Chours d'Enfants Da Capo, Marc Grauwels, Paul Dury - Noël: Les plus beaux chants traditionnels français (2002)

As lovely as much of the music is, it's hard to recommend Noël: Chants traditionnels français, sung by Choeurs d'Enfants Da Capo, without reservation. The primary problem is with the acoustic; on most of the tracks there's a very low hum that's frequently loud enough to be a serious distraction and it's an aural relief when it goes away in the brief pauses between tracks. Another consideration is whether or not the listener finds the instrumentation of the accompaniment -- organ, flute, and accordion -- charmingly quirky or in dubious taste. The songs chosen are among the best-known French carols, including a few international favorites like Silent Night (Douce Nuit). The young singers are talented amateurs, but this is not a children's choir of the first rank; this especially apparent in the solos. Again, this fact may or may not be a deterrent to listeners; it's easy to be charmed by the innocence and artlessness of the performers, but fans of absolutely pure tone and impeccable intonation may not find this CD to their liking. Apart from the issue of sound quality, the artistic considerations of the performance will determine whether or not a particular listener will be pleased with this collection.