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I don't start a lot of threads, but I thought it would be good to have for everyone to post their reviews/opinions of the HFC DVD.  I don't have the Blu-Ray version yet (long story as to why) but it will be here later.

Obviously if you don't want to be spoiled and haven't seen it yet, don't read beyond the first post.  Pretty sure I noticed several former choir members there again, although only one with absolute certainty.

I only saw Kirstie clearly once, at the 31:34-36 mark.  Way too much focus on the little kids in the audience than the adults.  One question I do have for her, were the 1st and 2nd halves of the show about equal lengths or was one much longer than the other?

I've got some stuff to do, but will work on my actual thoughts on the DVD later this evening.

But one tidbit before I depart for a while.

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p312/CO757300/CW/PDVD_012_zps2861073d.jpg~original)

 To  paraphrase  something  my  dad  would  have  said...   "Hubba  hubba  ding  ding , baby  they  got  everything !    ;D   I  will  be getting my  DVD   about  a week later  than  some, so  I will have  to  resist the  temptation  of  seeing  this  thread again  until  mine  comes. But  it's  a good  idea,  though .   8)

I got my dvd today and it's simply divine

Just one minor thing for me,I woulda preferred it came in a regular standard DVD case so I could put in on the shelf with my other Celtic DVD's,mine has a sorta of a CD jewel case instead.I have the regular DVD edition.

Mine is the DVD/CD and it is also in a single jewel case, the kind that hold two discs.  Perhaps the Blu-Ray will be a regular DVD type case.

A few thoughts because I suck at writing long reviews, at least quickly.  One thing, I am very opinionated when it comes to Christmas music so there are some songs I just do not like and I don't care who sings them.  I'm only going to mention some on this post.  I'll probably comment on others as the threads goes along.

While I don't know if the 1st half was longer than the 2nd during the live show, on the DVD it surely was.  The 2nd half only made up about 20 minutes, the 1st was the other 40.  Kirstie will have to tell us exactly how long each segment was.

It was so good to see Meav back, even if it was just for this DVD.  The way she just stepped right back in is like she never really left.  As we say, once a CW, always a CW.

Lisa gets the duet with David for I'll Be Home For Christmas.  I always loved seeing Lisa Kelly and David (mostly LK lol) duets, so it was really nice to see Lisa L and David have one.

Hark The Herald Angels Sing- One of my top five favorite Christmas songs and the girls knock it out of the park.  One of the most beautiful renditions of it I have heard in a very long time.

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town- Meh, not a song I care for, not even when I was a kid; nor do I care for all the kiddies.

We Three Kings- It's not CW without Anthony (or as Lisa Kelly called him, "The 5th Celtic Woman").  This is another song I've always loved and and am so glad they covered it this time.  It is one song I missed not having in ACC.

Carol of the Bells- I think this was one of the best songs for Mairead to have as a solo.  It works well instrumental or vocal.

O Tannenbaum- I wish I had learned German from my family who still spoke it when I was a kid.

Silent Night- Of all the girls, this one should only be sung by Meav.  She was perfect in ACC, and she is still perfect.  I think James will probably break his DVD watching it over and over... and over.  :D

It s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas- Finally a switch to Act 2, but another meh song to me.  It seems that Susan is really enjoying this one though.  I think she really enjoys the songs that are more for the kids.

The Light of Christmas Morn- I don't think I've ever heard this song, so it was nice for there to be one which I didn't already have an opinion of.  How many ways can we say the girls are simply angelic?

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear- I didn't much care for the choir on this song, but it's Susan who makes the song and does so wonderfully.  I truly hope she stays around because she brings a very unique, almost childlike enthusiasm to the show, and I mean that in a good way.

Auld Lang Syne- The audience response to Lisa was not that enthusiastic.  Chloe would not have been very happy.  Nice that Lisa get another duet with David.  I'll play this song on New Years Eve for sure since it's such a great rendition and of course, it's CW so what could be better?

Joy To The World- Another song I missed not being on ACC so was very glad to have it here.

I am disappointed that we did not see Mairead say "Let it Snow" so they clearly used the 1st recording for the end as it was just a little Let it Snow on the fiddle before fading to black.  I also would have liked to see a Mairead solo in the 2nd half.  Oh, and I am going to be a guy for a minute and say that Mairead has very beautiful legs.

I'm still debating exactly where I'd rate this DVD compared to all of the other CW productions.

 /rant

Wow. I will happily say that I got my DVD this afternoon. I have not yet watched the show in full, but some glaring issues technical wise stood out to me. (aka James, who is on a skype call with me at the moment, heard me swear VERY colorfully.)

1. No subtitles on the DVD- Really? This is 2013 for crying out loud. And if they are making the assumption that subtitles are only used by those who are deaf...um...HARD OF HEARING? Not to mention people who might be inspired to learn the songs (if they don't know them all) and choose to do so by watching the DVD... over and over and over.

2. NO credit given to the girls on the DVD- the girls are never introduced via text/video montage as they were on other DVDs. The opening acknowledgements on the bottom left of the screen in small white text only acknowledge David and a selection of businesspeople. There are NO closing credits, either. The girls are strictly mentioned in the paper insert in the DVD case, and then not even prominently.

3. NO musician credit (except David. who did fantastic) either- see above.


/endrant

I'm almost certain one half was longer than the other, but it seemed longer on the night because there was retake of one song, plus some of camera stuff :)

Also, I'm sure I heard Máiréad say her 'let it snow' little bit disappointed if that's been cut, it makes the song.

Why didn't you review the songs "Winter WOnderland", "What Child Is This" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas"? Are they not on the DVD?  ???

Apart form that, thank you for the review! I'm SO exited!

I was being lazy.  :D  Some songs I just couldn't think of what to say @ the time so I figured it was better to say nothing @ the moment than just babble more than I already was.

Gotta agree with Misha, whoever did the post production needs a swift kick in the butt.

All three oversights are glaring failures in whoever did the post production.  Sure they only had a few months, but it cannot be that hard to at least add credits.

Also, I wonder if the PBS version that they'll be selling as part of the pledge drive might be different than the one we can purchase right now.

The credits are there.  They are given as a menu choice.

I got my DVD at 2:20 yesterday afternoon and had to be to work at 3, so I had just enough time to get it into the dvd player and watch 3 songs. Not enough to get me through an 8 hour shift.
Went home and watched it once, then a 2nd time.
The credits are there, but they have put them in a separate areas. I do agree that I like each of the girls named as the appear on stage. Just a cool thing. I was also upset with no subtitles. How am us supposed to memorize them before concert date if I can't read the words.

Did anyone watch the bonus songs? I kind of liked the relaxed feeling of that even though you know it was rehearsed. Susan was Joseph? how dare they do that to her.

Okay, my favorites..
The light of Christmas Morn....Don't know why, but it just catches me. I couldn't take my eyes off the tv, not even to wonder to my drink. I REALLY hope they keep that one with Lisa and Mairead singing it.
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear....I love Susans voice in it. A different arrangement I wasn't sure about, but she shows her powerhouse voice in it.
O' Christmas Tree, probably because of the 3 languages they use. I hope they keep this one in the show.
Santa Clause Is Coming To Town...I like the mingling with the kids. christmas is for kids so it took me back.

literelly just got mine!  I was supposed to get it on the day it came out but then at night last night I got the message it was on the carrier! So I really hate waiting and 2 days had passed then I get a message from ups since they had a ton of deliveries that they were having an issue getting it to me which they eventually re messaged me saying I was gonna get it by tonight! So when I got home from admitting my grandma into my nursing home It was there! I freaked out though because I didn't know there was 2 discs in the one disc case! Not cool!  I was gonna wait for the dvd tomorrow and then message them but I opened it and they were both there and scared me!  I love the pink to though! Since I am off tomorrow I will definitely be watching it excitedly!  And I also got 2 e-mails about the promo codes the other day!  But I am going directly through pbs since I do not trust my computer or card and would definitely mess up!

Just a few comments about the DVDs:

I'll leave the music critiques to others, 'nuff said though, it's another amazing performance.

I have both the standard and Blu-ray discs.  If you have the equipment, get the Blu-ray, it's incredible! I took the standard version to work to watch on my laptop when I could, but watched the Blu-ray when I got home-no comparison!

It was great to see new videos of Meav.  I was a fan when she was a member, but didn't start going to concerts until after she had left.  I hate that...

First time I ever saw Ray in a shirt with sleeves.

I truly missed the "Making of the DVD" segment included in most past efforts, but the bonus material with the girls around David on the piano was a good substitute.

No Chloe, but that is her father on oboe, correct?

And...Lisa Lambe-back as a redhead...Yesssss.

Great to hear! ;D

I wish they would release SftH and Believe at the Fox on Blu-ray.

I had great luck getting them to come to Saskatoon, so let's see what I can come up with. ;)

Yes it was nice to see Ray in a different color shirt, other than black...
Yes that was Chloes dad on the oboe.

I also noticed Sarah in the audience. They picked her up twice I think.

Lets all buy the Blueray version (even when you dont have a player) so they see it sells well and release all the other concerts (including the missing songs as extras so the fans have a reason to buy them again)

Some of the missing songs, such as from SFtH are because of copyright issues so they cannot legally release them for sale unless those issues are resolved.

I understand the legal issues but still pretty confusing, all the songs that are missing are already released as a mp3

And i believe that Calorina Rua is on Lynns album is released by The same label as the Cw stuff

Just let us al hope good things will come in the future (the south bend recording on dvd i hope)

I still have to wait 11 days till my blue ray arrives

Ditto, I was there for the first night's recording at The Fabulous Fox and have many pieces of the Mylar confetti to show for it.

I pre ordered mine yesterday! It will be out in Germany on November 15th! I'm so exited!

Received my blu-ray today and all I can say is WOW!

Yes, I've had mine for two days now and keep trying to think of what to write on this thread, and that's the only word I can think of, too.   :D

Nice thread, I like the comments so far. (Have to wait for another two weeks for it's released over here and I suck at avoiding spoilers, so I'll just wait and read  ::) )

I have yet to see it, but what I like about it so far is that the music is a nice selection of traditional and modern christmas songs. (I can't wait to see We Three Kings performed  ;D) Everyone celebrates christmas differently, and I guess everyone will find moments and songs to love in this show.

Just saw it last night and I must say this is by far the best Christmas DVD yet! The dresses were beautiful and it was nice seeing Meav again. The stage design was lovely and the music was fantastic as usual. I do miss Chloe and Lisa but it is a nice change out of voices and their voices blended really well.

HOLY COW!!!!! My DVD came today (what are the odds of it coming the day after my signed poster <3 ) The lineup may change, but CW will never cease to amaze me! Loved how well Lisa, Susan and Meav all blended vocally together!

 The  next  three and  a half  days  are  going t be  sheer  agony  for me waiting  for  mine  to  arrive ......  :P

A few impressions, after living with it for a couple of days…(if you haven't seen it yet, don't read if you want to be surprised)

Just a personal thing, I tend to like the hymns more than the carols, and the combination of a hymn and Méav singing it is magic. I've yet to be able to watch her sing my all-time favorite hymn (What Child is This) without choking up a little. Her "Silent Night" with the choir holding lit candles behind her is also mind-blowing. So incredibly awesome to see her with the group again. Like Lisa K, it just seems when Méav is singing, no matter what's going on in life, everything is going to be OK.

Susan always looks nice, but she's particularly stunning in this show. The dresses they chose for her suit her perfectly. And I absolutely love her "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" with the gospel choir. Breathtaking. Wouldn't be surprised if that became a signature song of hers. I can totally hear Chloe doing it too, but Susan nailed it. The concert I saw in March was my first time seeing Susan perform, so it's good to be able to have this performance on disc and get to know her better. As per usual with "newer" members (although she's been with the group awhile now, this is the first DVD), I enjoy her performances more every time I see them.

I would have liked to see more Mairéad. Her "Carol of the Bells" is terrific as an instrumental, with her usual energy and virtuosity. I would have liked to see at least one more solo, and have her featured more during the other numbers. You can never have too much fairy fiddler, in my opinion.

I must admit that before I heard L'il Lambe sing "Auld Lang Syne," I never really cared for it all that much. But her emotional treatment of the song totally turned it around for me - I think it's one of the highlights of the show. Love the way she reacts to what people in the audience are doing while she's singing. She'll turn and look and see somebody, and flash a toothy smile without missing a note. Her lilt is perfect for this song. Just beautiful, and David's understated arrangement is perfect.

A few other highlights were "O Tannenbaum" in three languages (especially Lisa's German) - and "The Light of Christmas Morn". I'm embarrassed to say I'm not very familiar with this song, but I love it. I would have thought I'd heard all the Christmas songs there were to hear, but this one took me by surprise. Kind of like "Christmas Pipes" did in the first Christmas special. While "It's Beginning to Look at Lot…" isn't a favorite song, I do like the staging with the red dresses and the snow - it's the song that has a little bit of the playful feel that "Let It Snow" had. And finally, I thought "Joy to the World" was the perfect choice for the finale, a joyful and triumphant tune that the girls and choir deliver beautifully. And I do like the bonus material, too - just something a little different (I could listen to those ladies talk, as well as sing, all day…sigh.)

Nice to see Chloe's dad playing with the orchestra, and a couple of familiar faces in the choir. And of course, our own Kirstie "representing" for the forum.  ;D

Travelling Spaceman, thank you for your post!!! But one question: I thought What Child Is This and Silent Night are hymns, aren't they? o.O

They are hymns :)

 First of all  Rob...thank you  for  your  review.  I  can hardly  wait  for  mine  to  arrive  in a couple  of days  or  so.   8)  And  just  a note  of  clarification.....These songs  are  ALL  "carols" ..... it's  just that  we  call  religious  carols   hymns.  Just  me  making  a technical  point- it's  my  nature.   ;D  

And I can't wait to see them singing my favorite hymn of all, Hark The Herald Angels Sing!

Yep, they sure are.   :)

Yes, I knew I would leave something out - I love that performance, as well.

Yeah, just my semantic way of expressing my personal preference - perhaps I should have said church songs vs. holiday songs, or something like that. But you get the idea.  ;D

Clarification for all!

Hymns are the Christmas songs that celebrate Christmas as being the birth of Jesus. They're the types of songs we'd sing in church. Includes songs like Hark The Herald Angels Sing, Joy To The World, Silent Night, What Child Is This, We Three Kings, and It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.

Carols, on the other hand, are those Christmas songs that simply celebrate the spirit and soul of Christmas as being a time of peace on Earth and goodwill towards our fellow man. They're the more secular songs, such as I'll Be Home For Christmas, Auld Lang Syne (even though that's technically more New Year's, but whatever), Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Winter Wonderland, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Carol Of The Bells, Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, and Let It Snow.

Didn't include The Light Of Christmas Morn cuz I've never even heard that one and didn't include O Tannenbaum cuz I don't remember the lyrics to that one! Lol!  ::)

Its rather interesting seeing as how ACC was made up more of hymns and HFC seems about 50/50.

Ah, OK, thank you all! I thought Christmas Carol = Religious (Hark The Herald Angels Sing, What Child Is This, etc.), Christmas song = Pop/Trend (Santa Clause Is Coming To Town, The Christmas Song, etc.)

   Both are in the Baptist hymnals and I suspect others.

The Light of Christmas Morn is also about the birth of Jesus, so I guess you could say it's a modern hymn. It's originally written by songwriter Sarah Hart: http://www.sarahhart.com/

The first recording with Chloë & Lisa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKQzODo_Zmg

   I  will post my  review of  this  tomorrow. I  just  got my  HFC  DVD  today and  watched  it  all.   8)

I got my dvd today. Here's a small review for all!

Meav - It was nice seeing her return and hearing her soaring angelic voice. And it seems to me that she's loosened up a bit in this performance. Thank God for that! I know Meav liked to focus on the singing more but in some of the older dvds she hardly seemed to even be enjoying herself. So it was very nice that she was able to grace us with her fantastic voice while having fun at the same time. The new version of Silent Night is FAR superior to the old one in my opinion. Yes the old one was part Irish and the Irish is beautiful but the vocal arrangement on this was STUNNING! Add to it the fabulous stage design and you get a performance to remember.

Lisa - Ah Lisa! I've loved you since you first joined back in 2011. She brought so much energy to, what I feel anyway, was a bit of a tired group and I think in many ways she brought it back to life. So wonderful to see she still has that child-like joy she brings. She clearly has fun doing what she's doing and it shows. Auld Lang Syne was so beautiful. I'm so glad its been recorded.

Mairead Nesbitt - The flying fiddler. The worst part about the Christmas shows is you don't get to see enough of Mairead. Carol of the Bells was an excellent choice for her. She got to flitter about the stage like she does and had a moment to shine. But it is sad that she doesn't get more time in these Christmas shows. But I will say this. Having her perform it first act, with that beautiful dress that makes her look like a snow angel or somethingm was a perfect choice! Go Mairead!

Susan - I'm so glad we've finally got her on a dvd! I've loved Susan since she joined and always thought she didn't get enough credit. She was FANTASTIC in Santa Claus Is Coming To Town! And that's a hard one cuz Chloe's always been my favorite! But Susan was so fun in that song. She was up there being playful with the audience and going back and forth with Mairead! Oh it was so good! And It Came Upon A Midnight Clear was very good too! So nice for Susan to have one of her own solos (about freakin time!). The gospel version of this song would've been something I'd expect from Chloe, but Susan more than did the song justice. She knocked it outta the park! Go Sue!

Overall it was a great concert. I'm very happy with it! My only qualm is the fact that Let It Snow was not included! What's up with that?! I'm also interested in how they'll do the vocal arrangements for Symphony. Particularly Meav's high parts.

Finally got my Blu-Ray today.  It came in a normal DVD case, not the jewel case the regular DVD came in.

I don't have time to watch it tonight, but will do it tomorrow and get some screen captures.  Gotta remember how to bypass the BD protection which tries to block screencaps.

The  Lutheran  hymnals  as well......    ;)

Dang it.  My Blu-Ray player on the computer will not play the disc.  Either it's too old to read it or the software is too old.  I'll have to take the disc to work on Monday and figure out where the problem lies.

That happened to me once - I called Panasonic, and it turns out I needed a firmware update. They had to send me to disc in the mail, because they don't do downloads on their site for Mac OS. But that cleared up the problem.

My computer must not read blu ray either and I am having the same problem. I never had any problem watching any other tapings before either? I am going to try on a different computer tonight to see if it will work!

Not sure what kind of computer you have Barb, but it could be one of two things. First, it could just be that your computer has a CD/DVD drive, and not a Blu-Ray drive. While Blu-Ray players also play CDs and DVDs, it doesn't work the other way around. This is the first Celtic Woman Blu-Ray that has ever been released, the previous shows were all on DVD.

Or, if your computer does have a Blu-Ray drive, it could be that your firmware needs updating. That's what happened to me, but once the manufacturer sent me the update, it fixed the problem. You could call customer service of the company who made your computer, and tell them your problem, that's how I got the update.

If you have a gaming console, they sometimes have Blu-Ray players in them too. But if you don't have a Blu-Ray player, the only good news is that they've come down in price the last couple of years. Saw ones at Target the other day for less than $90. The other good news is that once you do get it working, the quality of the picture is much higher than with DVD. It's stunning.

I have a Blu-Ray player and after some research, the problem is my software is out of date.  There have been several DRM changes to Blu-Ray since 2009 which is when this version of the software was last updated.

Had to order the plain cd from amazon, which came today! After 20 minutes of not giving up and determination and "fiddling" around I got it to play! (don't ask how, I prob. won't be able to get it to work again!) But I absolutely loved it! Even w the three girls and mairead it was stunning! A few things! Mairead doing carol of the bells as a solo sounds incredible! Even though I wasn't a Meav fan in the beginning , it was so nice to hear and see her! She sounds and looks great! All of the girls dresses are so beautiful too, loved both of Lisa's dresses and te style of them w the long sleeve and full on the bottom! I loved Susan's it came upon a midnight clear! Also love the new songs the girls added in, they sound great! And in the choir the guy in the front row left, is that Niall Mcgrath, who has pretty much been w the girls since day 1 and toured w them up until right before believe? Even though I couldn't be there for the live taping , on my birthday!! when watching it , it made me feel like I was literally right there at the taping watching it! Well done to all involved!

That was him.  I think one or two of the choir girls looked familiar too, but I'm not sure.  I'll have to watch the Blu-Ray whenever I can finally get it to play right.

The DVD will be out in Germany tomorrow - and mine arrived today! ;D

I LOOOOOVE it!!! It's so amazing! Especially "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Of Christmas" caught my heart<3

I love the setting! It reminds me of the Christmas-ess we had, when I was little...

Thank you!  I just saw this!  I somehow got it to work! I did a little playing around with he setting on the computer and converted it and then in the media section I clicked on unknown Dvd which is the Christmas one and put it over on play list.  Then only the first number lights up which is the dvd itself and open it and play it from there (after making it full screen!!)  That is the first time that happened!  Thank you though!

No problem - I'm just glad you were able to watch it.   :)

Well this is pretty late (it is January 7th), but here is my mini-review of HFC:

Likes: I loved the girls, the songs, the stage, the lights, the dresses, and everything! It was so beautiful!!!!

Dislikes (Unfortunately): My only qualm with it, is the gratuitous audience shots. To my chagrin, it felt as though the focus was off the girls (they seemed to be, perhaps, a supporting character). In Silent Night, it seemed for nearly a full verse all I was seeing was instruments and people kind of mouthing the words, and not the gorgeous gorgeous Meav :( Too much distraction from the girls (THE thing the entire show revolves around).

Other than the unnecessary side-shots, I LOVED it! Meav, Susan, Lisa, and Mairead were nothing short of spectacular!!!!!

 The  side  shots  of  the  kids enjoying  themselves  were  cute , though .....

Yes, some of them I did smile at! But the other hundred...

I agree about the audience shots. There are some gorgeous close-ups at this dvd, and sometimes it switched off too fast from the ladies to the audience. I also wish there would have been a Gaeilge song in the show. Believe already didn't have much besides Téir Abhaile Riu, but here it was completely removed.

All the positive things:  the dresses, songs, stage, colors etc. were stunning. The ladies were great. Some songs which I didn't like at the beginning are growing on me. It's another decent Celtic Woman production. Different enough from A Christmas Celebration that they've proven themselves as an versatile act.

This was the show that Lisa Lambe won me over for good by singing "O Tannenbaum" in German my goodness I never liked that song before but when I heard her sing it I melted on the spot

I might be the only one, but I liked the audience shots.

+1 for audience shots  :D

Well put, I was watching only to find out Mairead had only 1 solo, is this common for her for a Christmas special.. Did ACC have her with only 1 too..?  -I love how you referred to Susan's presence as kid-friendly, she is staying on-board makes me excited too see Susan now that you preferences that..Meav's dress in white was too Divine glad they didn't have only one solo of her in it.!

She had one solo in ACC...