Christmas Music?

[ivanadiamond]

Hi Mara,

My all time favorite Christmas song, is Otis Redding's version of White Christmas. The Love Actually soundtrack is really good. Also like:

Harry connick junior - harry for the holidays
Martini's and Mistletoe- compelation
Ultra-lounge Christmas & Cocktails
Verve Presents: Very Best of Christmas Jazz

 

[rainwood]

All of you helped me so much when I was trying to learn about diamonds, here''s a topic where I can finally return the favor. I''m a huge Christmas music fan, have tons of holiday CD''s and listened to hundreds more to pick the ones I have. My taste runs from classical to chipmunks, and everything in between. The only thing I can''t stand is cheesy/schmaltzy stuff which eliminates most of the current pop singers who can''t seem to stay away from those kinds of arrangements.

Here''s my top Top 17 (couldn''t reduce to 10) in no particular order:

1. Ella Fitzgerald Wishes You a Swingin'' Christmas - I second the previous other recommendation. Fabulous.
2. Amy Grant/Home for Christmas - I also second the recommendation for this one. Don''t listen to her otherwise but this album is amazing. EVen better than her other Christmas CD.
3. Luther Vandross/This Is Christmas - Has everything from R&B dance to ''O Come All Ye Faithful,'' and if you don''t tear up when he sings ''This Is Christmas'' and ''Every Year, Every Christmas'' there''s something wrong with you!
4. Andy Williams/The Andy Williams Christmas Album - Was great to listen to when I was growing up in the 60''s and it''s great to listen to now.
5. Boston Pops Orchestra/Holiday Pops - great bouncy classical stuff. They do a kickin'' version of the song from ''Home Alone.''
6. Natalie Cole/Holly & Ivy - I like her second Christmas CD too but this one is really special.
7. Nat King Cole/The Christmas Song - Her dad was no slouch either.
8. Vince Guaraldi/A Charlie Brown Christmas - This CD would be fabulous jazz listening even if you''d never seen the TV special.
9. Oscar Peterson/An Oscar Peterson Christmas - another jazz CD that''s a must-have for Christmas. He''s a wonderful pianist and this makes great dinner music.
10. The Most Fabulous Classical Christmas Album Ever (compilation CD) - worst title ever, but they''re actually right. All sorts of different stuff from the Canadian Brass to the Vienna Boys'' Choir.
11. Boney James/Boney''s Funky Christmas - the best smooth jazz Christmas CD out there as far as I''m concerned. Bobby Caldwell''s version of ''What Are You Doing New Year''s Eve?'' ranks as one of the best.
12. The Cambridge Singers/Christmas with the Cambridge Singers - I second the other recommendations. Great choral music.
13. The Carpenters/Christmas Portrait - some of her brother''s arrangements violate the cheesy/schmaltzy rule but her voice overcomes everything. No one else even tries to do ''Merry Christmas, Darling'' because hers will always be the one we remember.
14. Peggy Lee/Christmas - this CD would be worth the money just for ''Don''t Forget to Feed the Reindeer.''
15. Kenny G/Miracles - he''s not someone I listen to much otherwise but he does do a good holiday CD. I like his second one too but not as much as his first.
16. Linda Eder/Christmas Stays the Same - great big Broadway voice and she opens with a medley of ''Here Comes Santa Claus/Santa Claus Is Coming to Town'' that''s a killer.
17. Cincinnati Pops/Christmas with the Pops - Rosemary Clooney is the guest vocalist. Need I say more?


I could probably have gone to my top 25, but I''ll stop now before my fingers give out.

 

[Mara]

okay WOW that was comprehensive, rainwood, awesome!! ivana, isn''t the otis redding track awesome? i wish he had a christmas cd.

i''ll be on amazon researching forever i can see...

i''m glad i at least got 3 of them so far so i can have something else to listen to while i figure out the next batch purchase!

i love how you can listen to the clips of the songs on amazon, of most of the cd''s...it really helps you make a decision! or just confuses you more..either way.

 

[FireGoddess]

I forgot about the Carpenters Christmas Portrait CD...and now I''ve got it stuck in my head...
Frosteeeeeeeeeed windowpanes, candles gleaming inside, painted candy canes on the treeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
At points it is cheesy, but it is a good CD nonetheless! (LOVE The Christmas Waltz!!!!)

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/21/2005 4:31:30 PM
Author: Odilia
Not to keep pushing it, but most of the music from Christmas Night: Carols of the Nativity is from that period also.

Some from the 1800s too.

I did not see that on Amazon.com. Do you know if it is "in print"? (I have one CD by the Cambridge Singers, so I should check out the name of the one I have, too!)

I appreciate the information.

OK...just checked. I have, "Olde English Madrigals and Folk Songs at Ely Cathedral" (by John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers). It is not strictly Christmas music, although it has, "Greensleeves" aka, "What Child is This?" on it.

Deborah

 

[door knob solitaire]

Hey Mara,

Do you have a Ross Dress for Less store? I was just in today and they have a ton of CDS. I know you don't want to hear this (because you just spent $70 clams..)...but most are $3.99. There was one that was a four pack and it was $7.99. Anyway all genres available. You might check them out to fill in your gaps.

DKS

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 11/21/2005 8:29:47 PM
Author: door knob solitaire
Hey Mara,

Do you have a Ross Dress for Less store? I was just in today and they have a ton of CDS. I know you don''t want to hear this (becuse you just spent $70 clams..)...but most are $3.99. There was one that was a four pack and it was $7.99. Anyway all genres available. You might check them out to fill in your gaps.

DKS

That''s also where I found the inexpensive stock pot that I got to brine my turkey in....in case you happen to stop in there Mara.

 

[Mara]

Hehe thanks...I got a brining bag today at WF, FG so I think I may be all set...we''ll see. I do have a big pot to put it inside as well.

We do have a Ross, I don''t know where the ''nearest'' one is...but I''m sure they have some great CD''s!!

Oh and I''ve only spent 40 clams so far...heee heee...but I''m sure that will go up. The next time I am driving around I will keep my eye out for a Ross or something and see if I can find any deals. But as you can see I''m pretty picky so I almost would rather buy CD''s that I *know* I will love for $10 than hit or miss specials for $4! Or maybe I will do both!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Love these lists. Please keep them coming!

Wow, Rainwood, what is a terrific library. I either have or now want to get all of those - with the exception of Kenny G! (his lower girdle facets are too long for my tastes

)

I third the notion that Ella''s CD is a must-have.

For those who like Amy Grant there is also a Celine Deion album you would enjoy, and along the Amy/Celine lines, Harry Connick Jr''s "When My Heart Finds Christmas" (Columbia) would sit nicely in the carousel.

In addition to MANY mentioned, here are some I''ll throw on the pile:

Jazz

"Have Yourself A Jazzy Little Christmas" (Verve) marketed by Polygram: A collection of people like Ella, Mel Torme, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Oscar Peterson and The Swingle Singers.

"Merry Christmas from Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Orchestra" (Amherst): As good as it sounds.

Someone suggested Take 6 (male sextet, very tight jazz harmony, a-capella). Great! They have 2 Christmas albums: "He Is Christmas" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" (both Warner Reprise): This first is worth buying just for their version of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." A couple of the tracks are a bit sparse in the middle of the album, but that "Hark!" is on my all-time favorite pieces list. The second album is good all the way through.

Classical

"Christmas with the London Brass" (Teldec) 18 tunes - some refreshingly atypical - a full hour of music. Lush Euro harmonies. They play the seventh scale step a bit flatter than we do across the pond, which works wonderfully with this cozy music.

"Christmas with the Canadian Brass" (RCA) 20 common tunes (including the Hallelujah Chorus). It''s as user-friendly as it sounds. Someone may have mentioned this one previously. Coupled with the London Brass CD it''s 2 hours of great trimming-the-tree or entertaining-the-parents background music.

Off the beaten path

Not for the faint-at-heart. A few times per December I have a strange pining for Celtic music, accompanied by eggnog and Irish Whiskey, on a nippy night. If there are any Eric Rigler fans out there I''ll be shocked. If you don''t want to reveal yourselves, I''ll understand... YOU know who you are

"Traditional Celtic Christmas," (BCI) Oft-heard songs, as the name implies. A great rendition of Auld Lang Syne here.

"Celtic Carols" More diverse. In addition to a moving piece named Tarallyr (original), it has several other seasonal global classics on it, including Waltzing Matilda (Crack a tinnie, mates!).

If you like The Corrs there is a good chance you''ll like Eric Rigler, particularly his non-standard carols.


Musing: My favorite piece of music for the season, bar none, is Alfred Reed''s arrangement of Greensleeves for wind ensemble. It''s played in high school and college concerts often at this time of year, which is always wonderful, but to hear that piece played by an ironclad, mature wind section such as The President''s Own, or a top University Band defies description.

 

[Odilia]

Date: 11/21/2005 8:26:36 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 11/21/2005 4:31:30 PM
Author: Odilia
Not to keep pushing it, but most of the music from Christmas Night: Carols of the Nativity is from that period also.

Some from the 1800s too.

I did not see that on Amazon.com. Do you know if it is ''in print''? (I have one CD by the Cambridge Singers, so I should check out the name of the one I have, too!)

I appreciate the information.

OK...just checked. I have, ''Olde English Madrigals and Folk Songs at Ely Cathedral'' (by John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers). It is not strictly Christmas music, although it has, ''Greensleeves'' aka, ''What Child is This?'' on it.

Deborah

Here is the link where I found it:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000031H5/qid=1132629551/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-8859138-3263241?v=glance&s=classical


This is another good one:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000031HF/qid=1132629455/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl15/002-8859138-3263241?v=glance&s=classical&n=507846

Let me know if the links don''t work.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 11/21/2005 8:26:36 PM
Author: AGBF

OK...just checked. I have, 'Olde English Madrigals and Folk Songs at Ely Cathedral' (by John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers). It is not strictly Christmas music, although it has, 'Greensleeves' aka, 'What Child is This?' on it.

Deborah

My parents have a library of chorus recordings, though most is on vinyl. Love the Cambridge Singers and the Robert Shaw Chorale.

Robert Shaw has "A Festival Of Carols"and "The Many Moods of Christmas" (both RCA) along these lines, Deb. Many Moods is about 30 years old, so I don't know how available it is.

Did I see you post about Amahl and the Night Visitors on page 1??? "This is my box..."

I was timpanist for a small Opera company's production of that work for several years. Long enough to memorize every line and every song.

 

[teebee]

Oh I''m soooooo excited to get out the Christmas music!!! And I can have a tree this year - last year there was no room in our house but now that we''re in the new place I''m just tickled!!! I went and bought a bunch of "apple cider" scented candles this weekend (I can''t handle anything w/ too much cinnamon but the apple cider scent is so scrumptious!).

I''m loving this list - can''t wait to check out some of these suggestions. I have to second and third, fourth, maybe fifth the Harry Connick Jr. suggestion - my favorite is When My Heart Finds Christmas.

Another favorite is Verve Presents: Very Best of Jazz Christmas because it''s got Louis Armstrong''s "Zat You Santa Claus?". I just love that song!!! It''s similar to the Jazzy Christmas that JohnQ mentioned in that it features some of the same artists & songs. I probably need both, but had to have the one w/ that Louis Armstrong song first!

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 11/21/2005 11:48:22 PM
Author: teebee
Oh I''m soooooo excited to get out the Christmas music!!! And I can have a tree this year - last year there was no room in our house but now that we''re in the new place I''m just tickled!!! I went and bought a bunch of ''apple cider'' scented candles this weekend (I can''t handle anything w/ too much cinnamon but the apple cider scent is so scrumptious!).

I''m loving this list - can''t wait to check out some of these suggestions. I have to second and third, fourth, maybe fifth the Harry Connick Jr. suggestion - my favorite is When My Heart Finds Christmas.

Another favorite is Verve Presents: Very Best of Jazz Christmas because it''s got Louis Armstrong''s ''Zat You Santa Claus?''. I just love that song!!! It''s similar to the Jazzy Christmas that JohnQ mentioned in that it features some of the same artists & songs. I probably need both, but had to have the one w/ that Louis Armstrong song first!

Teebee, thanks for listing that one. I''ll be seeking it, as I love Louis to pieces. Verve really has the edge when it comes to jazz collections such as these.

 

[AGBF]

Odilia,

Before I saw your posting, I found the recording at Amazon.UK. It was not really something I wanted to buy, however. I have so many different recordings of most of the songs (if not all) on that that I do not need a compilation. If you were to choose one song, for example, "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" I could probably find five or more versions of it by various opera stars or choruses in my collection..plus a couple by non-operatic, but pure, voices! Maybe a Joan Baez or a Suzanne McDermott!

John, I have at least one Robert Shaw CD.

My brother and I also memorized a lot of, "Amahl and the Night Visitors" (as children) and used to sing it to each other!

I used to enjoy Mannheim Steamroller. I have a "sample" CD of theirs, so I am wondering if-somewhere other than with my Christmas music-I have one I bought.

Deb

 

[Lorelei]

This is not a CD but might be available possibly. Christmas Eve wouldn''t be the same for me without " Carol''s from Kings" featuring the Kings College Choir. I never miss it - that is when Christmas starts for me

 

[rainwood]

Mara - I''m glad you found the list useful. You''re half the reason I ended up picking a Whiteflash ES. If it was good enough for you, it''s good enough for me!

JQ - I agree on the Canadian Brass. We''re going to see them in New York in a few weeks and I''m really excited. Another great Verve compilation is Jazz for Joy. One that looks promising for this year is Martha Stewart''s Jazz for the Holidays. I don''t know who does the selections for her but they don''t play it safe with the usual suspects. Anyone who goes for Steve Tyrell is okay in my book and I might just have to get the CD for Wynton Marsalis''s version of ''Twas the Night Before Christmas.'' The sample sounds really intriguing. I hear you on Kenny G. If you cherry pick ''Winter Wonderland'' and ''Rudolph'' off of iTunes, you get the best songs without his usual showboating. I really, really, really have to be in the mood for Celtic, but when I am I play ''Comfort & Joy: A Christmas Celtic Sojourn.'' And a very nice pick on the Doc Severinsen. How could I have missed that fabulous gem? Nothing wrong with his lower girdle facets!

TeeBee - I agree with the Verve Presents: The Very Best of Christmas Jazz. Great compilation.

FireGoddess - If you hear the Carpenters in your head, don''t, don''t don''t buy Peggy Lee''s album because if you do, you won''t be able to get ''Don''t Forget to Feed the Reindeer'' out of your brain until February.

I thought I''d also finish out my Top 25:

18. Northwest Chamber Orchestra/Christmas Baroque Music - I bought it on vinyl, I bought it on cassette, I bought it on CD and I''ll buy it on whatever the next format is. Stunning acoustics and exquisite playing. Not the easiest to track down but it''s available from Amazon third-party sellers and some other companies.
19. Sir Neville Marriner & the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Christmas at the Academy - great classical/choral sound and fabulous acoustics again.
20. Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops/White Christmas: A Christmas Festival - another big bouncy orchestral album. Best version of Sleigh Ride and some nice stuff from the Nutcracker.
21. The Canadian Brass/A Canadian Brass Christmas - what John Q said.
22. Tony Bennett/Snowfall - he''s got the big band going on ''Santa Claus Is Coming to Town'' and a great live version of ''I''ll Be Home for Christmas'' from the Daily Show.
23. Lou Rawls/Swingin'' Christmas - very lounge-y. It makes me want to put on my party dress, grab a cocktail, and start snapping my fingers because it''s hip, it''s happening, it''s the 80''s (or maybe even the 70''s).
23. B.B. King/A Christmas Celebration - you gotta like the blues, but if you do, B.B.''s the one. ''Back Door Santa'' is not the song to play if Grandma''s coming over, but great when you''re tired of all the other stuff.
24. Ray Brown Trio/Christmas Songs with the Ray Brown Trio - another great jazz CD that makes good dinner music.
25. I''m saving this slot. I''ve got more CD''s coming, mostly jazz this year, so I''m sure there''s a new favorite in there.

And now for some Christmas CD''s that don''t yet exist, but I sure wish they did:

1. Queen Latifah doing something in the style of The Dana Owens Album. She''s the only current "pop" singer out there with the voice, the class, and probably the pull to do this with a full orchestra and some great arrangements.
2. Whitney Houston getting her act together and doing a gospel album in the style of ''Joy to the World'' from The Preacher''s Wife.
3. Remastering of Frank Sinatra''s, Johnny Mathis''s and Ray Charles''s Christmas albums to take out the syrupy backing vocals and the sappy strings. Just when they get good, the "oooooooo" starts up and the violins swoop in and ruin everything. What a Christmas bummer.

 

[AGBF]

I recommend, although it is not easy to find, "Christmas Spirit" by the Daughters of Mary. You can listen to excerpts from many of the songs on Amazon.com.

ETA: It was NOT The Daughters of Mary, but Vox Mundi, which played when one clicked on supposed Daughters of Mary selections on Amazon.com! I own the, "Christmas Spirit" album by Vox Mundi, although not the one by the Daughters of Mary, and love that. No wonder when I heard it and thought it was The Daughters of Mary, I liked it!

Deborah

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 11/23/2005 5:59:05 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
I love a lot of the old stuff, traditional stuff that I listened to as a kid... but.. I was watching tv last night.. and.. DMC and their ''Christmas Rap'' is just a NO GO. LOL....

Awww, I think it''s kinda funny, actually. Not exactly a classic in the making, but it cracks me up.

 

[portoar]

Mara, Aren''t you in the South Bay Area? There is a Ross on the corner of San Antonio Road and El Camino Real. God I miss Palo Alto.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 11/27/2005 3:53:56 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
Does anyone know if Josh Groban have a Christmas album out? He sings a song in the Polar Express. That boy has such an incredible voice, I love it...

I did an Amazon.com search for Josh Groban and Christmas...nothing came up. When I did a Josh Groban search alone, all the albums popped up including the Polar Express soundtrack, so it doesn''t appear that he''s done a Christmas album yet.

 

[Mara]

yep portoar...I am in the S Bay..I was actually at the WF in Campbell the other day and realized there is one in that same shopping center! So someday I'll go in..hee hee.

I keep meaning to tell you, my husband is a rower too, he belongs to the BAIR club over in Redwood City ...I think he is a port oar too sometimes.

I think he switches around at times.

Back on topic, my CD's came from Amazon and so far I have listened to the Diana Krall one which is great...I love it. Also when I opened up my xmas stuff I realized I had forgotten that last year one of my friends got me the Essential Christmas trilogy from PB...so I have two of their compilation sets. It was like getting the new set all over again since I had forgotten I had it! HAA.

Over the weekend too on the way back from a drive we were listening to Xmas radio and we heard a few Celine songs which were great..some random Wilson Phillips song that sounded odd, and Blue Chrsitmas from Elvis, now THAT is an original!!

 

[LAJennifer]

My ALL-TIME favorite is Vince Guaraldi''s Charlie Brown Christmas - from the Peanuts Christmas special. I love all the old standards too - usually just keep the radio tuned to an old AM station while driving in my car.

Also, for those that mentioned the acapella music - check out www.theblenders.com
They record a new Holiday CD every year and I think you can listen to samples on their website.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 11/28/2005 3:54:00 PM
Author: LAJennifer
My ALL-TIME favorite is Vince Guaraldi''s Charlie Brown Christmas - from the Peanuts Christmas special.

Yep, that was our first Christmas album we bought.

Love Mannheim Steamroller

Was given the Kenny G "Faith" cd as a gift. I wouldn''t have bought it myself. I love it.

GRP Christmas collection - jazzy fusion

"A Very Special Acoustic Christmas" - proceeds benefits Special Olympics

"Celtic Christmas" - Windham Hill Sampler

My two very favs:

Otmar Liebert - the Christmas album
Alan Jackson "let it be Christmas" - I''m not a huge country fan - but this one is special!

 

[Mara]

So last nite I was reading the paper and they had the top 5 Christmas albums according to Diana Krall...

Interestingly enough in her top 5 was the Bing Crosby ''The Christmas Song'' CD that I bought last week and also she had the Ella Fitzgerald ''Swinging Christmas'' one in there too. Also a Ray Charles one which she loved, and 2 others I was unfamiliar with.

But I thought it was cool that 2 out of the 5 were ones we''d discussed on here!!

 

[AGBF]

I have bought several CDs since this thread started! (As if I needed even one more!) When I have more time I will update all of you on my finds. (I have had houseguests for a couple of weeks and have had virtually no time to myself.)

Deb

 

[Diamond Princess]

As soon as I saw this thread, I just HAD to post!

To mark the beginning of this Christmas season, I spent ALL day Friday, most of Saturday, and ALL day Sunday, as well, spending as much money as physically possible for one little girl.... I'm still exhausted!

I now have everyone's gifts and can spend the next month buying for ME and my baby!

While at my 4am Best Buy stop on Friday, I picked up some pretty snazzy Christmas CD's to add to my collection. I could not pass up Mariah Carey's Christmas CD (I've replaced that CD like 4 times now because I play it until it won't play anymore

).... They had quite a collection of the classics that I adore as well as some soul selections. I ended up with about 8 differenct CD's to try out this year. It definitely made wrapping all of the stuff that I bought more enjoyable along with my Starbucks. YUMMY!! But I would definitely look into Mariah's Christmas CD.. my fav is "All I Want For Christmas"...

The Christmas Soul CD is growing on me as well... some different twists to most of the classics and gives it a little bit of funk! Which who doesn't love a little funk, right?

Although, my ALL time fav has to be, "What Child is This" performed by the Vienna Boys Choir and Symphony..it just gives me chills everytime I hear it performed. A very moving adaptation I must say...

I just ABSOLUTELY love this time of year and the Christmas music just brings everything to life! It's soo much fun and ohhh how I miss the cold weather....

Anywho, my advise is just spice it up with a little bit of everything and there's always something for someone to enjoy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALLLLLLL!!!

Jamie
www.whiteflash.com

 

[Mara]

I wanted to chime in again and say that I finally went over to Ross, there's one near my Whole Foods in Campbell, anyway, they had some Christmas CD's but nothing TOO spectacular...I was kind of sad.

HOWEVER, I did find a 2 CD set for Bing Crosby's Christmas which has a collection of Christmas songs he did, some on the radio (a radio show?) he did way back when, which is kind of interesting, the 2 CD set was $7.00 so that was sweet since I did want to get a Bing CD at some point. And then also they had a bunch of 3 and 5 and 10 CD Christmas sets that didn't have really any information other than what the songs were...didn't say who sang them, what style or anything. They just had different cover images but literally no info. So I decided to take a small chance on a 3 CD set that seemed kind of traditional and it DID say it was sung by some Orchestra and Singers so that worked for me. Once I bought some random CD like that with no info and it was sung by children. All the songs were really tinny from the kids high voices. I guess if you have kids it's great but I am more traditional and like the more classic stuff I guess. Anyway, it was $9.00 for the whole set. So today I played it, and pretty happy so far! It's very traditional with alot of orchestra only music, and then alot of choir/group singing so that's what I was missing in my 'collection'...and it was $9.00. I love a good choir. YAY!

So Greg has cut me off...he says no more Christmas CD's this year.

Though I *am* going to sneak in Mariah's CD after hearing such rave reviews from you guys and hearing a few of the songs on the radio. So that's IT I SWEAR!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/21/2005 10:32:58 PM
Author: JohnQuixote
Did I see you post about Amahl and the Night Visitors on page 1??? ''This is my box...''
I was timpanist for a small Opera company''s production of that work for several years. Long enough to memorize every line and every song.

We try to see at least one production of, "The Messiah" live every year. Last year we did not make it to one, but this year we are seeing one live production of, "The Messiah" and one live production of, "Amahl and the Night Visitors".

Deb

 

[AGBF]

As I said, I have been buying even more christmas music this year (on top of the huge amount of recorded music I already owned). I really cannot recommend "Christmas spirit" by Vox Mundi highly enough! Go to Amazon.com and just listen to samples of it. I think it will sell itself to you!

Does anyone else''s family also sing and play instruments on Christmas Day? Carol singing to piano has always been part of our Christmas, and in recent years the younger family members have been taking up cellos, violins, flutes, clarinets...and one baritone horn!

Deborah

 

[Odilia]

{{{{Does anyone else''s family also sing and play instruments on Christmas Day? }}}}}

No, but I would love that!!! (Unfortunately we don''t know how to play any instruments.)