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Tracy . . .
If you were trapped on a desert island and it was Christmas and all you had was a small generator, Christmas lights for your coconut tree, an endless supply of Christmas cookies and eggnog, your CD player and 6 Christmas CDs , which 6 albums would you want them to be? If you can find Amazon links, we can listen to snippets...
Well, I love Christmas music so this is a toughie! I have tried something a little different this year though in regards to my Xmas music listening. Each year, I find it very difficult to battle the secular Christmas season going from the day after T-giving to Dec. 25th; on my calendar, that's Advent! When the Xmas season is just starting (Dec. 25), the Xmas music disappears from the radio, lights on houses go down, and Xmas trees are on the curb. It makes it much more difficult to actually celebrate the Xmas season which lasts (traditionally) until Jan. 6, though a bit longer in the revised liturgical calendar.
Anyway, as much as I love Christmas music, I'm forcing myself this year to hold off until Dec. 17, when the focus in the Advent liturgical season focuses from Christ's Second Coming in glory to his First Coming as a babe. So far, so good . . . kind of. Every year I'm forced to immerse myself in Christmas music for our Xmas concert and Mass at work, and we had a Xmas party last weekend which included Xmas carols being sung; but beyond that, I haven't touched my Xmas piano books or CDs yet! We haven't even put up our Christmas tree (we'll do that on the 17th as well).
OK, on to my list, in no particular order:
1)
Charlie Brown Christmas (
link): A classic, sure to be on many people's lists. I watched the show every year as a child, and the music adds so much. Vince Guaraldi is one of my favorite jazz pianists; a shame that he died relatively young.
2)
Sing We Christmas (Chanticleer) (
link): Chanticleer is an all-male ensemble that sings nearly exclusive acappella music, from chant to pop. Their Christmas concerts (I've attended 2 or 3) are legendary. They've cut numerous Xmas albums, but this is the best, IMO.
3)
Once As I Remember (Monteverdi Choir) (
link): The conductor, John Eliot Gardiner, is well-known for his Bach interpretations. It's a real treat to hear this wonderful choir sing a mostly acappella set under his direction. Gardiner grew up in England, and has fond memories of the Christmas "play" that his family would do when he was young. Costumes, sets, full choir . . . people would come from all around to participate or to watch. The set list of this album is the music that was performed for those plays. Great stuff and wonderfully done!
4)
Christmas (Kirk Franklin and the Family) (
link): My first experience with his music (gospel-style) was when I was a student singing in the annual Christmas concert put on by the school choirs of U of I. The Black Chorus, at over 100 strong, sang "The Night That Christ Was Born" from this album, and I swear I was a changed man after that. It was
stunning; in fact, it was better than the recording on this album, but this one has to take a lot of the credit. Some of the stuff on here is cheeeeeeesy, but the aforementioned track, "Silent Night", and "Now Behold the Lamb" make it worth the while.
5)
Carols from Trinity (The Choir of Trinity College-Richard Marlow) (
link): Buy these CDs! The current price on Amazon is 12 bucks for 2 CDs of almost 60 tracks! The singing is wonderful; this is a chamber choir of about 24, with that pure English soprano sound that I love. There's lots of great arrangements of familiar carols, as well as some serious choral stuff. This is a great buy!
6)
Gregorian Chant for the Church Year (
link): It's a real shame that this disc is unavailable. These settings of Propers for the Christmas season are sung very well and very prayerfully.
A few more CDs that I want to add to my collection at some point:
--An Ella Fitzgerald Christmas CD. I love her and her Xmas interpretations are probably a lot better than some of the dreck you hear on the stations now.
--Josh Groban: Noel. I checked it out from the library a few weeks ago, and it's pretty good. A couple regrettable songs, if I recall, but pretty strong overall. He's a talented guy.
--Compilation CD of all the standard interpretations of Xmas songs. Wouldn't it be great to have a CD with Nat's "Christmas Song" (sorry, Tracy), Elvis' "Blue Christmas", Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", etc. all on one disc? Pop it in and let it ride!
