Christmas for me is a very special time -
still perhaps my most favorite time. This was instilled in me by my
Mother, in particular, who always seemed to find a special, inner joy
and happiness at Christmas, no matter what the family's circumstances
might be. The older I get, the more I remember with great affection the
Christmases of my youth. It is said that, the older we grow, the more we
realize we have become our own fathers and mothers. I find myself more
often wishing I could return to the simplicity and joy of my Christmases
past. It feels to me as though it was a safer and more simple time,
though I realize that much of that is relative, and even to some extent,
illusionary.
Christmas
Reflections on the Fallen Snow is a companion music CD to the
Christmas CD, Points of Light. Both CDs were recorded an
engineered in the studio at the same time. Both CDs feature Christmas
music like you've never heard before. Really! I'm not just promoting
that - it's true! The melodies are hauntingly beautiful. The music
selection and structure draws upon mostly familiar melodies and
traditions, and presents them in most unique and reflective arrangements
and sound. It is a journey using the modern technologies of sound back
into Christmas past: the thoughts, the feelings, the smells, the sights,
the excitement, the reflection and prayers. You are there again…with
family perhaps…a favorite grandparent…or perhaps with a small child…be
it a special Christmas year or particular Christmas memory…the little
things that you did- alone or with family…carolers perhaps…sledding
down a scary or favorite hill…midnight mass or service…special
concerts…the stores busy with shoppers and full of Christmas Lights…the
farmer's market to buy a tree with your dad, or better still- trekking
through the woods or to a neighbors farm to cut the family's tree…listening
to the soft quiet of snow falling all around…mom's Christmas cookies…peanut
brittle in our stockings in honor of St. Nicholas' feast day.
Growing up
in the Catholic tradition was a treat when it came to Christmas. There
was Advent, the short Church season of anticipation of Christmas…the
special songs, sung only during that time of year…statuary covered in
the sanctuary until Christmas midnight service, symbolizing the years of
wait for the little baby that would be the promised savior…the
school-boy promises of prayer and service so carefully written down and
dropped at the foot of the baby Jesus in the manger at midnight mass…and
then the Christmas bells ringing out as the choir sang the Gloria
precisely at midnight, as one-by-one all of the lights were turned on
until the entire sanctuary was lit in all its Christmas splendor. The
best part was, the Church's Christmas season lasted (and still does) not
for a night or a day, but for more than two weeks, until the celebration
of the feast of the Epiphany.
Christmas
Reflections on the Fallen Snow is my own small attempt to share
some of those past Christmas joys and memories in the light of modern
new age sound and style. You will find this to be one of the more
delightful aspects of the CD - the arrangements blend past traditions
with new age sounds to once again let the past blessings and
simplicities pour forth…your heart will leap again perhaps as when you
were a child…or you will smile with the remembrance of Christmas joys
long thought forgotten…the music will take you away from the stresses
and concerns of the current season- and take you to a place where your
heart will again be gently imbued with the one true spirit of the
Christmas season…the coming of the light of Christ into the world…God
made man. As they say- it's the reason for the season, but its hard to
remember that sometimes when trying to juggle a full-time job, the kids,
getting the presents bought and wrapped, fighting the sales and other
shoppers, the traffic, the weather. And don't forget getting the house
decorated and spic and span for the relative's impending visit or stay.
Oh…and be sure and not forget the ham or the turkey and all of the
accompaniment that goes with the Holiday meal. Christmas
Reflections on the Fallen Snow makes it easier to keep it all in
the right perspective...put the music on and let it play, even as you
wrap presents or do the last minute cooking. It will free your heart
quietly, filling it with the true joy that is Christmas - and you will
find that the stresses of the day…of the season…are gone…replaced
with the joy and blessings of God and family.
From the
very busy streets of the CD's beginning, the richness of the sounds of O
Come, O come Emmanuel will take you away to your own Christmas
hearth…the one deep within your soul…that only you and God know…listen
quietly to the church bell ring out through the winter hillside- calling
to you as you listen to I Wonder as I Wander…revel in the sweet
but powerful piano arrangement of What Child Is This…remember
your own Childhood as I remember mine and that of my own son's, in O
Dear Little Children...Let the spoken word and musical sounds wash
over your heart, taking your breath away as you ponder the innocence and
simplicity of From Every Spire on Christmas Eve…until finally,
the long anticipated event…Christmas night…symbolized in the sweet
piano piece I call Reflections on the New Fallen Snow.
Final
Thoughts: … The cover art for this CD has a special interest to me. It
was created as a commissioned painting for me by my friend and brother,
Tom Barber. As is usual for Tom, the outcome of his creative genius for
this CD was as if he once again reached inside my soul and photographed
my musical vision. We are truly connected in spirit.
I will
speak more in the future of what was behind the selection of the music
and arrangements on this music CD. For now, I will share a couple of
thoughts on two of the songs shared with you on this CD. From Every
Spire on Christmas Eve was a song whose melody captivated as a
child. I never heard it sung or played anywhere, but the song was among
those found in an old, worn, torn copy of a music booklet, common to
many households of our parents generation. In this book were the songs
before the days of radio and TV…the sharing between families,
neighbors, friends, and community. This particular melody was sweet to
me and touched me - so much so that I would get on the piano as a child
and play it on any given day during the year. When it came time to put
the Christmas Reflections on the Fallen Snow CD together,
I was inspired to record this song for posterity and for the sharing
with others - the verses are spoken, as poetry- the song is arranged and
recorded in the style of performance art…so as to enhance the
listener's experience and blessing.
Reflections
on the New Fallen Snow is an original piano piece. I used as a basis
for the song, the old plain song form of chant still commonly used and
sung within the Catholic worship service. The form and beauty of the
plain chant crosses all cultures and religious traditions…the Latin
chant text and English text are taken from the sung prayer portions of
the Catholic midnight and early Christmas morning masses. The sung
English text was included to blend the old with the new, and to perhaps
prove that the Latin text really does have meaning for today, even
though it is a dead language. The melodies within the song are all
variations on the basic plain song structure, which can be heard in most
any Roman Catholic mass, anywhere in the country, on most any Sunday,
even today. It was recorded as song number six on the CD so as to be a
final, gentle reminder that Christmas is ultimately about God's love for
us, and His plans for us, and about our need of Him.
