Christmas Celebration (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  Holiday  »  Holiday Spirit & Inspiration
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: August 29, 2005
• Label: American Gramaphone Records
• UPC: 012805202022
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106619528
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #7384 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #191857 in Holiday (See Top 100 Holiday Bestsellers)
• #13 in Holiday Spirit & Inspiration (See Top 100 Holiday Spirit & Inspiration Bestsellers)

Mannheim Steamroller: Chip Davis (vocals, hammer dulcimer, cornemuse, recorder, dulcian, crumhorn, drums, percussion, bells, wind); Jackson Berkey (vocals, toy piano, Fender Rhodes piano, harpsichord, clavichord, keyboards, bells); Liz Westphalen (vocals); Ron Cooley (12-string guitar, classical guitar, lute, bass guitar); Mary Walter (harp); Arnie Roth (vielle, violin); Eric Hansen (lute, bass guitar); Steve Shipps (violin); John Sharpe, David Low, Gregory Clinton (cello); Willis Ann Ross (flute); Roxanne Layton (recorder, crumhorn); Bobby Jenkins (oboe); David Kappy (French horn).

Additional personnel include: Johnny Mathis, Lynndee Mueller (vocals); Chicago, Renaissance Le Doo Dah Band, The University Of Michigan Men's Glee Club, Bielefelder Kinderchor, Cambridge Singers.

In 1984, Chip Davis released his first Christmas record on his own label, American Gramaphone, under the pseudonym Mannheim Steamroller. It contained classics and his own compositions done in a synthesizer-heavy, orchestral style he dubbed "18th-century rock & roll." That album would go on to sell millions of copies and 20 years later, the name Mannheim Steamroller was synonymous with Christmas music in many circles. To celebrate his 20th anniversary of rousing, rapturous synth anthems, Davis released CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION, a collection of MS's best holiday moments with one new track, "Celebration."

"Celebration" is a fitting addition to the Mannheim Steamroller canon, opening with a light fanfare before elevating to thunderous instrumental flashes of energy and spirited emotion, throwing in elements of the classics "Deck the Halls" and "Joy to the World" for good measure. Davis's interpretation of the former is probably his best-known work, and the festive Steamroller version is also prominently included here. An appealing collaboration with Johnny Mathis on "O Tannenbaum," where a choral rendering gives way to a timeless Mathis vocal, provides another highlight of this compilation.

There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!

• Great Deals on CDs under $9.99
  
  New Releases, Bestsellers and Classic Albums all for under $10! Great Music for Everyone's Tastes!
• Great Deals on DVDs under $12.99
  
  New Releases, Bestsellers and Classic DVDs all for under $13! Great Movies, TV and DVD Specials for Everyone's Tastes!
• Great Deals on Books under $14.99
  
  New Releases, Bestsellers and Classic Books all for under $15! Great Reads for Everyone's Tastes!