Recording information: Brorby Studios, Brooklyn, NY (03/13/2012); Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio (03/13/2012); Brorby Studios, Brooklyn, NY (12/12/2011); Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio (12/12/2011).
Editors: Michael Bishop ; Thomas C. Moore .
Home for the Holidays offers familiar Christmas music in light classical and easy listening arrangements, performed with festive cheer by John Morris Russell and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Featured performers include tenor Rodrick Dixon, violinists Timothy Lees and Gabriel Pegis, and pianist Julie Spangler, and the orchestra is joined by the May Festival Chorus and the Winton Woods High School Varsity Ensemble, so there is a fairly wide variety of vocal, choral, and instrumental settings of these perennial favorites. The scoring of the orchestra is quite lush and warm, typical of pops fare, and the overall moods of the CD are sweet, sentimental, and nostalgic, reminiscent of many commercial holiday albums that were popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Because this package is unpretentious and relaxed in atmosphere, it will appeal to casual listeners and find a practical use as background music for Christmas parties. But be sure to adjust the volume to a comfortable level for home listening, because the music is sometimes big and brassy. ~ Blair Sanderson
