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". 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."
Reception
Metacritic assessed A Christmas Cornucopia to have a weighted average score of 73 based on 9 reviews, meaning "generally favorable reviews". 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." 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." 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."Qatar Today, Jan 2011, Music, Books and Film
Track listing
Commercial performance As of January 2011, Christmas Cornucopia has sold 179,000 copies in United States.
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
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for A Christmas Cornucopia Chart (2010–2011) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 76
Year-end charts + 2010 year-end chart performance for A Christmas Cornucopia Chart (2010) Position UK Albums (OCC) 69
+ 2011 year-end chart performance for A Christmas Cornucopia Chart (2011) Position US Billboard 200 185
Certifications
Release history Region Date Label Format CatalogueGermany12 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 2010Decca Records 23 November 2010 LP record
References