Hi y'all (or should that be Ho! Ho!)

Just got through listening to two a capella Christmas albums that you may not be fakiliar with:

Artisan (Hilary Spencer, Jacey Bedford and Brian Bedford) have a release called Bygone Christmas--Carols, Wassails and Victorian Christmas Songs)

Traditional music sung in polished, lovely harmony by a trio who should be better known. Selection is a bit odd (Christmas Goose and Mistletoe bough aren't commonly included in seasonal collections), but the whole package works jes' fine, and is a welcome relief from the Luboff Choir and old Bing Crosby recordings.

Holly and the Ivy * Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came * Under tyhe Mistletoe * Sussex Carol * Silent Night * Gloucesterdhire Wassail ( Remember O Thou Man * Coventry Carol * When Shepherds Watched * God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen * Mistletoe Bough * Boar's Head Carol * Christmas Goose * Wassail Bough * Personent Hodie * My Father's Custom * The Old Year Now Away is Fled

Coope Boyes and Simpson's Carland of Carols

If you're not familiar with C,B you damn well should be. They're prime contenders for "Best choral Group in the World" if there were such an asinine award. Three magnificent voices, tight imaginative arrangements---what more could you want? Magnificent!

Shepherds Arise * Down in Yon Forest * The Coventry Carol * As I Sat On a Sunny Bank * While Shepherds Watched [Lyngham]* Nowell and Nowell * In Bethlehem City * Christmas is Now Drawing Near at Hand * The Carnal and the Crane * Here We Come A-Wassailing * The Three Harks * The Moon Shines Bright * Boars Head Carol * The Dunstan Lullaby * While Shepherds Watched

AND NOW.. I'm going to listen to the latest in the Nowell Sing We Clear series featuring John Roberts and Tony Barrand, along with Fred Breunig and Andy Davis. I'll let y'all know how I like it (It's entitled Just Say Nowell).