George Melachrino's best-selling easy listening seasonal entry, 1954's
Christmas in High Fidelity, has stood the test of time as a flawless orchestrated collection of secular and sacred selections. Likewise for baby boomers, few recordings have become so deeply ingrained in the culture, after having been incorporated as the incidental soundtrack of more adverts and retail outlets than could possibly be accurately assessed.
Melachrino and producer Ethel Gabriel were the culprits behind the "Music for Moods" movement that yielded the essential titles Music for Dining, Music for Daydreaming, Music for Faith and Inner Calm, and the ever-popular sonic Sominex Music to Help You Sleep. Perhaps one reason
Christmas in High Fidelity has remained ageless is that
Melachrino conducts and scores the holiday-related melodies without garish over-production, ever sensitive to the music's traditional allure. There are no updated or modernized arrangements, but rather refined versions of favorites with minor discriminating touches, such as the authentic old-world church chimes heard during the stirring opening of "White Christmas" and in "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," as well as their emotive and effective use in "Adeste Fideles." The innocence and wide-eyed wonderment of youth are perfectly captured in the whimsical "Mrs. Santa Claus," "Fairy on the Christmas Tree," and
Melachrino's "Once More It's Christmas," his sole original in the package. Although not directly related to specific year-end celebrations, Waldteufel's familiar "Skater's Waltz" and "Little Brown Jug" -- the latter being the most incongruous inclusion on the effort -- are suitably adapted to the festive motif. It bears repeating that even those who habitually loathe this sort of recording will be at the very least impressed by the absence of syrupy strings feigning sincerity or the extraneously bombastic percussion normally associated with these types of long-players. In 1998 Collectors' Choice Music paired
Christmas in High Fidelity with
Melachrino's other Top 40 pop album, 1958's
Under Western Skies (an anthology of Old West-related songs), onto a single CD, making both available for the first time in decades. ~ Lindsay Planer