Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas

• Artist: Ella Fitzgerald
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1967
• Total Time: 27:27
• Type: Christmas
• Genre: Vocal Music

Review

Recorded in 1967 and originally released that same year by Capitol Records as an LP (and re-released seasonally several times since then), Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas is a rarity among rarities in that it is a holiday album that actually holds up as a mature artistic statement. Oh, the songs are familiar, with Fitzgerald tackling 13 standards like "Silent Night," "Joy to the World," and "We Three Kings," but in her hands they become vehicles for her precise yet natural-sounding elocution and subtle, confident vocal phrasing. In other words, she sings these songs like they're fresh and new to the world, and that's no easy task. The end result is one of the best Christmas albums ever made. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
O Holy Night	Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight, Adolphe-Charles Adam	Ralph Carmichael	(1:47)
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear	Richard Storrs Willis, Edmund Hamilton Sears, Richard Willis	Ralph Carmichael Orchestra	(3:21)
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley	Ralph Carmichael	(1:49)
Away in a Manger	Traditional, James R. Murray	Ralph Carmichael	(2:12)
Joy to the World	Hoyt Axton, Isaac Watts, Lowell Mason	Ralph Carmichael	(1:40)
The First Noël	William Sandys	Ralph Carmichael Orchestra	(1:50)
Silent Night	Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr	Ralph Carmichael	(2:52)
O Come All Ye Faithful	John Reading, Frederick Oakeley, John Francis Wade	Ralph Carmichael	(2:45)
Sleep, My Little Jesus	Arthur Ernst Bergmann	Ralph Carmichael Orchestra	(2:17)
Angels We Have Heard on High	Traditional	Ralph Carmichael	(1:45)
O Little Town of Bethlehem	Phillip Brooks, Lewis H. Redner	Ralph Carmichael Orchestra	(2:10)
We Three Kings	Sidney Arodin, Traditional, John Henry Hopkins, Jr.	Ralph Carmichael	(2:07)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen	Traditional	Ralph Carmichael	(1:27)

Credits

Bob Furmanek (Liner Notes), Ella Fitzgerald (Vocals), Bob Norberg (Mastering), Ron McMaster (Remixing), Ralph Carmichael Orchestra & Chorus (?), Dave Dexter, Jr. (Producer), Ron Furmanek (Producer), Ron McMaster (Remastering), Ron Furmanek (Reissue Producer), Bob Furmanek (Reissue Producer), Kim Niemi (Coordination), Kim Niemi (?), Bob Norberg (Remixing), Ken Veeder (Cover Photo)

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