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Hillsong Church, Castle Hill, Australia has produced quite a Christmas album. Not only are there old favorites such as “Angels We Have Heard On High” and “Joy To The World,” but new Christmas ballads including “O Rejoice” and “Savior, Christ The King.”

Arrangements are usually solo voice backed with choir. With the exception of Track One, “Angels We Have Heard On High,” which had way too much soprano in the mix so that the words of this carol were not clear, the rest of the songs were within a listening range. 

Standout soloists are Erica Crocker for “Joy To The World,” which is a jazzy arrangement that went on for what seemed like hours, and Hillsong Church’s song leader, Darlene Zschech on “O Rejoice.” An example of a soloist holding notes in the back of their throat was Holly Watson in “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” This has a tendency to drag out the carol.

The instrumental arrangement for “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” with Nigel Hendroff was exceptional. All in all, this Christmas CD is an OK compilation with a mix of new and old carols in modern settings with soloists, choir and jazz arrangements. 

Copyright 2007 Marie Asner
Submitted 2/11/07