In the coming days, we will be celebrating Christmas! The Christmas season is perhaps the most recognized and celebrated season of all. People are busy preparing. Preparing to give gifts, and to receive guests...preparing to get together with family and preparing for both the years end and the beginning of a New Year.
I find many people are more likely to say, "hello", in passing, during this time of year, or perhaps "Merry Christmas"! I like it.
When I hear a stranger say, "Merry Christmas", it reminds me of snowy winter days, when the wind blew cold on my face and my siblings and I were walking behind Mom as she walked thru the parking lot at Montgomery Wards, or as we walked along the covered sidewalks of the smaller strip malls near the big Department Stores. Back then, Christmas music was piped over even the exterior store speakers (and if I remember correctly, even some of the smaller towns played Christmas music over PA's), so that walking thru a parking lot, or along a sidewalk, you could hear Bing singing "Silver Bells" slightly out of time with the echoes of other speakers in the distance...mixing with the noise of the wind...And most times you could hear one person saying, "Merry Christmas" to another...or sometimes to Mom or us kids. Total strangers mind you...simply passing on some good cheer and the seasons greeting. I imagined it would always be this way...
Below you will find a few Christmas songs that I arranged/recorded. ( ignore any mistakes you hear!) As mentioned before, my Yamaha Clavinova (a fancy digital piano) lets me make and play music using a wide variety of musical instruments. The songs here were played using a standard piano, trombone, oboe, pipe organ, strings and even some synthesized "gothic voices"! Some are simply a solo piano, others are arranged and over dubbed with other parts that I play and arrange together to make one song.
"O'Come O'Come Emmanuel" was performed using the pipe organ. I couldn't resist making all of the old school Catholics out there, INSTANTLY recall walking into Church during the Christmas season. It certainly made me chuckle when i played it back...until the memories of stern nuns and endlessly repeating "Hail Mary's" suddenly came to me!
The last song listed here, "Silent Night", is sung acapella by my daughter Veronica. She recorded this in my home office on a large condenser microphone, while learning how to record herself and use the microphone etc. It wasn't practiced, and even so, I think it sounds beautiful.
Each of these songs can be downloaded (Mp3) by "right clicking and saving" or simply click on your selection to listen to it without downloading.
I hope these songs will contribute to the joyous Christmas Spirit that this season brings!
White Christmas
The Christmas Song
O' Come O' Come Emmanuel
Where Are You Christmas
O Holy Night
O Tannenbaum
Silent Night (Veronica)
Merry Christmas!!
