What this production has that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir video lacks is Good King Wenceslas, God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen and considerably greater quantities of snow. The Choristers & Cathedral Singers of New York's Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine warble along with harmonic warmth, while viewers are subjected to a procession of stereotype scenes filmed in wintry Vermont. There are shots of red barns, sleigh rides, tree-trimmings—lots of stuff that serves primarily to call to mind cheap Christmas cards. Between Hark! the Herald Angels Sing and a rousing rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas, there is a blizzard of close-ups of holiday wreaths, candle flames, stained glass, toy soldiers, milk, cookies and cutie-pie kiddies, all of which begin to seem like part of some conspiracy to make Christmas boring. (Creative Programming, $19.95; 800-426-4962)
Your Reaction
