We Wish You A Merry Christmas
About This Album
Ray's most popular Christmas album. RIAA certified Gold and Platinum.
This CD can be purchased from Amazon.
Produced by Rann Productions, Inc.
Production Coordinator: Ernie Altschuler
Recording Sessions Supervised by Bob Ballard
Liner notes
We Wish You a Merry Christmas is a sparkling, rhythmic, irresistible holiday greeting from Ray Conniff and the Ray Conniff Singers. As in his previous, immensely successful Christmas album, Christmas With Conniff Ray has gained special inspiration from the seasonal character of the program he has arranged for his singers.
In his new collection, Ray has grouped most of the songs into medleys which tell a musical story about this holiday of holidays. Christmas chimes introduce an exuberant address to Jolly Old St. Nicholas, and a request to "give little Billy a drum this year" blends into a tender songs aboutThe Little Drummer Boy (played by Frank Flynn) whose only gift for the baby Jesus was to play on his drum for Him. The next medley starts with a soft, interesting rhythmic background to O Holy Night followed by a slightly brighter We Three Kings of Orient Are, and concludes with a real happy get-together of the twenty-five Ray Conniff singers as they Deck the Hall With Boughs of Holly. Then, in a stirring finale of bells, rhythm and song, the men and girls "tell all the world Jesus is King" in Ring Christmas Bells.
Side Two begins with a clever blending of Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, Count Your Blessings and the first personal greeting from the chorus as they sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The Twelve Days of Christmas has a rhythm sound that is one of the album's particular delights, and the chorus takes full advantage of the unusual alternating 4/4-3/4 beat, as they swing along through this old traditional Christmas story of the gifts "my true love sent to me."
In Ray's own words the final medley is "a masterpiece of performance by the singers." It builds from a slow, slightly Spanish-flavored rhythm on The First Noel to an exciting, infectious crescendo of rhythm and songs as the chorus finishes this great album with a stirring Hark! the Herald Angels Sing and one last, final, sincere greeting: WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR!