THE CHRISTMAS REVELS

(Revels Records)

You wonder whether, when The Christmas Revels made its Cambridge debut back in 1971, people realized that an international holiday classic was being created. The Revels now has its own catalogue full of recordings and other merchandise, but this first release is still the touchstone, chock full of English antidotes to "Holly-Jolly Christmas": the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, the Wassail Carol from Gloucester, the Boar's Head Carol from Oxford, the medieval processional "Nova! Nova!", "Villagers All" from The Wind in the Willows, songs from the mummers' play of St. George and the Dragon. Plus what have become staples of every Revels holiday offering, Sydney Carter's "Lord of the Dance" and the closing benediction of the Sussex Mummers' Carol. It's a joyous reminder of what the season is all about. (See our review of this year's Christmas Revels.)

-- Jeffrey Gantz

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