A Christmas Cornucopia

A Christmas Cornucopia
Studio album by
Annie Lennox
Released12 November 2010[1]
RecordedOctober 2009 – Summer 2010 in London, England
StudioSheen Lane, London
Milestone Studio, Cape Town
GenreChristmas, world
LabelIsland, Decca
ProducerAnnie Lennox
Mike Stevens
Annie Lennox chronology
The Annie Lennox Collection
(2009) 		A Christmas Cornucopia
(2010) 		Nostalgia
(2014)
Singles from A Christmas Cornucopia
  1. "Universal Child"
    Released: 12 October 2010[2]
  2. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
    Released: 4 November 2010
  3. "The Holly and the Ivy"
    Released: 12 December 2011
  4. "Dido's Lament"
    Released: 9 November 2020

A Christmas Cornucopia is the fifth solo studio album, and the first Christmas album, by Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, released in November 2010. It was Lennox's first album after signing to the Universal Music Group (Island Records in the UK, Decca in the US and Canada) following her departure from Sony BMG, which had been her label for almost 30 years.

Background and release

The album is a collection of Lennox's favourite Christmas songs, though includes one original track written by Lennox, "Universal Child", which was released digitally as a single on 12 October 2010. A music video for Lennox's version of the classic Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" premiered on 4 November 2010, which was released as the second digital single from the album. A tenth anniversary special edition of the album was released on 20 November 2020 including a new recording, "Dido's Lament".[3] A choral version of “Dido’s Lament” performed together with London City Voices (a non-audition community choir based in London) was donated to Greenpeace. The official video begins with the following quote by Annie Lennox:

“When it comes to climate catastrophe, we are on the edge of abyss. I really believe we don't have much time left to make an effective change. We are looking at a civilization on the downwards side. This is the truth of this matter. It's staring us in the face and we are not paying any significant attention—continuing on as if it doesn't exist. I see Dido's Lament as a lament for our dying planet.”[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The Austin Chronicle[7]
BBC Music(very positive)[8]
The Guardian[9]
Los Angeles Times[10]
The New York Times(Positive)[11]
Slant Magazine[12]

Metacritic gives A Christmas Cornucopia a weighted average score of 73 based on 9 reviews, meaning "generally favorable reviews".[5] Ian Wade of BBC Music gave the album a very positive review, saying "this collection could find itself becoming as much a part of the holiday season as arguments with loved ones."[13] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine awarded the album 3.5/5 and said "Lennox seems more inspired on A Christmas Cornucopia than she has in years."[14] John Hunt of Qatar Today magazine gave the album 9/10 and said "in particular, the vocal work and musical arrangement of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' are impactful to the point of being intimidating."[15]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Angels from the Realms of Glory"James Montgomery4:00
2."God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"Traditional3:32
3."See Amid the Winter's Snow"Edward Caswall, John Goss3:31
4."Il est né le divin Enfant"Traditional3:37
5."The First Noel"Traditional4:40
6."Lullay Lullay (The Coventry Carol)"Traditional3:13
7."The Holly and the Ivy"Traditional3:37
8."In the Bleak Midwinter"Christina Rossetti3:31
9."As Joseph was a Walking (The Cherry Tree Carol)"Geoffrey Shaw3:59
10."O Little Town of Bethlehem"Phillips Brooks3:33
11."Silent Night"Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber, John Freeman Young3:49
12."Universal Child"Annie Lennox4:14

Commercial performance

As of January 2011, Christmas Cornucopia has sold 179,000 copies in United States.[16]

Personnel

  • Annie Lennox – accordion, African drums, African percussion, arranger, dulcimer, Fender Rhodes, flute, harmonium, keyboards, marimba, orchestral arrangements, pan pipes, percussion, piano, pipe organ, producer, reed organ, santur, string arrangements, triangle, vibraphone, vocal percussion, vocals, whisper, whistle, Wurlitzer
  • Dave Robbins – conductor
  • Mike Stevens – arranger, bass, drones, engineer, glockenspiel, acoustic guitar, nylon string guitar, keyboards, mixing, music box, orchestral arrangements, organ, Hammond organ, oud, African drums, producer, programming, string arrangements, strings
  • Barry Van Zyl – African drums, percussion
  • The African Children's Choir – vocals
Technical
  • Matt Allison, Marcus Byrne - engineer
  • Heff Moraes - mixing, mixing consultant
  • Mike Owen - photography

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for A Christmas Cornucopia
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Germany[37][38] 12 November 2010 Decca Records CD, digital download B0043A0PXU
12 November 2010 LP record B0043A0PY4
United Kingdom 15 November 2010 Island Records CD, digital download
Ireland
United States 16 November 2010 Decca Records
23 November 2010 LP record

References

  1. ^ "Annie Lennox 'A Christmas Cornucopia' – Tracklist, album cover, single & more". ethrill.net. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Annie Lennox: Universal Child (E-Single)". Decca Records. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  3. ^ "ANNIE LENNOX ANNOUNCES THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY RE-ISSUE OF A CHRISTMAS CORNUCOPIA ON 20TH NOVEMBER 2020".
  4. ^ AnnieLennoxVEVO (16 December 2020). Annie Lennox - Dido’s Lament - London City Voices. Retrieved 12 September 2024 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ a b "A Christmas Cornucopia Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  6. ^ A Christmas Cornucopia at AllMusic
  7. ^ Moser, Margalet (31 December 2010). "Music Review: Songs of Mass Destruction – Annie Lennox". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  8. ^ Wade, Ian (2010). "Annie Lennox A Christmas Cornucopia Review". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (18 November 2010). "Annie Lennox: A Christmas Cornucopia – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  10. ^ Lewis, Randy (10 December 2010). "Holiday CDs for every musical taste". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  11. ^ Pareles, Jon (26 December 2010). "Holiday Music Gift Roundup 2010". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  12. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (18 November 2010). "Annie Lennox: A Christmas Cornucopia". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Music – Review of Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia". BBC. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  14. ^ "Annie Lennox: A Christmas Cornucopia | Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  15. ^ Qatar Today, Jan 2011, Music, Books and Film
  16. ^ "The Nielsen Company & Billboard's 2010 Music Industry Report". Business Wire. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  17. ^ Ryan, Gavin (8 November 2014). "Taylor Swift, Human Nature maintain Top 2 ARIA Albums Spots". Noise11. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Annie Lennox Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Lescharts.com – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Annie Lennox". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  29. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  30. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  32. ^ "Annie Lennox Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  33. ^ "Annie Lennox Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  34. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2010". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  36. ^ "British album certifications – Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia". British Phonographic Industry. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  37. ^ "A Christmas Cornucopia: Annie Lennox: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon Germany. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  38. ^ "A Christmas Cornucopia [Vinyl LP]: Annie Lennox: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon Germany. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2011.