Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The Christmas Spirit--Alfred Burt Christmas Carols: The Ralph Carmichael Singers and Brass Ensemble (Word WST-8371; 1966)

 



Superb performances of nearly all of the fifteen Alfred Burt carols, which were written between 1942 and 1954.  This Word LP is from 1966, and it's the stereo edition.  (Update 12/15: Though the label says "WST," this is obviously a monaural pressing.)  Side 1 features The Ralph Carmichael Singers and Side 2 gives us the Ralph Carmichael Brass Ensemble.

For the most part, there's a significant contrast in mood between the two sides, with the vocal renditions generally quiet and reflective, and the brass ensemble performances often livelier and more extroverted.  Louder, too.  Both approaches work beautifully, and there's really not much more I can say about these performances except that they're the best possible.

Side 2 being a continuous medley, I put it on a single track.  Interesting that Word Records chose to describe its stereo as "dual channel," which is a little bit redundant.  Oddly enough, the monaural catalog number appears in the lower r.h. corner of the cover (W-3771).  Oops. (Update #2: And I've since determined, partly owing to GroovyLounge's input, that the LP is in fact mono, despite the mislabeling.  Sorry 'bout that!)

This terrific LP is another thrift gift from Diane.  Thanks, Diane!


DOWNLOAD: The Christmas Spirit--Alfred Burt Christmas Carols (Word EST-8371)


RALPH CARMICHAEL SINGERS

Caroling, Caroling

The Star Carol

Christ in the Stranger's Guise

Come, Dear Children

Some Children See Him

All on a Christmas Morning

O Harken Ye

Jesu Parvule

Nigh Bethlehem

Bright, Bright the Holly Berries

Ah, Bleak and Chill the Wint'ry Wind

We'll Dress the House


RALPH CARMICHAEL BRASS ENSEMBLE

Caroling, Caroling

All on a Christmas Morning

We'll Dress the House

The Star Carol

Some Children See Him

Come, Dear Children

Medley: Ah, Bleak and Chill the Wint'ry Wind, Jesus Parvule

O Harken Thee


The Christmas Spirit--Alfred Burt Christmas Carols: The Ralph Carmichael Singers and Brass Ensemble (Word WST-8371; 1966)


Lee


18 comments:

Buster said...

Thanks, Lee - this looks great!

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Buster,

And that cover speaks class!

Diane said...

Wow, Lee -- I'm so glad to have this in downloadable form for the car. I'm a Burt lover myself. Thanks. (And you're welcome.)

Ernie said...

Good one, Lee! Thanks!

groovylounge said...

Interestingly, the tracks sound mono to me. Any insight on that?

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Groovylounge,

I've noticed the exact same thing. I think the "WST-" it may very well be a printing error. I don't hear stereo separation, either...

RL said...

Lee,

Thank you again for the great music, and for (I think) solving another Christmas LP mystery.

Part 1:

I suspect this medley was originally released on the 1957 12" LP (Columbia CL 1051) of "The Christmas Mood" by the Columbia Choir, which (as you know) was originally released as a 10" LP in 1954 (Columbia Masterworks CL 6336) and then reissued in 1955 (Columbia CL 2546 - House Party Series), again on a 10" LP but with 2 added tracks (two more Burt tracks: "Carol of the Mother" and "What Are the Signs").

According to my notes, the 1957 12" LP crammed all 12 tracks from CL 6336 onto Side One (in a different order, and dropping the 2 added tracks from 1955), and then featured this newly recorded instrumental medley by Ralph Carmichael (conducting the Columbia Brass Ensemble) on Side Two.

That would explain the mono, I suppose.

Anyway, I can't be sure without comparing the two, and I can't do that because I have never seen or heard the 1957 LP. But the song titles in the medley match up, so I think it's a good bet.

But keep reading...

Part 2:

Then I compared the Side One track order for the Word LP you shared and the 1957 Columbia Choir LP, and—yep—they match, too.

So it appears that Columbia licensed the 1957 LP master straight out the box to Word, and Word just renamed the Columbia Choir as the Ralph Carmichael Singers. Boom, new album.

Again, I cannot prove this. Maybe someone here has some insights?

Lee Hartsfeld said...

RL,

That's fascinating. And I didn't know about the Columbia LP. It certainly would solve the mono mystery...

Curious to hear what others might have to say. Thanks for researching this!

Buster said...

The 10-inch Columbia LP has appeared on my blog:

https://big10inchrecord.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-first-alfred-burt-christmas-lp.html

Lee Hartsfeld said...

A side-by-side listen is called for--thanks. I'll have to import your file into my MAGIX program, then overlap the files. Hopefully, there won't be a mastering-speed conflict.

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Buster and RL,

For some reason, I can't import the Columbia mp3s into my MAGIX program, but a quick listen to both "Caroling, Caroling" tracks has convinced me they're the same recordings. Word added some echo, which didn't make them sound better. I wish Word had done a better job transferring them.

I would call RL's theory totally correct. Weird that Word would borrow from Columbia. Or maybe not so weird...

Ernie said...

Yes, I believe this is all true, though I had forgotten about it. I think Carmichael had something to do with the tracks originally at Columbia, so that either made it easier for him to license them back later, or perhaps he owned the master tapes and just released them again on Word.

Ernie said...

I just went in and updated the listings at DISCOGS for these records, linking them all together. I figure I needed to document some things so that other collectors don't have to go through all the same confusion.

Now I just need to see if I ever ripped the bonus tracks from the second 10" version. I thought I had that one, but my memory is flaky.

Ernie said...

Found it!

Here's a little link to the 14 track 10" version I ripped a very long time ago. Enjoy!

https://mega.nz/file/UBUSRTSQ#y05EthYtstwCB2yykyS7RehAXhTcgnGQ-w57OW5hsxw

Ernie said...

Found my old rip of the Columbia 12", too, if you want to compare it to the Word version.

https://mega.nz/file/BYEgTTqA#W2zXQg5DggDuWHa5YaGt_gi1XAmMjYi37q5EDPSWEJw

RL said...

So, on YouTube, there is now the Ralph Carmichael Music Channel, and in 2020 they posted the instrumental medley Alfred Burt Carols that makes up Side 2 of this Word LP (and I guess the 1957 Columbia LP too).

Lee, your vinyl rip sounds far superior to the YT video.

Listening on headphones to your Word rip, though, it sounds like a mild "fake stereo" reprocessing was applied by Word, which is why they released it as "Dual Channel" (a nod to Capitol's "Duophonic" LPs from that same era, maybe).

Lee Hartsfeld said...

Ernie,

Thanks! I'll listen to those at first opportunity. I'm currently fixing up my notes for my next post. (Or maybe it'll end up being the one after the next...)

RL,

Thanks for the compliment. Lots of YouTube audio leaves something to be desired, I've found... Totally agreed on the fake stereo. It does sound like they've doctored the left channel a bit. And that dreadful "Duophonic" sound at Capitol! Aghhh! Yes, I hear some similarity in Word's mock "stereo."

Ernie said...

I found another cover variation I'll have to share with you. This one has a little bit of the history of the recording on the jacket. Pretty much jives with what we already know. Don't let me forget...