarian composer.
Don't hesitate!
Format:Audio CD
Bought for choral rehearsal and is a great help to us.
This particular recording of Vaughan Williams is ideal and the performers are an inspiration.
This particular recording of Vaughan Williams is ideal and the performers are an inspiration.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
This Hodie is a Joyless Disappointment
9 Dec 2007
Format:Audio CD
Ralph Vaughan William's Hodie is a fantastic Christmas work scored for soloists, choirs and full orchestra. There have only been a handful of recordings over the years and until this NAXOS release, there were only two versions available. Both are on the EMI label and are conducted by David Willcocks and Richard Hickox. The Willcocks is the benchmark recording and I was hoping that this new NAXOS version would be better, or at least equal to it, with improved sound. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Hilary Davan Wetton delivers a sluggish and uninspired interpretation of this choral masterpiece. His heavy handed conducting robs the festive moments of their power and creates overblown drama during the more medatative moments. I started to wonder if Wetton was aware that this is a celebratory work of the Birth and the season and that it was not a Passion Play. The soloist and chorus perform admirably but they cannot overcome Wetton's bloated tempi. I also found the sound below par. While it was nice to hear the organ, percussion, and brass clearly, this came at the expense of the strings. Many of the beautiful string lines are lost due to the poor balancing of instrument sections.
Surprisingly the Fantasia on Christmas Carols fares much better, and had Wetton invested Hodie with the same enthusiasm, my review would be much different.
So there you have it. Hodie should be part of your Christmas tradition as it will lift the haze of seasonal blues from your heart and remind you what the day is actually about. To accomplish this however, you need to steer clear of this recording and make your way to the David Willcocks EMI recording. It is at a budget price and costs less than this NAXOS fiasco. Hodie / Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Wetton's version of Vaughan William's Hodie places a distant third in a three horse race. Not recommended..........
Hilary Davan Wetton delivers a sluggish and uninspired interpretation of this choral masterpiece. His heavy handed conducting robs the festive moments of their power and creates overblown drama during the more medatative moments. I started to wonder if Wetton was aware that this is a celebratory work of the Birth and the season and that it was not a Passion Play. The soloist and chorus perform admirably but they cannot overcome Wetton's bloated tempi. I also found the sound below par. While it was nice to hear the organ, percussion, and brass clearly, this came at the expense of the strings. Many of the beautiful string lines are lost due to the poor balancing of instrument sections.
Surprisingly the Fantasia on Christmas Carols fares much better, and had Wetton invested Hodie with the same enthusiasm, my review would be much different.
So there you have it. Hodie should be part of your Christmas tradition as it will lift the haze of seasonal blues from your heart and remind you what the day is actually about. To accomplish this however, you need to steer clear of this recording and make your way to the David Willcocks EMI recording. It is at a budget price and costs less than this NAXOS fiasco. Hodie / Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Wetton's version of Vaughan William's Hodie places a distant third in a three horse race. Not recommended..........
Good recording from Naxos
3 Oct 2009
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this CD because I enjoy older English composers like Vaugh Williams and John Ritter. The quality of the recording is good and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra always performs at a high standard. Soloists are good but not outstanding. If you like Britten's Ceremony of Carols and Sans Saens Christmas Oratorio, you'll enjoy this recording.
Two of Vaughan Williams most magnificent contributions to Christmas music.
12 Jan 2009
Format:Audio CD
Fantasia On Christmas Carols is without a doubt one of the most beautiful and unusual Christmas pieces ever written. I love it because it begins in a somber, melancholy tone. It is joyous times, but there is always a wistful undertone. The seldom heard Hodie is also here on this CD and it is worth a listen.
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