Christmas music
Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can listen to my Christmas music with impunity! If I had to choose one favorite Christmas CD, without a doubt it would be Maggie Sansone's Sounds of the Season. There are no vocals on this CD -- just beautiful arrangements of old hymns and carols, with some old English and Scottish country dance tunes thrown in for good measure. Sansone plays the hammered dulcimer and is accompanied by a range of other instruments (recorder, mandolin, viola de gamba, etc.). Sansone's music evokes a very historical feel, and as far as I know, all the tunes are centuries old. Hearing these beautiful old hymns helps me to meditate on the birth of Christ, and to ponder the history of Christmas throughout the ages.
Try it -- you'll love it! (And I defy you to listen to track #8's "Christmas Eve Reel" without getting the urge to dance!) ;)
Labels: music
posted by Laura at
10:02 PM
7 Comments:
Oh, what lovely music! I have already put that CD on my "Wish List." It reminds me of Christmas time at little country stores when we used to live in rural Pennsylvania. I can almost smell the cinnamon...
Thank you for posting it! I so enjoy reading your blog.
Yours in Christ,
Shannon
Thanks for the suggestion. I purchased it from itunes and can now put it on my ipod and burn a cd for my car. I love the celtic christmas music.
Traci
Hm, my husband and I were just commenting that we would like a CD of Christmas music without vocals. Okay, we wanted it WITH bagpipes, but, in the absence of a recommended bagpipe Christmas CD, I think this looks like a good alternative!
I LOVE this! I listened to several of the tracks on Amazon... I'm definitely placing an order... thanks so much for sharing!
Shannon, what a nice, evocative picture! I love those Christmas smells...
Serena, if you ever find that bagpipes CD of Christmas music, let me know!
Traci and Lynn, I'm glad you were able to get your own copies! Enjoy! :)
Laura, you have such wonderful taste in music! This is one of the first Christmas albums I play every year, along with Sounds of the Season II - I used to play it in my son's bedroom as lullaby music when he was little. I remember you recommending the CD "Faire is the Heaven" a while ago, too - wonderful, wonderful album - and that piece is so much fun to sing. Do you know any of the Chanticleer Christmas albums? The fairly recent one with Dawn Upshaw is fantastic!
:-) Elizabeth
Elizabeth, thank you! I'm not too familiar with Chanticleer, but my Dad has a DVD of them singing Christmas songs at some museum in New York... I popped it in the other day while I was sewing. :) I will take a look at the one you mentioned! Thanks for the recommendation.
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