Sounds like: Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, Liz Story's "The Gift", George Winston's "December", early Windham Hill solo piano artists, and "A Winter's Solstice" compilations.


Transcribed by: David Shenton ( https://www.shentonmusic.com/ ) verbatim to the sound recording

Contents:
1. Bring A Torch (Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella)
2. Children Go Where I Send Thee / The Holly & The Ivy
3. Star Of Wonder (We Three Kings of Orient Are)
4. Silent (Silent Night, Holy Night)
5. Midnight (It Came Upon the Midnight Clear)
6. What Child Is This?
7. Greensleeves (homage to Liz Story)
8. Three Ships (I Saw Three Ships, Come Sailing In)
9. The Coventry Carol (Lully, Lulla, Lullay)
10. Sing We Now Of Christmas (No�l Nouvelet)
11. Carol Of The Bells

Album & Songbook review by: Kathy Parsons (MainlyPiano.com):

I have discovered a real wealth of great solo piano Christmas CDs this year! Isadar?s In Search For the Meaning of Christmas definitely falls into this category! Thoughtful, introspective, and a bit moody, Isadar?s arrangements are true to the carols (with some small melody changes in ?Bring a Torch? and ?Carol of the Bells? that bother me just a little) and still seem very personal. ?Bring a Torch?, ?The Holly and the Ivy?, and ?I Saw Three Ships? are given a lighthearted, joyful treatment. ?Star of Wonder (We Three Kings)?, ?What Child Is This??, ?The Coventry Carol?, and ?Sing We Now of Christmas? are all minor, somber, reverent pieces, and all four are given loving arrangements that keep the dark, mysterious nature of the songs and reflect Isadar?s own sensibilities. ?Carol of the Bells? and Isadar's take on Liz Story?s arrangement of ?Greensleeves? are energetic without losing all abandon. ?Silent Night? and ?It Came Upon a Midnight Clear? present us with a very cold, deep solitude - both feel like late night with moonlight reflecting off the snow. Both are moody, but very beautifully so. George Winston?s ?December? is one of my all-time favorite holiday albums, and I feel In Search For the Meaning of Christmas holds up exceptionally well next to it. This is an excellent collection of Christmas music, and I highly recommend it!

In Search For the Meaning of Christmas is the companion songbook to Isadar?s 1999 solo piano release by the same name. Meticulously transcribed note-for-note by David Shenton of New York Music Publishing, the music is faithful to the recording in every way (except for the pianist - YOU!). The scores are clear, concise, and easy to read, and also include chord indications for improvisation or the use of instruments other than or in addition to the piano. Isadar?s arrangements cover a whole range of emotions, from very dark and somber to joyful and buoyant. All of the pieces from the CD are here, including Isadar?s homage to Liz Story and her beautiful version of ?Greensleeves.? My personal favorites of the eleven songs in this book are the bright and cheerful ?Bring A Torch,? ?What Child Is This??, ?Greensleeves,? the darkly gorgeous ?The Coventry Carol,? and ?Sing We Now of Christmas.? Other titles that I really like are ?Children Go Where I Send Thee/The Holly and the Ivy,? ?Star of Wonder (We Three Kings)," ?Carol of the Bells,? and the effervescent ?Three Ships.? ?Silent? (Silent Night) and ?Midnight? (It Came Upon a Midnight Clear) are a bit too dark for my own holiday tastes, but are interesting and very personal arrangements. This book will make a great addition to your holiday sheet music collection and is available from isadar.com and amazon.com.

Isadar is an artist on both Enlightened Piano Radio & Whisperings Solo Piano Radio, the latter featuring some of today's biggest names in solo piano music, including Ludovico Einaudi, David Nevue, Brian Crain, Kevin Kern, Robin Spielberg, Michele McLaughlin, Philip Wesley and over 300 more...

Also available as sheet music in physical songbooks, digital downloads, as well as software for Yamaha Disklavier player-pianos.

For more information, visit his website at: http://www.isadar.com

An artistic arrangement of a classic carol, "Sing We Now of Christmas", blended with echoes of "Carol of the Bells", a very unique rendition of a hauntingly gorgeous piece of music. Well-suited for church services, recitals and Christmas events. From the album and piano Songbook "A Classic Christmas II", available at https://christinebrownpiano.com/store/

Christine Brown is a Kawai Piano Artist and award-winning composer of the new age, neo-classical solo piano genre. Christine has released 12 albums including original music, Christmas arrangements, as well as cover songs and children's music. Awarded Best Solo Piano Album 2014 for her original compositions on the CD "Souvenirs", two other albums were also nominated for the prestigious award by Solo Piano Radio.com, for "Promise" and "The Wishing Well". A unique collection of mashup cover songs, "Seamless" was awarded Best Pop/Rock Solo Piano Album 2016 by SoloPiano.com, blending classical pieces into a pop/rock seamless arrangements of timeless classics. Christine's holiday CD, "A Classic Christmas" was named "2012 Favorites List" by MainlyPiano.com.

This compilation includes "Silent Night", "Sing We Now of Christmas", "Coventry Carol", "He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child" and "The First Noel" arranged for solo violin with piano accompaniment. These pieces would be beautiful additions to Christmas services, events or recitals.
A piano accompaniment track is available separately for each of the pieces included in this compilations and can be found on Sheet Music Plus using the following Item ID#'s:
Silent Night - Piano Accompaniment Track for Violin Solo Item ID #S0.903545
Sing We Now of Christmas - Piano Accompaniment Track for Violin Solo Item Id#S0.893637
Coventry Carol - Piano Accompaniment Track for Violin Solo Item ID#S0.898221
He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child - Piano Accompaniment Track for Violin Solo Item ID#S0.876761
The First Noel - Piano Accomopaniment Track for Violin Solo Item ID #S0.883561
Thank you to Jeff Jacobs at pixabay for the cover image.

This collection contains 10 Christmas carols arranged for 2-part ensembles using only 8-note instruments. Each song in this collection is notated for handbells on one part and Boomwhackers� on a second part. For each song, there is a combined score with both parts on a grand staff plus a separate 1-staff score for each individual part. A note and chord reference chart is also provided for each song.

This set of scores uses colored noteheads corresponding to the Boomwhackers� color scheme. If you have a set of bells or tubes with a different color scheme, ?Chroma-Notes Stick Ons? can be purchased and applied so the instruments match the Boomwhackers� color scheme. This set of scores is also available (separate purchase) in black and white which will print clearer if you do not have access to a color printer.

Only filled noteheads (quarter and eighth notes) are used so the notes are full color and easier to see (this does not indicate the bells need to be silenced immediately before the next beat). Also, only quarter rests are used to help visualize the number of beats per measure. Lyrics and chord names are provided as well to aid in the learning and teaching of these songs.

Though this sheet music is notated for Handbells and Boomwhackers�, these arrangements are playable by any 8-note, C major diatonic scale (one octave) instrument such as a xylophone or glockenspiel.

The number of ringers and whackers needed will vary depending on the skill level of the participants. For more advanced players, each person could be assigned two or three notes. For beginners, it is best to assign one note to each person. Note assignment suggestions are included for each song.

Other suggestions and uses:
* have both parts played by bells or both parts played using only Boomwhackers�
* form a choir using multiple sets of bells and/or Boomwhackers� (this would amplify the sound and allow more people to participate)
* use as part of the music education for children at school, home, or church
* these colorful, inexpensive instruments can be enjoyed by all ages and add a fun, unique element to activities and programs: senior centers, family reunions, church retreats, home school groups, just to name a few


Each of the 10 Christmas Carol arrangements is also available separately with accompanying preview pages and audio samples.

Titles included in this collection:
Angels We Have Heard on High
As Lately We Watched
Come, All Ye Shepherds
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
The First Noel
Here We Come A-Caroling
Joy to the World
O Come, Little Children
O Thou Joyful Day
Sing We Now of Christmas

This compilation includes "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus", "Silent Night", "In the Bleak Midwinter", "The First Noel", and "Sing We Now of Christmas" arranged for two violins with piano accompaniment. These pieces would be wonderful additions to Christmas services, recitals or other holiday events. Included are the piano accompaniment score, individual violin I and violin II parts and a combined violins I and II part.
Piano accompaniment tracks are available for each piece separately at Sheet Music Plus:
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus Item ID# S0.913911
Silent Night Item ID# S0.905391
In the Bleak Midwinter Item ID# S0.922241
The First Noel Item ID# S0.887431
Sing We Now of Christmas Item ID# S0.894339

Carols of Christmas is a collection of 10 sophisticated sounding but easy holiday solos for the early intermediate pianist. This is a great book for teens, adults, and others who enjoy Christmas music but don't want (or have already learned) the usual Christmas pieces. Contains: The Birthday of a King; I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day; What Child Is This; In the Bleak Midwinter; Silent Night; Sing We Now of Christmas; How Great Our Joy; Carol of the Bells; O Holy Night; Still, Still, Still. Connect with Pam at www.pamturnerpiano.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pamturnerpremierpiano.

A medley of four Christmas carols of French Origin: No�l nouvelet (Sing We Now of Christmas), Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle (Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle), Il est n�, le divin enfant (He Is Born, the Holy Child), and Minuit, chr�tiens (O Holy Night). Arranged as a "fantasy-sonata" the first movement is driving, the second is a sweet lilting waltz, the third is a lighthearted take on the melody that alternates between "jaunty" and "solemn" (briefly employing bitonal harmonization) before launching into a blues variation. The finale is a "slow R&B" reimagining of O Holy Night that can be thought of somewhat as the love ballad reprise at the end of a Disney movie.

The trio lasts 9 minutes, and is suitable as a prelude or postlude for a church service or as part of a holiday recital. The difficulty is advanced, though the writing is simple enough that it should be able to be put together with minimal rehearsal time.

For more information, please contact graham.yates@gmail.com