Chip, this is another medal for your patience and persistence to bring back one of the most beautiful Christmas Instrumetals to the new generations or to the older ones who does not have access into it during that era.

Congratulations and I hope I can order this ahead online

Who says Christmas can't come in July?  Great news.

• We Three Kings of Orient Are by Percy Faith
• Good King Wenceslas and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by George Melachrino

You're welcome Bob, and nice to see you back on the board!

I received my copy of this CD in the mail yesterday.  I'm not a huge fan of compilations, but this is a very good one.  I'd never heard Melachrino's "Good King Wenceslas" before - wow, what an arrangement.  I'll be playing this one a good deal during the season. 
Tom

Will,

Kaikoo Lalkaka (the owner of Guild Music) told me that the new CD will be available from other online retailers in the next few weeks.

Unfortunately, "geographical restrictions" prevent us here in the USA from downloading "Christmas Joy" from amazon.co.uk

Tom

It cost about $12.50 for the Christmas Celebration CD - great value. 

Tom

Will,

Amazon carries the entire line of Guild CDs, which now totals 86 in all. This includes Christmas Celebration; however, it is currently available on Amazon only as an MP3 download (Click here). The CD itself will definitely be available for order soon, but unfortunately, I just can't tell you exactly when.

Greetings from Scotland!  Being responsible for the re-mastering of "Christmas Celebration" I am pleased to see so much enthusiasm for it and I'm looking forward to hearing people's comments once they have listened to it.

Must confess I don't understand those in the USA who are waiting for Amazon to stock it at 17 or 18 Dollars, albeit with free postage, when you can get it now direct from Guild for less than 13 Dollars including Air Mail using PayPal or most credit cards.

Alan

Nice to see you on my message board; welcome aboard!

So very true Will; Gesu Bambino is without a scintilla of doubt one of the great maestro Percy Faith's absolute very best Christmas songs. It was so brilliantly and reverently arranged, and like all of his work, so masterfully and stunningly performed. I, too, have a personal connection to the song; if you would like to read about it, Click Here and scroll down below my Forward to my Yule Log story.

You're very welcome, Susan. It is deeply gratifying that through the modern miracle technology of the internet that later in my life I am able to share all this great music with folks, and most importantly, to introduce it to a whole new generation of kids who very sadly might not be familiar with it.

One of the many things that made Percy Faith the greatest Christmas artist of them all, bar none, is that his Christmas music had an ethereal, celestial and angelic quality to it.  In fact, so much so, that it sounds like it was literally piped down from heaven. There was an otherworldly quality to it that no other artist has ever come close to in duplicating -- and I can categorically guarantee you that no one ever will. To be able to evoke such emotion to this degree with his music is what sets Percy Faith apart from anybody else and puts him in a class all by himself. This is exactly why when it comes to Christmas music, he is the undisputed King; the great Master and Maestro. And that is exactly why I will continue to fight to get back into print his second Christmas album, Hallelujah (aka Music of Christmas, Volume 2).

Alan knows how much I have been pushing for this and that is why the new Guild CD is dominated with tracks from the out-of-print Percy Faith album. Unfortunately, because Guild Music's specialty is compilation CDs, it is not likely they will ever issue the album in its entirety; so I will have to continue to push my other sources to get that to happen. But as God as my witness, I am totally determined that someday it will indeed happen. And when it does, then, finally, this classic and legendary album can take its place next to Mr. Faith's equally classic and legendary first Christmas album, Music of Christmas, which has never been out-of-print since its original release in 1954.

Regarding the Guild CD, one of the things that I was very pleased with is that another great song from the second Christmas album, the title song Hallelujah, was chosen to end the disc. Mr. Faith's incredible arrangement and powerful performance of this classic and legendary song would have made George Frideric Handel himself most proud indeed. It was a totally glorious and triumphant way to end the CD.

By the way, two of the seven songs from Mr. Faith's second Christmas album that unfortunately did not make the Guild CD were ones that I most proudly added to the Yule Log telecast in 2009 when I created the new fourth hour (Click here). They are his very poignant and wistful rendition of Away In A Manger and his majestic and dynamic rendition of Angels We Have Heard On High. Both songs are posted below for your listening enjoyment.

Alan:

Thanks loads buddy, I appreciate that very much. And I know my board members will be very appreciative as well.

It's funny because even though we couldn't get anywhere with Sony Music or Collectables Records over the years in getting Percy's second Christmas album back in print, you just might be able to accomplish that very thing if you are able to convince Kaikoo at Guild to release a Volume 2 of Christmas Celebration next year in 2012. It's like they say, where there's a will there's a way!

By the way, that was funny what you said about your organist friend and how he wasn't going to buy the Guild CD until he heard Percy's rendition of Hallelujah Chorus and then changed his mind. The sheer magnitude and power of his orchestra was in full throttle in his rendition of this great classic and like so many of his other great interpretations, it just brings tears to your eyes. For those who have never heard this gem before, I'll post it at the end of this post for your listening pleasure.





Susan:

Yes, music is indeed my life's passion -- especially Christmas music. But I'm sure that's no big surprise to anyone who knows me and/or is familiar with my website and message board. Another one of my life's passions is to preserve, promote and protect the legacy of all these great artists who have given me so much pleasure over the years with their outstanding music. Truly I tell you that we will never see the likes of these great artists again. To quote a famous movie line, they are gone with the wind. Notwithstanding, however, I for one will do my damndest to make sure they are not forgotten and that their music remains in circulation.