The lush orchestra of
André Rieu, with the Belgian conductor leading the group while playing his violin like
Johann Strauss II, often lives up to
Rieu's self-styling as a modern-day Waltz King. Actually he doesn't program that many waltzes; his reference is the society orchestra that flourished a generation after the time of
Strauss.
Rieu puts together big concert spectaculars that wow the crowds in continental Europe and have proven equally effective during fundraisers of the U.S. Public Broadcasting System. The music heard on this disc was apparently taken from a DVD recorded in Germany -- the packaging gives no clue as to its origins, but German is the language in which
Rieu addresses the audience. The Christmas program features a Japanese children's choir, singing in Japanese, as well as some familiar and not-so-familiar seasonal selections; the tracklist is given all in English, but several different languages are heard. For Anglophone listeners, there may be considerable charm in hearing the heavily German- (or Dutch-) accented versions of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland, and even
Handel's "Hallelujah!" chorus from Messiah presented here, and there's no denying that the precise approach of the Japanese kids is something special to hear. Hardcore
Rieu fans will likely enjoy this extravaganza, but the casual buyer is advised to sample one of
Rieu's several other holiday albums, where the packaging more closely suggests what the buyer is actually getting. The release of this disc was likely timed to correspond with a
Rieu tour of North America, slated for the end of 2006. Deck the halls with cross-merchandised apparel!