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From: walsinghamf
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  • A boy treble should have sung it not that old slapper, who raced through it like an express train. The whole thing is a mess.

  • yeh in Quran very discuss about prophet Jesus he is our prophet but not son of God reproach our priests they changed holy Bible we must at once study holy Quran plz plz we are in wrong way find the real way Jesus wasn't son of God impossible God is not human he don't have son we must to worship just one God who sent for his human prophet Jesus plz study Quran

  • Beautiful voice, but TERRIBLE version on her part.

    The boys were awesome!!!

  • Very good...shame Rutter had something to do with this.

  • Sounds better with a male soloist. She did an okay job, though.

  • I'm not religious at all, and in fact, this might sound a little disrespectful, I don't like religions. But these Christmas songs are absolutely wonderful, I don't celebrate Christmas whatsoever but theres just some magical thing about these time of the year that brings people together. At first Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, now it becomes a time for commercialism, but instead I'd like to forget about both and think of it as a day to bring people together for a fair judgement.

  • Got to admit, as wonderful as Kiri is, she should have left this song to the boys who really know

    how to sing this song.

  • the original is french, cantique de noel.

  • Where the heck is the bloody fire? Granted Dame Kiri has a beautiful voice, and that high B on the last verse is absolutely thrilling, but this is waaaay too fast for my tastes; much faster than I learned and perform it.

  • Comment removed

  • Did she have a train to catch? This is way too fast for my liking.

  • Y la alcanzarían?

  • beautiful... but too fast...

  • breath-taking performance! Amazing vocal job. One of the best choir versions on youtube.

  • The boy soloist should have sung it.

  • It's too fast o__O

  • way too fast

  • What is the choir? That is the best christmas music ever!

  • @ellle87 St Pauls Cathedral Choir.. around 15 years ago now I think!

  • @missjessmain Yes, something like that. This must be some time between 1997 and 1999-2000 that was when young Edward burrowes was the soloist in that choir... the Burrowes dinasty ;-)

  • why such a fast tempo? this beautiful song should not be rushed

  • I'm an atheist but this is the among the most beautiful music in human history

  • @Slacktoo you dont need to believe in god to appreciate beauty

  • I didn't get the soul of this song..

  • This rendition was sung much too swiftly; a pretty and goosebump-inducing song should never be sped-up but sung with reverent patience and heartful preesence.

  • nice vioce by the young singers,,,

  • lovely!!

    

  • Why does she sing this lovely song soooo quicklie????

  • @kikkerl That's what i was thinking. I was like um....in my hymn book it says reverently and this is so not the count.....0_o

  • im not nearly as good as that but pls listen to my verson!!!

    i hav a dream too!!

    /watch?v=JIDYBasar8U

  • The tempo can also depend on the soloist. The orchestra, organist or director must go with the tempo set by the soloist. at least that's what I've always been taught.

  • Dame Kiri is truly one of the greats of our generation. Those 16th runs are flawless and her tonality is nothing shy of spectacular. I would place her in the top 5

  • horrid...

  • Its past christmas. I´m still listening to it.

  • Bravo to the woman dressed in the red long dress. Thank you so much for this lovely rendition of O Holy Night

    Diane Levesque

  • @preruminator: I agree. Aren't we beyong the speed limit here?

  • why is angela singing? shouldn't she be home tony danza, alysa mylano, her red headed mom, and her gay blonde son?

  • @SparksDrinker try to listen friend this amazing performance, your words are awful whoever u are

  • I wonder if 'adagio' would have suited better than 'presto': a railroaded tour de force through the Holy Night.

    Wish you a tranquil Christmas.

  • too fast

  • In regards to the tempo, let's be fair to Dame Kiri here. The tempo is set by the COMPOSER (John Rutter) and enforced by the CONDUCTOR. Dame Kiri is not at all to blame for the speed. She's singing it as marked by the composer and as conducted by the conductor.

  • I wish I can be in the cathedral to listen the choirs

  • Is that the judge from law and order svu?

  • the greens are humans, the reds are aliens

  • No doubt about it, absolutely beautiful.

    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

  • How many versus are there to this song

  • Blimey, Kiri, did the show over run and time to dash to Heathrow? This is great, but far too fast, or hurried as a previous poster said. Still, no doubting the class, eyes on the clock notwithstanding.

  • Yeah, a bit hurried for my taste - were a few parts where orchestra, choir and soloist weren't in sync with each other. Otherwise, excellent singing by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa - pleasurable to the ears

  • Its a bit. . . Fast aint it????

  • It should've been at least a boy the principal singer.

  • It is very good, but it will be better, when it would be more slowly. Very nice voices. The sopran sounds very pure and young.

  • The soprano, delighting us with my favorite Christmas song , Is the incomparable and most beautiful Dame Kiri Te Kanawa

  • too fast

  • is that the judge from law and order svu?

  • Any-one know who The soprano is?

  • @Ebosse4368

    She is Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

  • maria callas i think

  • @crowneplaza1

    No, she is Kiri Te Kanawa and not Maria Callas. Callas died in1977.

  • Meh, not a fan of the soprano entrance. Wasn't the first unaccompanied solo of this song supposed to traditionally be sung by a boy treble? I think I prefer that sound instead.

  • @2241322 i agree !

  • Christmas brings back childhood memories...

  • the fast tempo will balance with the echo in the cathedral, very inspiring, thank you Lord

  • I love this song, but forgive me, I dont care for a Soprano singing it. I would prefer a Tenor or maybe Contralto.

  • @VASINGER You're just kidding, right?

  • @2468HOTROD Why would I be kidding? Go listen to Mario Lanza or even John Berry's version. Its much better.

  • @VASINGER ......lol....I don't think so!

  • @2468HOTROD I think female voices are nice of the lower variety- such as the contraltos. But the Soprano voice does not suit this song. The tenor voice is much better on this song. Different voices fit different songs better. This is just my opinion. I know many will disagree with me, but I have a right to it.

  • Beautiful.

  • One of the the reasons for the fast tempo is the long echo under the huge dome!

  • definitely way too fast, if you want an excellent version check out IL Divo

  • very nice voices, but the tempo sounds much too rushed. It is supposed to be sung slowly and emotionally. I'm not bashing their talented voices, it just needs to be slower and more emotion behind it.

  • Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, thank you!! Goosebumps galore and hair standing on the back of my neck

  • Awesome stuff here! Doesn't get any better than this!.. Merry Christmas everybody!

  • One of the most beautiful songs ever. I could listen to it a thousand times over. Thanks so much for posting and Merry Christmas to all!

  • Merry Christmas from GETTYSBURG

  • LOVE IT...she sings so bueaiful. I also think the background choir is very important. thanks and merry christmas from Vancouver Canada.

  • Happy Christmas from Episcopalians in Wilmington North Carolina

  • I grew up in the Methodist church, and christmas, without these beautiful hymns, is not the same for me...Great choir!

  • Qu-via-su-git-si Qu-via-sung-na-mi in inuktitut or in english Merry Christmas Everyone From Arviat, Nunavut Canada (Far North).

  • lovely carel merry christmas

  • merry christmas! Lutherans in Santa Barbara, CA.

  • What do the medals mean some of the boys are wearing?

  • Comment removed

  • The medals the boys are wearing are probably from the Royal School of Church Music. They usually signify a senior position in the Chair such as Head Chorister or a section leader such as Trebles or altos. Oh Holy Night must be one of the most beautiful Christmas song ever composed and it is sung delightfully here, although I prefer a tenor voice - rather than the soprano - with choir for this glorious song. Have a blessed Christmas.

  • The medals might be RSCM awards - Dean's award, Bishop's award etc., or might be internal awards - Dean's or Precentor's Chorister, or head chorister. At St. Paul's, they're more likely to be internal.

  • St Paul's isnt affiliated to the RSCM.

  • This is gorgeous. I think it's my favourite of all the carols you've put up.

  • Nice church, but to fast song. Merry Christmas from Ljubljana, Sloevenia, EU

  • Merry Christmas to all, from Dallas, TX

  • wow- jane fonda has an awesome singing voice. who knew?

  • too fast

  • I agree, i am used to a much slower version.

  • Nice piece. Thank you for sharing it.

  • PURE CHRISTMAS

  • Wow! I didn't know Judith Light could sing.

  • I think the conducter urgently needs to go to the toilet, or why would he rush such a beautiful pice like that -.-* to me it sounds horrible...

  • Doesn't this just give you the best Christmas shivers you've had in a while?

    Pure Christmas.

    Merry Christmas.

  • AH the fa fa fa stuff I like this too despite the pompous prigs ! Thanks for post from a common man , sincerly !:)

  • Can someone help me? What is the song which chrous goes Gloriaaa - Glorida - Glorida .. It's all I can really recall besides one the versus singing about shepreds.

    Anyone know?

    Merry Christmas!

  • Angel we have herd on high, would be the song.

    Merry Christmas!

  • Angels We Have Heard on High

  • @BlueTunisia erm, theres one called hurry to bethlehem, but i dont think that's the one

  • MUCH too fast. Nothing comes close to Micheal Crawford's beautiful rendition of this song.

  • Who is the singer in this?

  • I believe it is Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, one of the leading opera singers of the world. But I agree, this variation of O Holy Night is unusual and much too fast.

  • I knew I recognised that voice! Go NZ :) even though I do think there are better versions, yes :)

  • I'm speechless!! BRAVO!!!

  • Absolutely stunning. The choristers provide a wonderful foil for the soloist. The tempo is joyful & glorious. Thank you for sharing.

  • The contrast between the choristers and soloist is stunning. The tempo is nothing short of joyful & glorious. BRAVO!!!

  • Bloody awful. She murders this. It's a choir piece not an operatic one. And it's too quick. She must need a pee and want it over with!

  • With no disrespect to the soloist, it would have been much better had one of the choristers sung the solo as this singer sounds rather out of place singing choral music when, in my opinion, her place is within an operatic society. It doesn't blend!!

  • woah, way too fast! I don't think i've ever heard a version of O Holy Night that stressed me out, but the tempo did on this one!

  • Wonderful voice. I just love it. Beautiful interpretation of an ancient hymn. Takes me back to my boyhood.

    I wish I was religious.

    Aled

  • Has anyone heard the Hillsong version of O Holy Night. It is truely inspirational, and by far the most beautiful I've ever heard. You can hear a bit of it on you tube on their demo of "Christmas" This is a lovely CD, which Im playing frequently since getting it.

  • Definately sung too fast

  • I second that.

  • Beautiful. A bit to quick maybe?

    But I guess it varies...

  • I'm wondering why the conductor didn't look at her

  • The Marseillaise connection. During WWI, a French operatic tenor was enlisted. On Christmas Eve, he set out and walked for miles along the trenches, singing "Allons, Cretiens!" The French troops joined in. The British sang "O come all ye Faithful. Across the trenches, the Germans sang "Silent Night". The guns were silent. Allied and German soldiers met each other in no-man's land and exchanged gifts "Clearly he tells us to love one another. His way is love and his message is Peace."

  • This hymn is called the "holy marseillaise". It is beautyfull, like the German "Silent Night, Holy Night". A lot of greetings from Berlin, Germany

  • If that's true, that is so beautiful.

  • "Holy Marseillaise" is a very perceptive comment. This is a French Carol, of which the main words are "Allons, Cretiens!" not "O Holy Night". However, the Brits already had "Come all Ye Faithful" and "O Come Chris-tians" sounds clumsy. So a talented translator used poetic license and gave the sone a title which (in Englis) does justice to the beautiful French music. The rest is a very accurate paraphrase of the original.

  • she looks a bit like jane fonda....

  • lol- she looks ALOT like jane fonda actually!

  • Bellísimo....

  • sumtimes i ask why God dnt create all being to be same..this white lads are absolute wonderful,am black and love everything about this song glory to God.

  • this hymn sounds like a holy marseillaise

  • As proud as I am of Dame Kiri te Kanawa, she's not right for this arrangement. It's too fast, and too high for her, plus her excessive vibrato spoils the quiet simplicity of the piece.

  • you can see that she isn't confortable...

  • Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her,, all ye that love her...reyoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her.....That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolations...that ye may mil out, and be delighted with t he abundance of her glory....Is.66-l0,ll

  • good voice

    not for this song though

  • Its judith light! But wheres tony danza?

  • Before I saw the singer I knew that it was a woman by the excessive vibrato. Give me the unadulterated, pure tones of a boy treble. Compare this with the young Aled Jones and you will quickly know what I mean. I wonder what she would sound like if she had abandoned the vibrato. She has a strong clear soprano voice and excellent technique (apart from the vibrato) and I really like the arrangement of this carol. What a shame she spoils it all.,

  • I completely agree with ifuliki.Surely in St. Pauls' choir there must be a treble who can sing it better than her.

  • She is emotionless. Holy songs are NOT for her.

  • Emotion is for the stage and self expression. In Church you give Glory to God with your voice.

  • I happen to be a strong Believer.....Does going into a barn make one a horse? ha. Just a comparision... Going to church does not make a person close to GOD...for GOD does not live in temples made by men's hands... and so, the story goes : You must be Born-Again. Everybody.

    It does not remove the beautiful voice this lady has...but no anointing.

  • Stick to your opera, love.

    You ruin everything else.

  • IT'S  FANTASTIC

  • The song runs away from me! Stop it...

  • ALELUIAS!

    JESUS CRISTO É O SENHOR!!!

  • Really love this arrangement of my favourite Christmas carol, the choir is stunning and so is dame Kiri Te Kanawa.....Excellent!!!!.

  • OMG!!!!! THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

    The choir was gorgeous and the leading lady was phenominal!!!!!!! =)

    She reminded me a lot of Lisa Vroman =)

  • kentttj - "why can't a choir memorize a song lyrics?" . Who cares? All that shows is a good memory - good singing is far more important and I for one couldn't care less if they can remember the music or not - just as long as they can sing it beautifully.

  • Do you know how many times this choir is singing a service in a week?

  • Too rushed!

  • Agreed

  • Yes, far too fast, but nice regardless.

  • Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is a professional. That is her work. What is she supposed to do,,perform cartwheels to entertain choirboys?? I prefer to think that the ex-choirboy is a prat.

  • Why can't a choir memorize a song lyrics?

  • kentttj,

    The choir rehearses so much that memorizing the lyrics is inevitable; holding the sheet music during the performance is just a safety measure to make sure they don't forget anything at any one moment.

    If you knew how incredibly hard it is to sing like this, while coordinating with other singers doing other harmonies, plus a whole orchestra of musicians, then you would understand.

  • Because professional choir doesn't spend much for rehearsal. Especially those who sing for the chapel choir, they get the piece only 1 hour before hand. They have the ability to sight-singing. How many songs/hymms do you expect the choir to memorise?

  • To add to the great responses others have added, and to branch on Aurora's coordination comment; ensuring that every one follows the same thing is a must. Only the soloist generally plays from memory; sometimes the conductor, too, but not regularly.

    It's not just lyrics, it's rhythm and pitch. Aurora's right, doing this is very difficult.

  • I like the tempo. This isn't supposed to be a sad song right?

  • While she is an excellent singer, she sings it much too fast. It's supposed to be joyful and longing for Christ's birth, not something to get over and done with.

  • It's called ARRANGEMENT (Interpretation) ... Maybe by the conductor.

  • she's... AMAZING! I have shivers.

    and the choir is excellent too.

    I've sung it in the italian version and I love it!

  • She's good, but I thought it's almost as if she's doing it too fast

  • wow...this song is amazing

  • she bares a striking resemblance to Judith Light... ;-)

  • Antmenah wrote,

    Thanks Nerialves, I´ve enjoyed this wondrous chorus and all the beauty, what a powerful and magic voice..!!

  • When she starts the first "fall on your knees" i get goosebumps. a bit fast, but kiri is just so brilliant she could do whatever she wants, and it'd be ok with me!

  • Fabulous! Thanks for sharing. Ny wife and I thoroughly

    enjoyed thsi!!!

    Ralph & Ann

    From the North Bay Area of San Francisco Bay Area!!!!

  • Very good!

  • Antmenah wrote,

    Oh Holy night..!! What a tender voice and wondrous melody!! It´s like a chorus of angels comming from the earth and the sky at the same..

  • Good persormance of the original France song ''Cantique de Noël''.

    Of couse rated.

    (Granddaddy) Cor

    Netherlands

  • I don't know i thought it was Beautiful. thanks so much for sharing this with me.

  • Thanks Nerialves for sharing.Very good!

    5*!!!My fav.

    Merry Christmas!Maria Inês.

  • actually, after listening more, i like it at thispace too, especially when the chorus sings - sounds lilting and dancey. I have an old book where the accompaniment is in 16th notes (in 4) instead of in 3.interesting

  • Oh, your book is good. You have the original version of the score then!

  • It's funny, because I took another look at the book - I had glanced at it a month ago and thought it was an older one of my Mom's - at second look, I realized I had bought it from a Barnes and Noble bargain table! It is "A Treasury of Christmas Carols" compiled by Jerry Silverman, 1991. He gives a brief history of each song. Fairly simple keyboard arrangements with chord notations, and some lovely illustrations. Hardcover, spiral bound. Quite nice, & I'll have to pay more attention to it!

  • kiri sounded better on her jazz recordings done in her alto range. totally different

  • She looks like Corella DeVille....but boy can she sing.

  • Should anyone look at the original score in the French they will see dotted eighth notes followed by 16th notes throughout. That's not to suggest the song be rushed, but rather that it was never intended to be sung in those elongated phrases every musical score of the song is edited as. It's sad sometimes to me how an artist's original work gets changed by the crowds. That said, any version of this song is meaningful, and I adore the words.

  • This is the best performance I ever heard

    Huibert, The Neterlands

  • the last chorus through to the end was way too fast; all the harmonies just collided. perhaps the conducter was trying to get out to get the last of his christmas shopping done