12.01.2006

Christmas Listening


Finally! Someone who sings the best version of In A Bleak Midwinter! Christina Rossetti's classic poem has found its match! It's a tune that is absolutely gorgeous and frequently overlooked. I haven't heard this particular tune since junior high when our children's choir director turned it into a four-part chorale.

I'm not usually a Sarah McLachlan fan (her theology is questionable), but this album might change my mind. It's not just another Christmas solo album, trust me! She has an amazing range of at least two octaves and while there's still a celtic twist to her music, the album is more than pleasant. Great for a quiet evening with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.

Why Wintersong? Three great reasons:
1) Tradition
- What Child is This?, O Little Town of Bethlehem, The First Noel, Silent Night, In A Bleak Midwinter
2) Jazz
- I'll Be Home for Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Christmas Time is Here (with a great piano accompaniment by Diana Krall. I want to play like that!)
3) Folk
-John Lennon: Happy Xmas, Joni Mitchell: River, Sarah McLachlan: Wintersong, Gordon Lightfoot: Song For A Winter's Night

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5 Comments:

At Saturday, December 02, 2006 7:16:00 PM, Blogger Alicia said...

Thank you for your review! I saw this advertised once and was curious about it. I might buy and download it from Walmart.com tonight.

 
At Sunday, December 03, 2006 12:23:00 AM, Blogger Shannon Koons said...

You can download music from Walmart? Geez, I'm so behind... I just buy it from places like Starbucks...

Still singing along...

 
At Monday, December 04, 2006 10:22:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

It's fabulous isn't it?! Em surprised me with it Thanksgiving morning to accompany my cooking marathon and I've been listening to it ever since! Absolutely the best!

 
At Monday, December 04, 2006 11:18:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I loaded ITunes and downloaded it tonight my splurge for the week! Thanks for the recommendation. I needed a new Christmas CD!!!

 
At Tuesday, December 05, 2006 11:29:00 AM, Blogger Josh Gillespie said...

We downloaded it from iTunes yesterday too. It's even better than I expected. Although, I enjoyed her rendition of River on Conan O'Brien more than the cd version. On Conan, it was just her and a piano.

She has an interesting take on What Child is This too. It takes some getting used to, but I enjoy the fact that the she didn't play the tune in it's regular fashion.

 

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