Final Share of the Year: The Bells of Bethlehem

For my final share of the year, I present the three-album set "The Bells of Bethlehem", a Columbia Special Products package featuring "A Christmas Festival of Song from the Holy Land, Europe, and America".

Record 1 in the set is "Christmas in the Holy Land", opening with the Bells of Bethlehem and continuing with a recording of a holy Mass at Christmastime.  Record 2 in the set is "Christmas in Europe", featuring traditional carols from England, Germany, Austria, France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.  Record 3 moves to America with performances of traditional and American-written carols from such artists as the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Norman Luboff Choir, and the great Mahalia Jackson.

I have kept this share as six distinct sides, without attempting to break down each side into individual tracks.  Sides 1 and 2, the recording of the Mass, are especially more proper as single continuous recordings, so I decided to retain the entire set this way.  For the adventurous and skilled with Audacity, I have a separate link to wav format files, if you would like to break them into single tracks on your own.

Also included in the set is the 6-page booklet that accompanies the records, with information about the collection and about the individual tracks.

Booklet page 2

So, in time for the penultimate evening before Christmas and a day prior to Christmas Eve, here is the three record set of beautiful music "The Bells of Bethlehem".  I hope you find time to enjoy these as the season winds down and we approach Christmas day.

download link

wav file download link