Song List: Single

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.

Contains:
"Carol Of The Bells"
- taken from the Isadar solo piano collection, "In Search For The Meaning Of Christmas"

Sounds like: Liz Story, George Winston, early Windham Hill solo piano artists, "A Winter's Solstice" compilations.

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

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.

This book is a collection of Christmas carols and holiday songs in soft, nostalgic, and reflective styles for those quiet moments of the season and based on Dr. Stevens' album "Quiet Christmas Piano" which will soon be available on on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, Amazon, and other streaming outlets. All of the songs are also available on SMP as individual selections.

Titles include: Sing We Now of Christmas, Deck the Halls, O Christmas Tree, Angels from the Realms of Glory, Angels We Have Heard on High, Silent Night, Joy to the World, Infant Holy Infant Lowly, Mary?s Lullaby, O Come Little Children with Jesus Loves Me, In the Bleak Midwinter, Toyland, What Child Is This, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Away in a Manger.

The YouTube video features ?O Come Little Children with Jesus Loves Me,? while the MP3 contains the first song, ?Sing We Now of Christmas.?

James Michael Stevens is prolific composer residing in Nashville, TN and serves as the Music Department Chairman of Welch College.