Favourite Winter Holiday CDs

Subject: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Dec 04 - 07:59 PM

I've got several holiday CDs which I love to listen to. Two in particular are from Mudcatters. Right now I am listening to the dulcet tones of various Folk Legacy folks, including Cathy Braton, Dave Para, the Paton Family, Skip Gorman, Ed Trickett, and Bordon Bok singing "In the bleak Midwinter" on their "'Twas on a Night Like This (A Christmas Legacy)" CD. If you don't have it you are missing out! It is CD-114 at Folk Legacy

Another fav. is "Off the Beaten Track: An album of Christmas Music" by Telynor who is John and Anna Peekstok. This one has a lot of very old trad, starting out with "Salutation of the Angel" from the late 15C. The play hudry-gurdy, recorders, crumhorn, and many other instruments for a beautiful mix of great talent, ability, and heart.

Couple of others include "A Scottish Christmas" with Bonnie Rideout on fiddle, Maggie Sansone on hammered dulcimer, and Al Petteway on guitar.

Believe it or not the other is one I picked up at Target called "Yuletide Guitars" put out by NorthSound... All acoustic guitars, beautiful arrangements of traditional Christmas songs. Very soothing.

So, what are your favs. for this time of year?

Thanks,

kat

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Gypsy
Date: 08 Dec 04 - 10:04 PM

OOOOOOOOOOOohhhhhhhhh, my all time fave......The Nutcracker Suite, with verses by Ogden Nash, and narrated by Peter Ustinov. And now that i have wondermous program on 'puter, put it on CD!

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Padre
Date: 08 Dec 04 - 10:17 PM

A Festival of 9 Lessons and Carols by the Choir of King's College Cambridge

Wolcum Yule - Anonymous 4

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: GUEST,Dale
Date: 08 Dec 04 - 11:01 PM

I've got that Barton/Para/Paton CD and it's usually pretty close to the player each December. I've also been pretty fortunate to see Dave & Cathy in person many times over the last 25 years or so.

Perhaps my favorite album though is The Roches - We Three Kings, originally on MCA, and later on Rykodisc.

Christmas With The Clancy Brothers, Columbia.

Evie - Christmas Memories, Word.

John Fahey - Christmas Guitar, Varrick.

Two Australian imports, but Dick can get them for you:
The Seekers - Morningtown Ride To Christmas (recorded in 2001, but sounding just like you'd expect a Seekers album to sound)
Judith Durham - For Christmas With Love (recorded in 1968, with a couple of additions in 1994)

Michael Martin Murphey - Cowboy Christmas, Warner Brothers

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 02:53 AM

That's right, Dick Greenhaus, of the DT and Camsco can get just about anything and it helps out the Mudcat, too.

I forgot to put in the link for Telynor: Click here.

Thanks, folks...I've new ones to look for now!

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 03:17 AM

Cindy Mangsen, Anne Hills, and Priscilla Herdman did two holiday albums that are just about the best folk music harmony you can hear - the albums are Voices of Winter and At the Turning of the Year . Voices has my favorite recordings of "Hot Buttered rum" and "Proper Cup of Coffee." Makes me feel warm all over, just to think of those songs.

You can find the CD's at Compass Rose Music. While you're there, get all of the Herdman/Hills/Mangsen CD's. They're all good.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 11:13 AM

Thanks, Joe!

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 11:22 AM

Check out Finest Kind's new CD.   Wonderful mix of tunes with readings from Dicken's "A Christmas Carol".

I also love the Linda Russell recordings of early American holiday music.

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Amergin
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 11:27 AM

bah humbug!

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: GUEST,Harmoni
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 11:50 AM

My favourite CD is titled "Our Heart's Joy" by Chanticleer, which is a male choir from San Francisco. It's stunningly beautiful.

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: GLoux
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 12:14 PM

I've got "A Putumayo World Christmas", which is wonderful, but it only covers countries like Spain, Colombia, Brazil, some Carribean islands, with some cajun, Hawaiian, celtic and Norwegian music worked into the mix. Because I enjoyed it so much last year, I've been wanting some new (to me) Christmas Holiday CDs with more World Music on them. I went to my local library and took out "Christmas Around The World" but it's the songs and carols that have been beat into the ground, but sung in Italian, German, French (mostly European) languages.   I also took out "Latino Christmas" which is also the same material, but in Spanish or Portuguese

I'd like to find some things that are not the usual songs and carols sung in different languages, but something truly representative of say, Japanese, Indian or African, etc. cultures.

Any suggestions?

-Greg

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 02:23 PM

GLoux, I love the Putamyo ones, too, but would also liketo find more World Music as you've noted. I did find a site which has quick info on customs from around the world which looks interesting. I haven't looked at all of them, yet: Click Here.

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: fat B****rd
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 02:29 PM

I love all the usual seasonal songs and carols but crack up when I hear Bob Rivers parodies.

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Wesley S
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 02:47 PM

I have a new solo guitar recording by Mike Marshall called "Midnight Clear". Great stuff. The Waverly Consort Christmas CD is always a favorite along with the Roches and Bruce Cockburn's recordings.

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: freightdawg
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 04:12 PM

(In addition to everything John Denver put out for Christmas)

I have three favorite cds that might be considered "out of the way". Two are classical productions, one by Ruben Romero and one by Michael Chapdelaine.

The third is "Yuletide Guitar" by Mark Hanson and it is a great collection of standard carols and songs performed in Mark's "often imitated never duplicated" fingerstyle skill. You can find this on Mark's website, www.accentonmusic.com. Great stuff.

Freightdawg

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Blowzabella
Date: 09 Dec 04 - 06:11 PM

One of my favourites is 'Dance at the Phoenix' by the Mellstock Band, which has songs and carols from Hardy's Wessex plus several of his poems. The other is 'The Carnal & The Crane' by the New Scorpion Band - British Christmas music across 500 years

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Arkie
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 09:33 AM

My two favorites have already been mentioned, Twas On A Night Like This and Bruce Cockburn's Christmas CD, but I also have listened to the Christmas Revels alot over the years and Joemy Wilson's Gifts:Traditional Christmas Carols.

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Big Jim from Jackson
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 09:51 AM

I, too, enjoy Cathy and Dave's album. Seamus Kennedy's "Goodwill To Men" is outstanding. I listen to John Roberts and Tony Barrand's Nowell Sing We Clear series, as well. I have some Vienna Boys' Choir Christmas stuff that I listen to. On Christmas Eve I surround myself with Rhine wine, cheese, veggie nibbles, and candles.   Then I put on the music and listen for hours!
    The Clancy Brothers and Makem's album is good, too.

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Cluin
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 10:16 AM

Next to the Christmas Mix CDs I made myself, I guess my favourite still has to be Robin Williamson's "Winter's Turning".

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Alonzo M. Zilch (inactive)
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 10:50 AM

My new favorite holiday CD is "Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanuka" by the Klezmatics. Eight Hanuka songs with words written by Woody Guthrie. Six have tunes composed by one or another of the Klezmatics. A great CD.

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 10 Dec 04 - 11:01 AM

http://www.oytotheworld.com/

http://www.j-tull.com/news/christmasalbum.cfm

http://www.cthulhulives.org/Solstice/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0125812/

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671793829/002-4080928-3325627?v=glance

http://www.stlyrics.com/s/southparkchefaidmrhankeyschristmasclassics.htm

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000008IQA/002-4080928-3325627?v=glance

Not to mention the few hundred mp3s I have collected from various and sundry sources...

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Reinhard
Date: 11 Dec 04 - 04:40 AM

My favourites are:

Triakel: Vintervisor, traditional and self-penned Swedish winter songs with the heavenly voice of Emma Härdelin accompanied on portable organ and violin

John Kirkpartick et al: Wassail, a traditional celebration of an English midwinter (this is the album's subtitle but it fits very well)

Various: Bah Humbug, the funniest Christmas album I know of

Subject: RE: Favourite Winter Holiday CDs
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Dec 04 - 11:10 AM

I found a two-CD classical holiday compilation a few years ago that I've bought many copies of and sent to friends and family. It's The Greatest Christmas Show on Earth with performances by Domingo, Pavarotti, Sutherland, Te Kanawa, and others, along with several outstanding choirs. It's put out by London.

A brand new discovery, and a total pleasure, is a CD called Christmas Through the Ages given to me on Thursday by an acquaintance at the university. He works in the campus print shop and does a lot of the graphic design for publications we produce for the library. As MMario will tell you, they also copy CDs (they did the Blue Bottle Special if anyone is looking for a last minute gift!). He was copying and packaging these CDs when I walked in, and I lucked out on a spontaneous gift. Jason Renken is a bass with the group Paradigm (if you visit the site there are a few samples of this latest CD). The music they've done so far is of religious content, but their next CD will be one with all secular works. That's the one I'll be looking for. These folks recorded their first two CDs in the Meyerson in Dallas--for those of you familiar with the accoustics of this new music hall, that speaks volumes. Visit the site and enjoy a couple of songs. (If you get this newest CD, Jason has a solo on track 13, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.") I am so pleased to make this discovery about this friend!

SRS