Mantovani And His Orchestra; Mike Sammes Chorus & Singers - 26 Carols And Christmas Songs

Mantovani made his first Christmas single (White Christmas, with Adeste Fideles for the B side) for Decca in October 1952. Later, he recorded a further twelve numbers for �An Album of Christmas Music� and it became a major seller in the 1950s. With the advent of stereo, in 1958 all fourteen numbers were re-recorded and the album (here heard as CD 1) became a million seller. It was followed in 1963 with a second Christmas album, entitled �A Song for Christmas� from which this set takes it names. �A Song for Christmas� finds the Mike Sammes Chorus and Singers, who often joined the Italian born maestro�s musicians. They can be heard on seven of the twelve numbers on the record. A frequent arranger of much of the music Mantovani recorded was Cecil Milner, one of the maestro�s select team of arrangers. Among the familiar carols on the album, are some unfamiliar items like Mantovani�s self-penned Christmas Bells, which conjures up the happy atmosphere surrounding Jesus Christ�s birthday celebrations. Paul Lambrecht�s Midnight Waltz and the now-forgotten traditional tune Nazareth, are equally unfamiliar, while Milner�s arrangement of �O Thou that tellest Good Tidings to Zion� (from Handel�s Messiah) is entirely free of Mantovani�s signature cascading strings.