Description
SONGS SYNOPSIS:
- A VOICE CRIES OUT (5:45): Drawing from the prophesies of Isaiah 40, this song by Michael Joncas is alternatively mellifluous and passionate. It’s one of my favorite songs.
- LET THE KING OF GLORY COME (5:58): Another Michael Joncas song! This one is much more fiery and excited: let the triumphant King of Glory come!
- THE KING SHALL COME WHEN MORNING DAWNS (2:03): Fast paced and expectant theme and variations on an old carol. I used to test myself on how fast I could run through a verse: ~15 secs at best.
- SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN (4:01): Drawing a bit more from the jazzy side, but with a dose of upbeat cheer. Imagine walking down a snowy street in a small town, December 20. That’s how it should feel.
- (WALKING IN A) WINTER WONDERLAND (5:06): Lighter than the last song, but still on that mental image. There’s a bit more emphasis on the snowy delicate feel in the first half.
- SILVER BELLS (4:26): Very smooth, sweet and more flowing. You’ve just finished that walk in the snow.
- WHAT CHILD IS THIS / CHILD OF THE POOR (5:21): This song is a one-person duet between these two songs, with my right hand playing both melodies atop each other. Desolate, but underneath is that constant Christmas vein.
- A CHRISTMAS OUTCAST (4:17): OK, so this is a bit of a joke track. It’s an arrangement of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer into a minor key, with a more folksy feel.
- ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH (4:33): One of those mandatory classic Christmas songs. I tried to make the drawn-out “Gloria” in the refrain as lyrical as possible.
- HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING (3:37): I drew my interpretation of this song from the rendition in “A Charlie Brown Christmas:” a simple melody first, then richer development.
- ANGELS, FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY (3:17): A very nice, less-well-known carol. First comes cleaner sound, and then the grandeur of the Realms of Glory builds up.
BONUS TRACKS
- ENDLESS BALLAD (18:01) This song is one long improvisation on Oasis’s Wonderwall and Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams. At release time, it was the longest nonstop improvisation I had ever played (at the time!). Whatever style I could dream up, it was there!
- O HOLY NIGHT (6:23): With an emphasis on the outer ends of the piano, a quieter, lyrical piece that closes the album well.
