Our Review
Noël: 25 Hymns of Christmas features William Neil playing the John Jay Hopkins Memorial Organ in the National Presbyterian Church (Washington, D.C.). When I first picked up this CD, I had a slight shudder. First, when I think "organ music," several mostly-negative images come to mind, including pompous church music, hokey circus music, and morbid horror movie music. Then, I noted that this album exceeds an hour in length, and I imagined myself sealed in a granite tomb for 64 minutes with a never-ending booming organ.
Preconceptions are deceiving. As it turns out, this is an extremely nice CD covering a broad range (25 tracks!) of largely well-familiar sacred carols. Neil is a marvelous organist; his playing is confident and commanding, but never overbearing. In fact, several presentations are even quite delicate; Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming and In the Bleak Midwinter are my favorites among these. In contrast, tracks such as We Three Kings exude strength and regal dignity. Over the course of an hour, the overall effect was stately, yet warm. As for the album's production values, this package is impressive; the church's acoustics provide full-bodied sound without a mushy echo.
I highly recommend William Neil's Noël as a comprehensive and very well-executed set of instrumental organ pieces. No horror movies here!
--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2006)
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From the liner notes:
William Neil
Jay Hopkins Memorial Organ
Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Boston, Massachusetts (1969)
The National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C.
William Neil, Organist of the National Symphony Orchestra, is well known for his performances of traditional and contemporary organ music. Prior to his appointment in 2001 as Organist of The National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. he served as Organist of Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago. He has performed with such esteemed ensembles as the New York Trumpet Ensemble, Millar Brass Ensemble and Washington Symphonic Brass, and with the National Symphony under the batons of Slatkin, Rostropovich, Siciliani, Hogwood and others.
William Neil
Noël,
25 Hymns of Christmas
Artist site
Label: MSR Classics
Length: 64 minutes
Genre: Classical
Release: 2005
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Joy To The World! |
| Once In Royal David's City |
| O Come, All Ye Faithful |
| Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light |
| Angels From The Realms Of Glory |
| Gentle Mary Laid Her Child (Good King Wenceslas) |
| Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming |
| God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman |
| It Came Upon A Midnight Clear |
| Angels We Have Heard On High |
| See Amid The Winter's Snow |
| While Sheperds Watched Their Flocks |
| O Little Town Of Bethlehem |
| The First Noël |
| Go, Tell It On The Mountain |
| We Three Kings |
| Still, Still, Still |
| Good Christian Men, Rejoice |
| O Morning Star, How Fair And Bright |
| Away In A Manager |
| What Child Is This |
| On This Day Earth Shall Ring |
| In The Bleak Midwinter |
| Hark! The Herald Angels Sing |
| Silent Night |