The legendary, Grammy Award-winning harpist takes some truly blessed left turns on what could have been just another pedestrian new age Christmas collection.
Rather than do the umpteenth version of "White Christmas," Andreas Vollenweider applies his plucky, ethereal style to unique, traditional, and little heard Old World tunes like "The Coventry Carol" (which he jazzes up with bamboo flute and seductive sax), "The Wexford Carol," "The Yorkshire Wassail" (which is the source of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") and "Carol of the Drum." His beautiful harp tones are perfect fits for these classical instruments, but he has enough pop sensibilities to add just the right touch of soul and groove to them.
Vollenweider's other ace here is longtime friend Carly Simon, who lends her warm and familiar voice to an offbeat arrangement of the title track and several romantic, inspirational originals.
Nothing is wrong with overtly commercial new age-oriented holiday collections like the beautiful albums Jim Brickman has done, but Vollenweider deserves kudos for digging deeper into history and finding emotional joy in traditional pieces that truly sound fresh here.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Holly and the IvyTraditional | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | Over the Hills and Over the ValeTraditional | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | Midnight ClearMatthias Gohl, Jim Parr, Carly Simon, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider, Carly Simon | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 4 | The Coventry CarolTraditional | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 5 | Suspended NoteMatthias Gohl, Jim Parr, Carly Simon, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider, Carly Simon | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 6 | The Yorkshire WassallTraditional | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | What Child Is This?Traditional | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 17 MB |
| 8 | Carol of the DrumTraditional | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 05:02 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | ForgiveCarly Simon, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider, Carly Simon | Play | 02:14 | 5 MB | 10 MB |
| 10 | Jesu, Joy of Man's DesiringAndreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 11 | Child In a MangerTraditional | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 12 | Hymn To the Secret HeartMatthias Gohl, Jim Parr, Carly Simon, Andreas Vollenweider | Andreas Vollenweider, Carly Simon | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 13 | The Wexford Carol (Feat. Carly Simon) | Andreas Vollenweider | Play | 05:26 | 12 MB | 28 MB |
| 50 mins | 115 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 279 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanspeter Ehrsam | Engineer |
| 2 | Matthias Gohl | Composer, Keyboards, Orchestration, Piano (Electric), Vocals |
| 3 | Peter Keiser | Bass |
| 4 | Walter Keiser | Drums |
| 5 | David Alan Kogut | Art Direction |
| 6 | Philippe Kuhn | Keyboards, Organ |
| 7 | Max Lasser | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar, Laud, Mandoline |
| 8 | Jim Parr | Composer, Engineer |
| 9 | Darryl Pitt | Production Consultant |
| 10 | Andi Pupato | Chimes, Frame Drum, Percussion, Talking Drum |
| 11 | Sylvie Rossi | Production Coordination |
| 12 | Carly Simon | Composer, Guest Artist, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 13 | Traditional | Composer |
| 14 | Andreas Vollenweider | Accordion, Arranger, Bamboo Flute, Bass, Celtic Harp, Composer, Double Flute, Engineer, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Harp, Jew's-Harp, Keyboards, Mastering, Mixing, Ocarina, Primary Artist, Producer, Sax (Soprano), Spanish Guitar, Vocals, Whistle (Human) |
Andreas Vollenweider
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |