The Magic of Christmas (Nat King Cole album)
Encyclopedia
The Magic of Christmas is a 1960 album
by Nat King Cole
, arranged by Ralph Carmichael
.
This was Cole's only full album of Christmas songs, although he had recorded several holiday singles earlier in his career. One of these, 1946's "The Christmas Song
", was re-recorded for the 1961 album The Nat King Cole Story
, and in 1963 The Magic of Christmas was re-issued with that recording added to the track list in place of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and the album given new cover art and retitled The Christmas Song.
Side Two
An alternate, all-English performance of "O, Come All Ye Faithful" was recorded during the album sessions, and first released in 1990 as part of the Cole, Christmas, & Kids compilation CD.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, arranged by Ralph Carmichael
Ralph Carmichael
Ralph Carmichael is a composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music, being regarded as one of the pioneers of the latter genre...
.
This was Cole's only full album of Christmas songs, although he had recorded several holiday singles earlier in his career. One of these, 1946's "The Christmas Song
The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer...
", was re-recorded for the 1961 album The Nat King Cole Story
The Nat King Cole Story
The Nat King Cole Story is a 1961 album by Nat King Cole. The album was a retrospective of Cole's recording career, designed to present many of his earlier hits in new recordings featuring stereo sound...
, and in 1963 The Magic of Christmas was re-issued with that recording added to the track list in place of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and the album given new cover art and retitled The Christmas Song.
Track listing
Side One- "Deck the Halls" (Traditional)
- "Adeste FidelesAdeste Fideles"Adeste Fideles" is a hymn tune attributed to English hymnist John Francis Wade . The text itself has unclear beginnings, and may have been written in the 13th century by John of Reading, though it has been concluded that Wade was probably the author.The original four verses of the hymn were...
" ("O, Come All Ye Faithful") (John Francis WadeJohn Francis WadeJohn Francis Wade was an English hymnist who is credited with writing and composing the hymn "Adeste Fideles" ....
) - "God Rest Ye Merry GentlemenGod Rest Ye Merry GentlemenGod Rest You Merry, Gentlemen is an English traditional Christmas carol. The melody is in Aeolian mode. It was published by William B...
" (Traditional) - "O TannenbaumO Tannenbaum"O Tannenbaum", or, in its English version, "O Christmas Tree", is a Christmas carol of German origin.A Tannenbaum is a fir tree or Christmas tree...
" (Traditional) - "O Little Town of BethlehemO Little Town of Bethlehem"O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a popular Christmas carol. The text was written by Phillips Brooks , an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his...
" (Phillip Brooks, Lewis RednerLewis RednerLewis Henry Redner was an American musician, best known as the composer of the popular Christmas carol "St...
) - "I Saw Three ShipsI Saw Three Ships"I Saw Three Ships " is a traditional and popular Christmas carol from England. A variant of its parent tune "Greensleeves", the earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by William B. Sandys in 1833...
" (Traditional) - "O Holy NightO Holy Night"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
" (Adolphe AdamAdolphe AdamAdolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
, John Sullivan DwightJohn Sullivan DwightJohn Sullivan Dwight was a Unitarian minister, transcendentalist and America's first influential classical music critic.-Biography:...
)
Side Two
- "Hark! The Herald Angels SingHark! The Herald Angels Sing“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems, having been written by Charles Wesley. This is not the version widely known today. A sombre man, Wesley had requested and received slow and solemn music for his lyrics, not the...
" (Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, Charles WesleyCharles WesleyCharles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
) - "A Cradle in Bethlehem" (Alfred BryanAlfred BryanAlfred Bryan was a United States songwriter and pacifist.-Songs:His hits included*"Peg O' My Heart"*"Come Josephine in My Flying Machine"*"I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier"...
, Larry Stock) - "Away in a MangerAway in a Manger"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second.-History of the lyrics:...
" (Traditional) - "Joy to the WorldJoy to the World"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
" (Lowell MasonLowell MasonLowell Mason was a leading figure in American church music, the composer of over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His most well-known tunes include Mary Had A Little Lamb and the arrangement of Joy to the World...
, Isaac WattsIsaac WattsIsaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
) - "The First NoëlThe First NoëlThe First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier...
" (William B. SandysWilliam B. SandysWilliam B. Sandys , was an English solicitor, member of the Percy Society, fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, and remembered for his publication Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern , a collection of seasonal carols that Sandys had gathered and also apparently improvised...
) - "Caroling, Caroling" (Alfred BurtAlfred BurtAlfred Shaddick Burt was an American jazz musician who is best known for composing the music for fifteen Christmas carols between 1942 and 1954. Only one of the carols was performed in public outside his immediate family circle during his lifetime.-Early life:Burt was born in Marquette, Michigan...
) - "Silent Night" (Franz Gruber, Josef MohrJosef MohrJoseph Mohr, sometimes spelt Josef was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and composer, who wrote the words to the Christmas carol "Silent Night".-Biography:...
)
An alternate, all-English performance of "O, Come All Ye Faithful" was recorded during the album sessions, and first released in 1990 as part of the Cole, Christmas, & Kids compilation CD.
Performance
- Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
– vocalSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Ralph CarmichaelRalph CarmichaelRalph Carmichael is a composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music, being regarded as one of the pioneers of the latter genre...
– arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...