O Tannenbaum - Christmas On The Rhine (Decca Records)
On the surface, this may seem to be an ordinary German Christmas album. If you look and listen a little deeper, you just might find some surprises. There are abundant copies of this album anywhere you look. eBay probably has a few copies listed for auction as you read this.
But... some album covers have some suspicious red writing directly under the words "Christmas on the Rhine".
These words read: "Mixed Chorus and Orchestra under direction of Werner Müller" That explains why this album is a cut above the rest.
When you heard the words "German Christmas record", visions of oompah bands and overbearing Teutonic singers straight out of a Wagner opera might have filled your head. Not this album.
This is a well-orchestrated, well-arranged, and well sung album. Many of the standards are covered ("O Tannenbaum", "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht") but there are a few gems that standout from the rest. "Leise Rieselt Der Schnee (The Snow Falls Quietly)" can be put alongside anything put out by Fred Waring.
"Am Weihnachtsbaum (By The Christmas Tree)" is lush and lovely - a perfect Christmas song. "Kling Glockchen (Ring, Little Bell)" is by far the winner. This song is bouncy, very catchy, and all the elements of the album are capsulated in this track. This is the one you'll remember!
Nehmen Sie hören sich (take a listen for yourself):
O Tannenbaum: Christmas On The Rhine
Happy listening...
Capt
Comments
you made Christmas even brighter.
been searching for this on cd but you went one better.
for this, I thank you, the world thanks you.
My alltime favorite Christmas album.
Max
Capt
I was in Germany Christmas 2006 and no luck finding even a mention of this. You've made an old guy very happy.
Glad to have helped you reconnect with them!
Capt
Thanks
hamh100-christrhine@yahoo.com
Anyone want to gander a guess?
Capt
Version One - original done by Werner Mueller and Orchestra. This was actually a SHELLAC - not vinyl - 33 1/3! Called the original 'Black Label'. Hard to find on eBay.
Version Two - a stereo re-record which is very faithful to the Black Label original. Missing the Mozart and Transeamus tracks. Easy to find on eBay.
I also have an original cassette of the Black Label version which I found many years ago in a cut-out bin! Kind of hissy and missing the extreme high-end. But - no ticks, pops or wear-out distortions!
I will upload some of these to Z-Share for your enjoyment!
Kind regards,
Edward/Ferndale, MI
Capt
Thanks again! Best wishes and holiday greetings to you and to all your visitors!
Capt
Capt
Captain, you are a kind man! As suggested, I checked back "very, very, very soon" and was pleased to discover a posting of the album in question, "Christmas in Germany", two days after my question! (and with the original cover art, instead of the Gingerbread House on a pink background shown on the later release). Hopefully, I'll be able to return the kindness; I have some other out-of-print German Christmas albums that might be of interest to someone out there. I'm going to track down a digitizing rig over the holidays and get to work! Thanks again, and Froliche Weihnachten!
I am hoping the combined resources present in this blog may also be aware of a 2nd DECCA record from the same timeframe entitled "A Christmas Song Festival - Songs of Christmas in Germany" (DL74169). This album featured Lolita, Willy Schneider, and the Schoeneberger Boy Choir, and others. My dad had copied both the "Christmas on the Rhine" and this album onto reel to reel tape and later to cassette, though none of those are available anymore. Would love to capture a digital copy of the second album if anyone has seen or heard of it. Thanks again for the link - great quality!
Froeliche Weinachten!
Jon
I was sad when our family vinyl became warped and scratched, though in recent years I still listened to an old taped copy I made. But just this Christmas, I too could no longer find even the tape.
This is one of the best Christmas presents I could ever have received.
Like the previous poster I would love to have those two other songs (they are on my old vinyl) or a download of the original album that has them.
Thank you again and I wish many kindnesses your way. Cheers!
Thanks to you both and to all who have posted their comments here!
Capt
Thank you for sharing. ^_^
Quote:
"Version One - original done by Werner Mueller and Orchestra. This was actually a SHELLAC - not vinyl - 33 1/3! Called the original 'Black Label'. Hard to find on eBay.
Version Two - a stereo re-record which is very faithful to the Black Label original. Missing the Mozart and Transeamus tracks. Easy to find on eBay."
This has been a family controversy for years. My uncle insists that the album with the red writing under the title ("Mixed Chorus and Orchestra Under Direction of Werner Muller") is the "real" version, while copies of the records without the records are "phonies" with a different choir and everything. Can anyone clear this up? Because they both sound the same to the rest of us....
Thanks!!!!
I tried to download the zip file but it says it's for premium RapidShare members only.
Do you have another location where it can be downloaded for free? Maybe yousendit.com or dropbox.com.
As I said to my family...this is the soundtrack of my childhood.
Thanks so much. LT
There are two versions (at least) of this material, Decca DL 8388 with 14 tracks, and a later release Decca DL78388, which lacks two tracks — Schlafe mein Prinzchen by Mozart, and Transeaumus (Gloria in Excelsis Deo) by Schnabel. I've compared the equivalent tracks on each record, and I can't hear anything to support the suggestion that these were recorded separately. A difference in the quality of the pressings, including perhaps the pitch, may be the reason for this perception.
The earlier DL 8388 recording appears to have been released in 1956, from a recording by Deutsche Grammophon-Polydor, as it was favourably reviewed in Billboard Magazine that year as a ‘new recording’ (http://is.gd/i4lBU). I suspect, but can’t confirm, that Polydor 46030 LPHM “O Tannenbaum, German Christmas Carols” with the ‘Santa Claus Orchestra with Choir and Bells’ (1958) is the same work.
The album is the work of Werner Müller (1920-1998, http://is.gd/i4Bh9) conducting a string orchestra and chorus (unnamed) with organ and bells. Mozart’s ‘Schlafe, mein Prinzchen’ features the Eric Bender Children's Chorus. Schnabel’s ‘Transeamus’ features the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Orchestra of Joseph Kugler. Presumably, but unconfirmed, Müller conducts the Orchestra on this occasion.
A track listing, with composers, follows:
1 O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree)
2 Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night) (Franz Xaver Gruber)
3 Kommet ihr Hirten (Come, Ye Shepherds)
4 Süßer die Glocken nie klingen (Sweeter the bells have never rung)
5 Leise rieselt der Schnee (The snow falls quietly) (Eduard Ebel)
6 Schlafe, mein Prinzchen (Sleep, my prince) (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
7 Von Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (From heaven above to earth I come) (Valentin Schumann; Martin Luther; Johann Sebastian Bach)
8 O du Fröhliche! O du Selige (O thou cheerful, O thou Holy one)
9 Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen (Lo, how a rose e'er blooming) (Michael Praetorius)
10 Am Weihnachtsbaum (On the Christmas tree)
11 Alle Jahre wieder (Every year) (Friedrich Silcher; Johann Wilhelm Hey)
12 Ihr Kinderlein kommet (Come hither, ye children) (Johann Abraham Peter Schulz; Christoph von Schmid)
13 Transeamus (Gloria In Excelsis Deo) (Josef Ignaz Schnabel)
14 Kling, Glöckchen kling (Ring, little bell) (Benedikt Widmann; Karl Enslin)
This wonderful, atmospheric recording has been a part of my Christmas tradition from my earliest memories. I was lucky to pick up virgin copies of the LP from a bargain ‘ends’ bin in my local record store almost 25 years ago, and have cared for this record and now enjoy it with my children as well.
The original German version of the album was titled "Lieder Zur Heiligen Nacht." The album cover was totally different with a nativity scene being observed by a "wistful-cherubic youngster."
My grandmother and mother have been searching for: Schlafe, mein Prinzchen (Sleep, my prince) (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) for years and years and years. Emphasis on the years! I was able to dig up this album, but it's apparently not the "real deal" without this song! Great present that made them cry tonight, but bittersweet.
Any help would be appreciated! I will be checking in and hope to hope. Merry Christmas!
I've been hunting for this for so many years!