O HOLY
NIGHT
ANDRÉ
RIEU
SONGWRITERS: ADOLPHE ADAM & ADOLPHE-CHARLES ADAM
COUNTRY: NEEDERLANDS
ALBUM: CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD
LABEL: POLYDOR RECORDS
GENRE: CLASSICAL
YEAR: 2006
André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu(born 1 October
1949) is a Dutch violinist and
conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann
Strauss Orchestra.
He and his orchestra have turned classical
and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act, as successful as some of
the biggest global pop and rock music acts. He resides in his native Maastricht.
By December 2008, Rieu had achieved his 100th
platinum accreditation in Australia and by May 2011, Rieu had sold over $50
million dollars worth of wholesale shipments of his CDs and DVDs in Australia
and was the highest selling music artist in the Australian market between 2006
and 2011.
The lush orchestra of André Rieu, with
the Belgian conductor leading the group while playing his violin like Johann Strauss II, often
lives up to Rieu's self-styling as a
modern-day Waltz King. Actually he doesn't program that many waltzes; his
reference is the society orchestra that flourished a generation after the time
of Strauss. Rieu puts together
big concert spectaculars that wow the crowds in continental Europe and have
proven equally effective during fundraisers of the U.S. Public Broadcasting
System. The music heard on this disc was apparently taken from a DVD recorded
in Germany -- the packaging gives no clue as to its origins, but German is the
language in which Rieu addresses the
audience. The
Christmas program features a Japanese children's choir, singing in Japanese, as
well as some familiar and not-so-familiar seasonal selections; the tracklist is
given all in English, but several different languages are heard. For
Anglophone listeners, there may be considerable charm in hearing the heavily
German- (or Dutch-) accented versions of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
Winter Wonderland, and even Handel's
"Hallelujah!" chorus from Messiah presented here, and there's no
denying that the precise approach of the Japanese kids is something special to
hear. Hardcore Rieu fans will
likely enjoy this extravaganza, but the casual buyer is advised to sample one
of Rieu's several other holiday
albums, where the packaging more closely suggests what the buyer is actually
getting. The release of this disc was likely timed to correspond with a Rieu tour of North
America, slated for the end of 2006. Deck the halls with cross-merchandised
apparel!
O holy night the
stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt it's worth
A thrill of hope the
weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine o night
O night divine
Sweet hymns of joy in
grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine o night
O night divine.
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