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This record has long been out of print but has come back into existence with the invention of iTunes and is worth the $17.95 you have to pay to get the download.
Joining Judy Collins on 1997′s Christmas At The Biltmore Estate are the Charlotte Children’s Choir under Sandy Holand and a small ensemble of session players-cello, trumpet, guitar, piano. Such an ensemble has the potential to get very like a high school musical but not so this whose arrangements are beautifully crafted mainly by Collins herself.
The star and the choir are in fine voice as they sing Christmas standards – Silver Bells, O Come All Ye Faithful, Hark The Herald Angels Sing and more.
In typical Collins style the album blends an eclectic mix of sounds though not refreshing the Christmas favourites so much that they become outrageous. Collins contributes three of her own songs to the record, Come Rejoice, All On A Winterry Night and the impressionist setting of Clement C. Moore’s The Night Before Christmas.
In interviews of the time Collins has said this and her earlier Christmas record Come Rejoice! are about the emotional meaning of Christmas for her. It is an enthusiastic performance full of the Christmas spirit and worth buying simply as a Christmas record. For Judy Collins fans it’s a very long time coming.
The tv special from whence the disc came has recently been reissued on DVD with extra content and is available from amazon.com.
