The Irish Tenors: Home for Christmas
The Irish Tenors are an acquired taste that, it seems, nearly everyone has acquired. OnHome for Christmas, John McDermott, Anthony Kearns, and Ronan Tynan create a stirring seasonal follow-up to their extremely popularself-titled debutof Irish standards. On this disc, we get some of the best-loved holiday songs performed by the tenors in their trademark, Emerald Isle vocal style. Though the disc boasts a 78-piece orchestra, don't expect big-band arrangements on these tunes; if anything, these are intimate performances, with the tenors front-and-center. Each vocalist gets his own solo turns, but there are plenty of tunes featuring all three: "Joy to the World," "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "O Holy Night," The Holy City," "Silent Night," and "Amazing Grace." If you still haven't had your fill of holiday music, check out McDermott'ssolo Christmas albumfrom 1998, on which the vocalist performs an eclectic mix of standards and lesser-known holiday gems.--Jason Verlinde