WRST Programming with Dr. Christmas 2006 Post Crescent Review

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After listening to over 150 new Christmas CDs for my annual roundup, I’ve decided I’m just as nuts as people who got in line in the wee hours for a PS3. A cure has not been found, so here I go again.

CHORAL

What’s your size? Christmas chorus, I mean. Mixed or same sex? Young or old? There’s something good for every one, beginning with four California groups. The oversize box that won’t fit under the tree holds Orange County’s huge Pacific Chorale , accompanied by brass and organ on “Christmas Time Is Here” . They generall y produce a big, glorious sound in the tradition of Robert Shaw, but are quite capable even in the quiet glow of Sandstrom’s “Lo, how a rose.” Up in San Jose, The Choral Project’s “Winter” offer the most unu sual program, beginning with Argento’s “Gloria” and including such gems as Whitacre’s “Winter” (featuring a sitar!), both Part’s and Rachmaninoff’s “Bogoroditse Djevo”, and Maddux’s wonderfully wacky “Christmas Goes Classical.”

Just a few miles further north we find the 22 voice San Francisco Choral Artists , whose “So Gracious Is The Time” is my top choral pick of the season. Unusual and very modern settings of classic texts abound. Virtually all are “sacred”, but the final track is Gene Puerling’s typically superb of Thornhill’s atmospheric “Snowfall.” Every choir director will want this disc. The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus is in the same city, but more than ten times the size . Their “Home for the Holidays”, recorded live at the Castro Theatre over the past few years, features serious stuff like Rutter’s “Gloria” and fun stuff like “Coming Out On Christmas”, with a sound like the biggest glee club you’ve ever heard.

The Golden State wasn’t the only source of great new CDs. The Santa Fe Desert Chorale’s “Christmas in Santa Fe” offers unfamiliar works and uncommon of familiar carols, all expertly sung by 20 mixed voices. Chattanooga’s Choral Arts’ “A Christmas Portrait” presents another diverse program by a fine chamber choir, and concludes with the world premiere of the inventive choral version of Dave B rubeck’s “We Three Kings” (originally done for jazz quartet). The smallest group featured here—the two women and six men of The Tiffany Consort —hails from the biggest city: NYC. Their “O Magnum Mysterium” of fers numerous settings of that text, from ancients Palestrina, Byrd, Victoria and Scarlatti to moderns Poulenc and Lauridsen, and their vocal blend is truly breathtaking.

St. Olaf, Concordia (Moorhead), and Luther . They’re all institutions of higher learning in the upper Midwest, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, regularly featured on PBS, and rooted in Norway. They all had their Christmas concerts on the same weekend (Dec. 1-4) in 2005, even sharing some less common music such as the final section of Vaughan Williams’ “Hodie.” They are the “Big Three” of Lutheran collegiate singing, and you won’t find the Christmas spirit better expressed anywhere other than on the CDs of those concerts: St. Olaf’s “O Come To Us Abide With Us Our Lord Immanuel” , Concordia’s “O Come All Ye Faithful” , and Luther’s “Emmanuel – God With Us.” All enthralled me, and you can add “A St. Olaf Christmas in Norway” , a recording of The St. Olaf Choir and Norway’s Nidarosdomens Jentekor” in a Norwegian concert televised last December.

But they also know a thing or two about collegiate choral singing in Utah, where that tabernacle crowd hangs out. The University of Utah Singer’s new “Christmastide” showcases fine new arrangements of familiar c arols, and it hurts just a bit to admit they sing as well as our Midwestern young adults.

Last year I began this column with a thorough rave about an Austin group called Conspirare, which offers the most astonishing mix of sacred and secular Christmas and non- in its annual Christmas at the Carillon concerts. This year I received “Always” , their 2004 concert, and “I Still Love You” , their 2005 concert, an d I can report that they too are among the most amazing choral Christmas discs ever in terms of performance quality, innovative programming, and the real spirit of the season. Conspirare’s newest non-Christmas CD was named one of the five “Best Choral Performance” Grammy nominees as I was writing this.

No one familiar with the Grammy -winning work that Paul Halley did with the Paul Winter Consort will be at all surprised by the sheer beauty and creativity of “What Child Is This?” , featuring two groups he created—the Chorus Angelicus children and the Gaudeamus adults—and the inventive organ support you’d expect from his long tenure as organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.

Early music lovers have fine new choices as well. Gloria Dei Cantores Schola’s “The Coming of Christ” retells the Christmas story through Gregorian Chant. “Tenth- to Sixteenth-Century Secular and Liturgical Music” is the sub stance offered by the four men of the Orlando Consort (supplemented by a bass singer) on their “Medieval Christmas.” The Aulos Ensemble and soprano Julianne Baird have been performing Baroque Christmas music f or many years, and their “In Dulci Jubilo” gifts us with a diversity of music from a diversity of countries. There are at least two noteworthy recordings of Handel’s “Messiah”, both by justly famed British ensembles: the Choir of Clare College under Rene Jacobs , and the Choir of New College Oxford led by Edward Higginbottom The latter features the very unusual 1751 version in which all parts—even the arias—are sung by male voices.

The young males of another renowned group, The American Boychoir, offer rather straightforward renditions of carols recorded in 1992, 2000, and 2001 on “” , but I was even more pleased by their recording of Benjamin Britten’s Christmas classic “A Ceremony of Carols” , which also features Britten’s Missa Brevis and several other works for the season.

Some years ago we were up to our pinecones in Celtic Christmas CDs. That tide receded, but this year it seems to be Eastern Europe’s turn. Two are at the top of my pile. I am always electrified by the Bulgarian women’s harmonies, and the Bulgarian Voices Angelite’s “Angel’s Christmas” is surely no exception, with its variety of styles but continuously hair-raising vocalizing. “A New Joy – Orthodox Christmas” features 19 th and 20 th century music from Estonia, Russia, and the Ukraine sung by one of the world’s finest choirs—the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir —led by one of the finest directors, Paul Hillier.

“Latvian Solstice” is the third seasonal disc from the New York Latvian Concert Choir , presenting cantatas that demonstrate how the pagan traditions of the solstice and the Christian traditions of Christmas have co-existed without completely melting together in Latvia. “Rejoice” is the second seasonal CD from the women of the Vesnika Choir , joined on some tracks by the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir for a very enjoyable program of folk -flavored Ukrainian music.

The major Celtic release of note is from the esteemed Revels company, noted for numerous Christmas discs that let us hear how the winter holidays were once celebrated. It is called “Rose and Thistle: English and Scottish Music from the Christmas Revels” , and it is the one recording of all reviewed here that can most readily transport you to another time and place.

Once in every year or two, I encounter a CD so full of the season’s meaning that I give it my Christmas Spirit award. This year it goes to “Christmasse Comes But Once A Year” from the Montana A Cappella Society . The MACS are just a bunch of amateurs who love to sing together. Imagine that your neighb ors are pretty darn good singers who like to put on period dress and sing Christmas carols in your living room. Now you’ve got the idea—and this disc really was recorded in a living room! I’ve invited them all to Wisconsin, so clean out your guestrooms.

CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL

The majority of Christmas organ recordings are devoted to classical compositions—French noels, Bach chorales, and such. William Neil’s “Noel: 25 Hymns of Christmas” , uses the John Jay Hopkins Memorial Organ of the National Presbyterian Church in Washington to bring us a rarity—straightforward performances of the best known carols on a magnificent example of the king of instruments.

“Christmas with the Giannini Brass ” of North Carolina is one of the most enjoyable brass holiday CDs I’ve heard of late. The serving size is generous—33 tracks—and the highlight is certainly the set of 9 beloved carols in arrangements by Camp Kirkland. The equally enjoyable “Holiday Brass” by D.C.’s Beltway Brass is much shorter, considerably jazzier, and if you want to hear how important a tuba can be in such groups, check out Andy Kochenour’s playing.

I’ll alway s have a big place in my heart for the huge orchestral Christmas CDs that were common in the 50’s and 60’s. “Christmas Fantastique” is one of the most outsized of all, featuring Hollywood arrangements of favorite carols expertly played by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. It was so “big screen biblical epic” that I ate the popcorn I was going to string on the tree. “Symphonic Season” by New Jersey’s The Eastern Wind Symphony, is mostly devoted to the familiar but still wonderful arrangements of carols by Arthur Harris. Simon Leyton accounts for most of the arrangements on “Christmas Eve” by the Eden Symphony Orchestra , with a style much more “easy listening” than “bombastic.” But if it is the Boston Pops you’re missin’, Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops still have the formula, amply demonstrated on “Christmastime Is Here.” Featured vocalists include Ann Hampton Callaway, John Pizzarelli, Tierney Sutton, and the King’s Singers.

JAZZ

My favorite jazz Christmas CD this year mixes traditional Polish carols, a couple of Spanish ones, sensitive jazz accompaniment, and Grazyna Auguscik’s bell-clear vocals on “Lulajze: The Lullaby for Jesus.” She’s getting raves all over the jazz press and has sung at Chicago’s premier jazz venue—The Green Mill-- but defies categorization. It is one of the most distinctive CDs I’ve heard this season. Vocalist/guitarist Jane Fuller’s lightly swinging, lightly bluesy “The Spirit of Giving” is another vocal jazz CD well worth checking out. It ends with a particularly affecting “Silent Night.”

Pianist Rick Gallagher and his quartet have one of the best new instrumental jazz CDs in “Snowriding” , with fresh takes on 11 familiar tunes plus Rick’s own title cut. If you like the Vince Guaraldi Charlie Brown CD, you’ll love Rick’s disc. But the purest small-group jazz CD this season is David Friesen and Jeannie Hoffman’s very entertaining “Christmas in Woodstock” , rec orded live last year at the “Deli & Wine” of that name in Portland, OR. The highlight is the playing of Friesen, a long-established master of the upright bass. A variety of well-known jazz —including Oscar Castro-Neves, Ilono Knopfler, and old Bud Shank—make for a welcome diversity of music on “Jazz Yule Love II” , the second such collection on Michigan’s Mack Avenue label.

45 years ago one of the greatest jazz Christmas CDs ever was released, featuring an all-brass (no saxes!) group swinging hard through Ralph Carmichael’s arrangements of carols. The famed Boston Brass , supplemented by the Brass All-Stars Big Band presents those arrangements (and a few other goodies) on “The Stan Kenton Christmas Carols” , and you’ll need a steady hand on the stereo to keep it from swinging right out the door. On “Christmastime in Washington” , trumpeter Dave Detwiler leads his 9-pi ece group Prelude through a variety of holiday tunes in a delightful variety of jazz styles. A Jazz on the Vine Christmas is much more sedate than either of those two discs—a typically pleasant light jazz effo rt, mostly sax-led. It is, however, the only jazz CD I know that includes a hammered dulcimer!

If you’d like to step back in time a century or so, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra offers Christmas in the form of rags and other popular music styles of the lat e 19 th and early 20 th century. Their CD is entitled “’Round The Christmas Tree: Vintage Yuletide Favorites” , and there is nothing else remotely like it in my collection. Were we really that lighthearted befo re “world war” entered our vocabulary? “Putumayo Presents New Orleans Christmas” also harkens back to an earlier time, and to a place you can help save (proceeds support New Orleans’ Habitat for Humanity). Like a ll of the many Putumayo recordings, this disc features a variety of musicians. It paints a great holiday portrait of the Big Easy music scene.

Vinnie Zummo’s “A Retro Cool Bossa Nova Christmas” is just what its title claims—a very laid back effort with th e distinctive feel of a music almost fifty years old. “Christian Cultural Center Presents a Jazzy Christmas” is a misnomer, because it is r&b/urban, not jazz. It’s nice enough, though. “Jingle Jazz!” , with all instruments played by Scott Mateer, is also not jazz, but I found its arrangements to be plodding, mechanical, and ultimately boring.

A CAPPELLA

The Coats are widely recognized as on e of the top a cappella quartets in existence, and “The Caroler” will just add to that reputation. Even the oldest, most familiar carols sound new, and the guys are technically superb. “Kykellia” —named after an Egyptian winter festival—could be described in the same way, except for the guy part. It is an unusual disc—an a cappella recording that belongs in the “world music” category. On it the five women of the German quintet Aquabella take us on a breathtaking spin around the world through winter and Christmas songs of many nations, and their arrangements are far from the usual.

The Groove Barbers have roots in the famed Rockapella, although their stylistic diversity is even greater (as even their name suggests). Their “ Glory” CD features Christmas songs in the purest barbershop style, but also in doowop and jazz styles as well. The Alleycats , in contrast, are 100 percent pure, razor-sharp doowop on their “A Christmas Long Ago.” Meanwhile, the 100-plus members of Sound of the Rockies are mainly in the barbershop on “Goodness & Light.” The only quibble I have with their CD is that it was recorded in the wrong space for showing off their abilities—they sound too distant.

PIANO

Every holiday season brings with it a handful of new piano CDs, and I’ve heard so many over the years that it is h ard to grab my attention. This year’s most welcome grabber is Jennifer Haines’ “Christmas Magic.” When going through it to choose tracks good enough for my radio show, every single one got a checkmark because of their originality and Haines’ sensitive playing. I also found quite a few to like on Lorie Line’s umpteenth Christmas CD “The Traditions of Christmas” (her show itself is a Christmas tradition in northeast Wisconsin), the O’Neill Brothers “Holiday Home” (you’ve heard them at Kohler’s Holiday Market), and Scott Davis’ “Winter Journey.”

“ Classics on Piano” says “Jim Brickman, George Winston, Michael W. Smith, John Tesh, and more” on the cover, but there’s only 1 track apiece from those guys, and the rest are by “and more”, which turns out to be David Huntsinger. I’ve featured him on my radio program before, and his arrangements are quite enjoyable—it’s a real shame his name wasn’t on the cover. Madison’s Michael Massey presents 13 lengthy versions of carols in new age style on “The Present.” Iowan David Berns’ “Beyond the Stillness…” is played well enough, but either the piano or the recording of it sounds too jangly for my taste.

I didn’t know where to put Randall Ames’ “Christmas Lights and Latin Nights.” All of the music on it—Christmas favorites given a Latin flavor—was created on computer. While parts of it sound too mechanical (particularly the synthesized brass), Ames’ arrangements are catchy enough to make for an enjoyable listen.

ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS

As always, dominates this category, and one of the finest guitar CDs of this or any previous Christmas season “Classical Christmas” by father Jose and son John Troncoso . The arrangements are entirely fresh and take full advantage of the possibilities offered by two guitarists completely in synch with one another. Stephen Bennett’s “Christmas” is also a top pick. On many of the tracks he plays a harp guitar, which adds deep-toned harp strings to the sound, and he is considered one of the finest pickers in the land. His earlier “The Nutcracker Suite for Guitar Orchestra” , on which he plays 11 different guitars, is an even better showpiece for his technical ability and musicianship.

On “A Classical Guitar Christmas” , Greg Askins offers a whopping 28 tracks of Christmas favorites, played in tasteful, generally quiet arrangements. Paul Kampen plays almost all the instruments and wrote half the tracks on his heartfelt “I’ll Hang This Star.” Keith Gehle’s solo guitar work is straightforward on the holiday standards on his “Songs of December” , but the most enjoyable tracks are the not-so-standards, including two he wrote. Tom Ransom’s “Pure Joy” , his second Christmas CD, offers beautiful playing on heavily arranged, slightly jazzy versions of yuletide classics. And Mark Hanson’s “Yuletide Guitar” is mostly very gentle fingerstyle arrangements of Christmas favorites—“by the fireside” stuff.

The unadorned guitar alone tracks on Keith Andrew Grim’s “Christmas Celebration!” were fine, but too many of the tracks made unnecessary use of synths. On Gayla Drake Paul’s “The Joy Tree” the guitar playing is also laudable, but her voice and vocal styling are acquired tastes.

For those desiring a bit of Spanish flavor in their guitar CDs, Bryan Lubeck, Johannes Linstead, and Tomas Michaud promise “smooth Spanish guitars and Latin grooves” on “We Three Strings.” That promise doesn’t appeal to me—it sounds a bit new-agey-- but the music on the CD itself is much better than the words. “Christmas Wishes” from Nuevo flamenco guitarist Armik is not as interesting because it does have as much flavor or stylistic diversity.

I always have a special interest in multi-instrumental recordings featuring dulcimers, recorders, mandolins, whistles, banjos, folk harps and such, as well as the central guitars. My radio program began in 1989 because I didn’t hear such things on the radio. This year’s best is the very gentle “Winter Tidings” from Al Petteway & Amy White Richard Searles plays all of the instruments on songs well-chosen to deliver on his title’s promise: “A Celebration of Old World Christmas Music.” And “Peace on Earth” by Lorraine & Bennett Hammond is a welcome re-release of a 1994 CD.

Lee Murdock’s “Christmas Goes To Sea” is a classic fo lk album in the Gordon Bok tradition. Many of the songs involve the Great Lakes, including a long number telling the story of the “Christmas ship” that went down near Two Rivers.

OTHER INSTRUMENTAL

Flute Christmas CDs are not near as common as their piano and guitar counterparts, maybe because one alone is not musically interesting enough for very long. But two ? “I Wonder As I Wander” by flutists Anne Carlson and Maya Lewis, and pianist Alicia Lewis, is simply one of the most beautiful Christmas CDs of all this year. The arrangements take full advantage of the silver tubes, and Anne and Maya’s blending will give you the shivers. But if two aren’t enough, how about six, from bass to piccolo, played by the Resonance Flute Consort on “A Flute Tootin’ Yule.” It is unlike anything else I own, but it too is full of fresh arrangements of familiar tunes that take full advantage of the instruments, plus Core lli’s “Christmas Concerto.” Flutist Ron Korb and keyboardist Donald Quan offer pleasant, fairly traditional arrangements of carols on their “Seasons” , but Korb’s flutes often get lost in the mix, particularly when playing in the lower registers.

There are three new harp CDs to consider as well. On “The Eve of Christmas” , Jennifer Hoult presents a full disc of the beautiful Christmas arrangements created in 1954 by Carlos S alzedo, one of the greatest harpists of the 20 th century. But I liked the ethereal arrangements of “Harp Music for the Holidays” by Whitney Dobyns even more. Dobyns, who plays both Celtic and concert harps, h as given us one of the most beautiful Christmas harp CDs ever, including a truly magical “Silent Night.” Electric harpist Andreas Vollenweider adds considerably more instruments to the mix, with a result closer to on “Midnight Clear” Even Carly Simon is along, although her role is not large.

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is both one of the most respected and most individualistic classical violinists of our time. Her “Merry: A Holiday Journey” is all over the place stylistically—“The Twelve Days of Christmas” sounds like a classical showpiece, but the “Wassail Song” owes more to gypsy violinists. It’s a true delight if you don’t mind the twists and turns. The most unusual instrument in this section is Donal Hinely’s glass harmonica—basically a set of stemware filled with different levels of water, and played by rubbing a wet finger around the rim. The selections I liked best on his “Midwinter Carols” were those with the least accompaniment (or none at all), although I’m not sure I care to listen to this CD all at one time (the purity of the tones gets to you).

VOCAL

Male vocal CDs always seem to be in the minorit y, but this year I’ll take them up first. Canadian Michel Berube’s “This Christmas” showcases a classic male pop voice. He has Jennifer Warnes for a partner on the “Peace On Earth” duet made famous by Bowie and Bin g, and offers three carols in separate English and French versions—Canada, eh? Jazzy big band arrangements plus the likes of Mike Renzi and Grady Tate support the strong voice of Doug Ferony on “It’s Christmas.” And Russ Lorenson’s “What I Want For Christmas” is a treat for fans of the cabaret vocal style.

Nick Pepin’s “Let us light a candle” bridges the male-female g ap as a countertenor because he sings—without falsetto—in the alto range. There’s a strong classical tilt to the disc’s 25 selections, with backing only by June Clark on piano, who also provided many of the arrangements —including a gorgeous Silent Night.

There’s even more variety among the women. One of my top picks is Jolie Vigen’s “Another December.” In addition to a fine voice, the CD’s highlights include Vigen’s own songs, plus strongly simpatico support from instrumentalist Greg Fulton. The recording quality on Ruby Collins’ “Merry Christmas” is not the best, and her voice is wavery and none too strong. Yet her renditions and arrangements are so unusual and her singing so soulful that she too is a female fave. Then there’s the strong and beautiful voice of Karen Pendley on “Ring The Bells of Christmas” , a country/bluegrass disc that has “being too darned short” as it’s only flaw.

Those were my picks, but the following could be yours. What kind of voice do you like? Leigh Nash has roots in the CCM scene, and displays a light, breathy voice on “Wishing for This.” Susan Egan’s high and very pretty voice graces her “Winter Tracks.” At the other end, Christie McCarthy has a voice in Diana Krall’s range, surrounded with light jazz arrangements on “Winter.” Julianne Johnson has a much smoother alto, shown off to good effect with the slow tempos and somewhat jazzy arrangements on “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” Her support is often just the very effective piano of Michael Alan Harrison, whose own Christmas CDs have gotten high marks from me.

The allmusic website describes Stacy Sullivan as “L.A. cabaret”, but I simply noted that she has a very beautiful and expressive voice upon hearing the Christmas and non-Christmas tunes on her “Cold Enough To Snow.” The lovely voice of Susan House alternates with long instrumental stretches on her lightly swinging “Gifts of the Season.” It is the only Christmas CD I know with “Nature Boy” on it (made famous by Nat “King” Cole). Leann Albrecht has sung on hundreds of worship CDs, and employs a distinctly jazzy backing for her fine alto on “The Greatest Gift.”

Gabriella Snyder’s “Ancient Christmas” is very different—her voice is distinctly folkish, with spare mountain instrument accompaniment on a collection of carols from the woods, not the castles. While a carol or two on her CD have Native American origins, Jana’s “American Indian Christmas” features ten non-Native American Christmas standards song in as many different Native American tongues. The arrangements were a bit heavy at times, but I still loved “O Holy Night” in Navajo, “What Child Is This” in Cherokee, “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” in Oneida, and “Amazing Grace” in Lumbee (Jana’s people).

Celtic Woman’s “” has only light Celtic flavor, often overpowered by a“TV Holiday Special!” kind of production, but when the wome n sing together as on “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, the result is magical. Moya (Maire) Brennan, ’s sister, offers “An Irish Christmas” , which is more Celtic sounding, and sure to please those wh o like the sound of Enya or (the group from whence Enya and Moya sprang).

POP/ROCK

The tinsel on your tree is probably made from some kind of chemical, so how do you get enough metal in your seasonal celebration? Easy! Play “A Twisted Christmas.” The melodies and lyrics of yuletide standards aren’t completely abandoned on it, but they definitely get that tasteful Twisted Sister touch. Or perhaps you’d enjoy the latest annual installment from the Jingle Punx — “It’s What I Got In My Sack.” As a result of having to listen to some Christmas songs over and over, I get perverse pleasure from hearing the group tear them apart. But if you’re considering “Winter Carols” by Blackmore’s Night , keep in mind that ex- guitarist has released six straight CDs much in the same vein as Mannheim Steamroller’s self-described “18 th century classical rock”, only with a vocalist. Very listenable, but not very heavy.

The bands on “Double Crown Presents Seasonal Favorites Vol. 1” may not go back that far, but they’re definitely channeling the 1955- 65 era in rock—particularly surf rock. Hearing “Silent Night” done “Banzai Pipeline” style, or hearing Rudolph get the advice once given to Sloopy, is a Christmas treat. Les Fradkin seems to be channeling Phil Spector and his wall of sound on “Spirit of Christmas.” He plays all the instruments and provides vocals too, but there was too little stylistic variety between cuts to really keep my interest, and Fradkin’s voice was nearly buried by his guitars. Wonderfall’s “Seven Songs of Christmas” is rooted in Beatles-era pop. It’s enjoyable, but only 18 minutes long.

Want to be known for your musical sensibilities? Purchase “Christmas in the Northwest 9” , slap a blank label on it, and tell your friends it is a mixtape you made. Like the 8 volumes that preceded it, it has all kinds of music—from smooth jazz Kenny G to ne w age Eric Tingstad, and choral Northwest Boychoir to the a cappella of the older boys in The Coats. Sales benefit children’s hospitals in the Pacific Northwest, but you’ll benefit from having a consistently entertaining Christmas CD. The other end of th e country is the source of “Lords a Leaping” , a fine folk-pop-rock offering from John Cimino and the Central Pennsylvania Artists .

Three excellent female voices are heard on discs with a bit more of a religious flavor. Tatiana combines narration and song to present “Emmanuel: The Story of Christmas” and her voice is just perfect for spare arrangements of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “Breath of Heaven.” Shawn Thies’ “New Beginnings at Christmas” is great acoustic pop, with often only guitar or fiddle behind her voice. Her originals feature well-crafted lyrics, but she does justice to the standards as well (be sur e not to miss her stunning version of Amazing Grace, hidden in the last track). Offering’s “Comfort and Joy” is Christian soft rock with a prominent cello, but the highlight is Jeanine Guidry’s voice. Three Days Wait doesn’t have a female vocalist, but their mostly original Christian rock tunes on “Star of Bethlehem” are quite good.

The four soft-rockin’ sisters who make up Mulberry Lane are in their own category. Great harmonies and great arrangements (including some tight a cappella) are all over their “A Very Merry Mulberry Christmas.” There’s even a “Christmas in Wisconsin” tune, and though it’s the same tune they’v e used for other Midwestern states, you still end up believing it was written for us. “Brad Paisley Christmas” is simply a fine modern country record from one of the best artists currently working in the genre. His own “364 Days To Go” may even be the best Christmas Day evening song ever. “A Merry White Tree in the Night” , by LDS movie star Kirby Heyborne , defies categorization. His arrangements have a dreamlike, e thereal quality to them, but they’re not the usual pop or new age.

Ali Lohan’s “Lohan Holiday” could well be the worst CD this season. It isn’t about Christmas—it’s about parents trying to cash in on a sibling’s celebrity. Ali seems to have a thin little 12-year-old voice that seems almost purposefully buried under heavy production. “Worship Jamz Christmas” is also aimed squarely at preteens, but while it is much bett er than Lohan’s disaster, it is still so formulaic that it does at least as much damage to Christmas hymns as Twisted Sister without being nearly as enjoyable.

AROUND THE WORLD

“African Christmas” , described as “Zulu-flavored”, contains the kind of exuberance the world has come to love in South African music— you don’t often hear as much joy as these musicians put into “Joy to the World. Only a severe disability could keep anyone from swaying or dancing. “Mundy-Turner’s Bonzer Aussie Christmas” uses a variety of pop styles to present songs from silly to serious, often full of those words you have to look up in your Aussie-to-English dictionary. Dawn’s “A Star in the East” offers contemporary Christian pop arrangements of Christmas carols, sung by Russian singers. Dawn is a ministry devoted to bringing music to Russia, but this disc doesn’t approach the deep spirituality of Russian Orthodox music.

CHRISTMAS MISC

“Kosher Christmas Carols” presents parodies from The Silly Mu sic Company. With titles like “Goys Rule The World” and “We Will Sue Ya”, it is the perfect gift to give Borat if he stops by. “Carol of the Animals” and “Carol of the Birds” will appeal to kids. Both feature animal sounds, but are much more fun than the Jingle Dogs and Meowy Cats Christmas CDs of years gone by..

From the highball in his hand to song titles like “Criminy Cripes, It’s Christmas”, Joel Kopischke’s “I Got Yule Babe” is pure Wisconsin. And it is the funniest thing I’ve heard this year—just check out the lyrics to such gems as “Bowling Wonderland” at igotyulebabe.com, and imagine music in the same spirit. O fer cry-yiy-yiy, I almost forgot—Merry Christmas!

WHERE TO GET ‘EM

The best Internet music seller, with the best prices on average, continues to be CD Universe . The best source for all of the CDs by independent artists that you won’t find at CD Universe are often at CD Baby . For a cappella of all styles, try Singers.com and A- cappella.com For classical CDs, the most comprehensive source is H&B Recordings Direct

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