Because my extensive CD collection was sadly bereft of any Christmas music I decided to rectify that situation, and this year I purchased the following Christmas CDs:

i) A Classic Christmas
ii) The John Rutter Christmas Album
iii) No¨el - Christmas at Kings
iv) Legends Christmas Collection

If I were to rank this CD amongst those four, I would put it in third place with 'No¨el' being the clear winner.

There is nothing wrong with this CD per se. The renditions are very good and the recording quality, as one would expect of a modern disc, is superb. The only detraction (if there is one), is the content. That is to say, if you are looking for an album of carols you can sing (or hum) along to whilst you prepare your Christmas feast, then you should look elsewhere.

As the title does say, this is JOHN RUTTER'S Christmas Album, i.e. it contains mostly HIS original compositions, recordings and renditions. With the exception of tracks in the 'Christmas Joy' section and 'Epilogue' most of these works will be largely unknown to 99.9% of the population - that however is not necessarily a bad thing, if it is only aural pleasure one is in pursuit of.

One aspect of this CD I did appreciate was the structure of the CD. That is, the six sections into which the progression is clearly and logically arranged.

Overall, a good CD, well recorded and well structured, but not one for your dining-room festive sing-along.