American Christmas

Sticks to your soul kinda music

I have had this album for years--having first got it out of the library and immediately went out and bought it. Is it out of print now?! Perish the thought.

This album is full of haunting melodies and gorgeous arrangements that give dimension to the human soul and it's yearning for peace, love and salvation (however you may define that). The Shepherds Rejoice song is stunning in it's simplicity and crescendo; it somehow really makes me feel the miracle of the lowest of the low being the first to hear of the birth of God as human. And the Baptismal Anthem is wonderfully didactic.

It's not perfect for sure as an Xmas album, in that some songs go too far afield from Advent and Xmas (in my iTunes I catagorized songs like Heavenly Courtier and Pretty Home and a few others as Classical instead of Xmas). I find Cohen in general has created such a wonderful catalogue of music--I'm very grateful for his work. It's music that sticks to your soul, both as songs of aspiration and fine, fine melodies. It's also just an amazing education in the music that is closer to the folk, and not so much a product of European courts. January 2, 2009

An antidote to Pop Christmas Music

I happened to hear this in an mp3 newsgroup and immediately bought it for my folks and several other people. It is an incredible performance and unlike anything usually heard around Christmas . I listen to Classical music all day while working and yet I've never heard this before . Everyone who received it loved it. January 11, 2007

A refreshing change.

While some tracks may be a bit tedious, there are some real gems here - enough to make you wonder why they remain mostly forgotten. The performaces are spectacular.
November 25, 2006

Decent in moderation...

A note to non-early music fanatics (as, contrary to the Mr. Cohen's notes, this CD mainly attracts early music fans):

This album is decent provided you don't listen to the entire CD in one sitting. It is a nice break from the run-of-the-mill Christmas music, whether it be of the "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" or "Jingle Bell Rock" variety. However, the arrangements become tedious after a while. There are only so many open-fifths one can hear... Most people will find themselves gritting their teeth 2/3 through the disc. The non-early music fanatic would do well to listen to several tracks at a time.

The classical enthusiast will not be pleased with Mr. Cohen's notes as he tends to disdain most "classical" music as pompous, "stuff shirt" nonsense. He seems to believe that the music on this disc is FAR better than that of, say, Handel's Messiah, simply because it is the music of lower/middle class (18/19th Century) America. He laments the Europe's influence on American music; after all, we should not be following the horrible examples set by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, etc. Good four part writing, where--gasp--the tenor parts are not constantly following the sopranos?? And--Beautiful, full, varied instrumentation?! Counterpoint?!?! Hpmh!...what unmitigated gall! What sheer snobbery!

...Please don't misunderstand me. I respect both Mr. Cohen's expertise (his sentiment is a different matter) and this music, and I do agree that the music presented on "American Christmas" is an enjoyable break from "Santa Claus is comin' to town. And, yes, SOME of this music deserves more credit than it is given nowadays (it sure beats anything sung or written by Britney Spears...) But lets be realistic: Handel's Messiah this is not.

So, with that said, buy this CD... and remember, extreme moderation is the key to enjoying this album; if this sort of music was played as often as that oh-so-awful "music of reindeer," as Mr. Cohen puts it, you (provided that "you" are not an early music fanatic or Mr. Cohen) would find yourself desperately longing for the return of "Santa Claus is comin' to town." December 26, 2003

This CD contains some rare gems!

There are many delightfully refreshing tracks on this CD. While I'm not a fan of soloists, there are many tracks with a chorus. Many of these selections have a real Civil War-era sound to them. I especially like track 18: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, done in the form of a round. I've become addicted to track 24. This is a CD for all seasons. August 16, 2003

More reviews at Amazon.com ...