Best Holiday CDs?

Two favorites of mine which are also excellent audiophile quality are "Thys Yool-A Medieval Christmas" by the Martin Best Ensemble, Nimbus (NI 5137), and also "Noels Celtiques", Celtic Christmas Music from Brittany.Traditional and contem- porary choral music sung in Breton. It has a real presence, and very natural sound. (Green Linnet Records, GLCD-3124) Also don't miss "The Bells of Dublin" by the Chieftains,with guests Nanci Griffith,Rickie Lee Jones,Jackson Browne, the McGarrigle sisters, and Elvis Costello; Elvis'track is worth the price of the CD alone.

As I looked through my collection, here's another--The Many Moods of Christmas, which Robert Shaw recorded both on RCA and later with Telarc. A full orchestral recording, with four suites of carol arrangements. I find it more interesting than the standard orchestra and chorus arrangements from the likes of Ormandy, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, etc., and a LOT better recorded. Thanks for the recommendation on Noels Celtiques, Gasman; I'll look for it.

Mannheim Steamroller's 3 albums are quite nice and have many different pieces along with the standard fare - interesting arrangements. And of course Arthur Fiedler's "Pop's Christmas Party" originally released on RCA I believe in 1959 is a true classic of orchestral performances of modern and traditional classics. It is also on CD.

Ella Fitzgerald "Swinging Christmas" on Verve records, very cool holiday jive.......also Dolly Parton "Home for Christmas" on Columbia, Smokey Mt style christmas with Dolly's charming style.....both records above average sound, but not audiophile quality.......My favorite campy holiday song is undoubtly Bing Crosby "Melle Kalikimaka" hawaiian christmas song contained on many of his MCA christmas Cds. Most Bing Christmas albums are poor sound recordings unfortunately.

Something else a little different: "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Lava Records). I don't know that the sound qualifies as "audiophile", but it certainly is dynamic. The acoustic guitar solos are particularly stunning on my system. The story this CD tells is rather maudlin (what Christmas story isn't?) but the new music and the arrangements of old standards are all great. I play this CD all year around. I believe that this work has also been performed as a TV special - watch for it as the holiday grows near.