Sounds Of The Season

By JANICE C. SIMPSON

PERFORMERS: RECORDING STARS OF EVERY STRIPE

ALBUMS: CHRISTMAS MUSIC

THE BOTTOM LINE: The best of this year's holiday releases offer the chance to have yourself a multicultural Christmas.

With the cheerful cockiness that comes from being America's top recording star, Garth Brooks released his Christmas album, Beyond the Season, back in August. Brooks' homey compilation of such classics as Silent Night and What Child Is This quickly climbed the pop charts, remains in the Top 12 and promises to become one of those seasonal evergreens like Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas, first released in 1955 and still an annual best seller.

Musicians make Christmas albums for the same reason other people invest in municipal bonds: the expectation that a relatively simple investment will yield a steady income for years to come. Accordingly, each holiday season brings yet another wave of musical tidings from performers hoping to cash in. And they come in every conceivable style, from caroling choirs and symphonic concerts to specialties like Doo Wop Christmas and Alligator Stomp, Vol. 4: Cajun Christmas.

The difference between the majority of these offerings, which are headed straight for the remainder bin, and the few that might become perennial favorites is largely a matter of finding the right mix of chestnuts and festive new offerings, then wrapping them up in a distinctive performing style.

This year, nobody does that better than Mel Torme. Although he co-wrote The Christmas Song, the classic Nat King Cole made famous, Torme has never made a Christmas album before. From now on, no Yuletide celebration will be complete without him. With the exception of two instrumental tracks that sound like refugees from some other album, Torme serves up a convivial mix of jazzy standards like Sleigh Ride, traditional carols like Good King Wenceslas and elegant ballads like Christmastime Is Here. All go down as easily as nicely spiked eggnog on a chilly December eve.

The big trend this year is releases that reach out to diverse audiences. None has a wider appeal than A Very Special Christmas 2, a sequel to the bestselling 1987 benefit album that has raised $17 million for the Special Olympics. With contributions ranging from an original Christmas rap by Run D.M.C. to a soulful White Christmas by Michael Bolton to a swinging version of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town by the electronically mated duo of Frank Sinatra and Cyndi Lauper, it offers something for every pop-musical taste.

A similarly eclectic spirit enlivens A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert, a recording of a 1991 performance that featured Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade, Wynton Marsalis and Andre Previn conducting the Orchestra of St. < Luke's. This potpourri of holiday goodies makes a determined effort to be culturally inclusive: one of its many delights is the calypso Christmas tune Mary's Little Boy Chile.

The most multiculturally ambitious of the new Christmas albums is Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration. It uses gospel, jazz, rap and other African- American musical genres to present a spirited reinterpretation of the classic oratorio. Every Valley Shall Be Exalted is transformed into a hip-hop anthem performed by rapper Mike E. And the Glory of the Lord becomes a reggae melody sung by jazz singer Dianne Reeves. And the Hallelujah! chorus gets a rousing gospel treatment from an all-star, 76-voice choir conducted by Quincy Jones and including Al Jarreau, Johnny Mathis, Vanessa Williams and Take 6. In their zeal to make Handel more "accessible," the arrangers have played so loose with the original score that even the composer might have trouble recognizing much of it. Even so, it makes some pretty joyful noise.