Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell's first holiday record is a star-studded affair.
Highlights include the Rob Moose-arranged "Let It Snow," which commences as a Gypsy violin solo, then bursts into swing à la Stéphane Grappelli/Django Reinhardt as Bell duets with classical guitarist Julian Lage.
Alison Krauss lends her voice to a stirring reading of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," while Frankie Moreno's piano and vocal adorn the Great American Songbook era tune "I Want an Old-Fashioned Christmas," written by Fay Foster.
Another instrumental highlight is the Jewish song "Baal Shem: Simhat Torah (Rejoicing)," performed as a trio with Steven Isserlis on cello and pianist Sam Haywood.
The tune has been reimagined here; it was originally composed for violin and piano.
"Christmas Confusion" is actually a radically revisioned medley that embodies four holiday favorites including "The Dreidel Song," "Hava Nagila," "Silent Night," and "Jingle Bells," with pianist Richard Hyung-ki Joo and violinist/arranger Aleksey Igudesman.
Michael Feinstein's trademark vocals are featured in another Great American Songbook reading of "The Secret of Christmas," composed by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen.
"A Christmas Auld Lang Syne" is given the Latin treatment by arranger Jorge Gomez, and a stellar performance by Gloria Estefan and Tiempo Libre.
Chick Corea duets with Bell on "Greensleeves," while Branford Marsalis is heard with the violinist on the all-season hymn "Amazing Grace.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God Rest Ye Merry GentlemenChristmas Traditional | Joshua Bell | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 15 MB |
| 2 | Let It SnowJule Styne | Joshua Bell | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | I'll Be Home for ChristmasWalter Kent | Joshua Bell | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 4 | GreensleevesEnglish Traditional | Joshua Bell | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| 5 | Amazing GraceJohn Newton | Joshua Bell | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 6 | O Holy NightAdolphe Adam | Joshua Bell | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 14 MB |
| 7 | Ave MariaGabriel Fauré | Joshua Bell | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | I Want an Old-Fashioned ChristmasFay Foster | Joshua Bell | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 9 | White ChristmasIrving Berlin | Joshua Bell | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 10 | O TannenbaumChristmas Traditional | Joshua Bell | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 11 | The Secret of ChristmasJames Van Heusen | Joshua Bell | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 24 MB |
| 12 | Christmas Auld Lang SyneFrank Military | Joshua Bell | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 13 | Christmas ConfusionAleksey Igudesman | Joshua Bell | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 14 | Silent NightFranz Grüber | Joshua Bell | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 15 | Nutcracker Medley | Joshua Bell, Various Artists | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 18 MB |
| 16 | Baal Shem: Simchat Torah (Rejoicing) | Joshua Bell, Various Artists | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 62 mins | 143 MB | |||||
| 62 mins | 325 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Aarons | Guitar |
| 2 | Ted Ackerman | Cello |
| 3 | Adolphe Adam | Composer |
| 4 | Robert Ascroft | Photography |
| 5 | Jimmy Asnes | Photography |
| 6 | Jordan Baptiste | Photography |
| 7 | Thomas Bartlett | Piano |
| 8 | David Bean | Photography |
| 9 | Joshua Bell | Arranger, Executive Producer, Primary Artist, Violin |
| 10 | Irving Berlin | Composer |
| 11 | David Black | Photography |
| 12 | Ernest Bloch | Composer |
| 13 | Andrew Bollman | Producer |
| 14 | Chris Botti | Producer, Trumpet |
| 15 | Kenji Bunch | Arranger |
| 16 | Sammy Cahn | Songwriter |
| 17 | Neal Cappellino | Engineer |
| 18 | Walter Chase | Arranger, Producer |
| 19 | Kristin Chenoweth | Vocals |
| 20 | Billy Childs | Piano |
| 21 | Scott Colley | Bass |
| 22 | Chick Corea | Arranger, Piano |
| 23 | José Luis Crespo | Engineer |
| 24 | Laura Crosta | Photography |
| 25 | C. Taylor Crothers | Photography |
| 26 | Kate Davis | Bass |
| 27 | Michael Davis | Contractor |
| 28 | Plácido Domingo | Tenor (Vocal) |
| 29 | Steven Epstein | Producer |
| 30 | Gloria Estefan | Vocals |
| 31 | Oren Fader | Guitar |
| 32 | Gabriel Fauré | Composer |
| 33 | Michael Feinstein | Vocals |
| 34 | Israel Morales Figueroa | Drums |
| 35 | Tedd Firth | Arranger, Piano |
| 36 | Renée Fleming | Soprano (Vocal) |
| 37 | Fay Foster | Composer |
| 38 | Kim Gannon | Songwriter |
| 39 | Gil Goldstein | Arranger |
| 40 | Jorge Gomez | Arranger, Keyboards, Producer |
| 41 | Leandro Gonzalez | Congas |
| 42 | Francis Grier | Organ |
| 43 | Franz Grüber | Composer |
| 44 | Sam Haywood | Piano |
| 45 | James Van Heusen | Composer |
| 46 | William Holhouser | Accordion |
| 47 | Aleksey Igudesman | Composer, Violin |
| 48 | Gabriel Isserlis | Photography |
| 49 | Steven Isserlis | Arranger, Cello |
| 50 | Hyung-Ki Joo | Piano |
| 51 | Walter Kent | Composer |
| 52 | Richard King | Engineer, Mastering, Mixing |
| 53 | Alison Krauss | Vocals |
| 54 | Manny Kurtz | Songwriter |
| 55 | Julian Lage | Guitar |
| 56 | David Lai | Photography, Producer |
| 57 | Chris Lightcap | Bass |
| 58 | Fernando Lodeiro | Assistant Engineer |
| 59 | Brian Losch | Editing |
| 60 | Romero Lubambo | Guitar |
| 61 | Branford Marsalis | Producer, Sax (Tenor) |
| 62 | Larisa Martinez | Vocals (Background) |
| 63 | Frank McComb | Arranger, Hammond B3, Piano |
| 64 | Xavier Mili | Vocals (Background) |
| 65 | Frank Military | Composer |
| 66 | Tim Mitchell | Assistant Engineer |
| 67 | Joseph Mohr | Lyricist |
| 68 | Rob Moose | Arranger, Guitar, Guitar (Nylon String), Guitar (Tenor) |
| 69 | Frankie Moreno | Arranger, Piano, Vocals |
| 70 | Cathleen Murphy | A&R |
| 71 | John Newton | Composer |
| 72 | Francisco Nuñez | Arranger, Chorus Master |
| 73 | Grace Paradise | Harp |
| 74 | Shawn Pelton | Drums |
| 75 | Orlandus Perry | Drums |
| 76 | Anthony Michael Peterson | Guitar |
| 77 | Dave Poler | Engineer |
| 78 | J.A.C. Redford | Arranger |
| 79 | Wilvi Rodriguez | Bass |
| 80 | Mick Rossi | Harmonium |
| 81 | Eric Schilling | Engineer |
| 82 | Ian Schreier | Engineer |
| 83 | Robin Sellars | Engineer |
| 84 | Christian Sharp | Double Bass |
| 85 | Fred Sladkey | Assistant Engineer |
| 86 | Roxanne Slimak | Art Direction |
| 87 | Bryan Smith | Assistant Engineer |
| 88 | Randee St. Nicholas | Photography |
| 89 | Straight No Chaser | Vocals |
| 90 | Jule Styne | Composer |
| 91 | Florence Tarr | Lyricist |
| 92 | Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky | Composer |
| 93 | Christmas Traditional | Composer |
| 94 | English Traditional | Composer |
| 95 | Philipp Treiber | Engineer, Producer |
| 96 | Fritz Trondl | Engineer |
| 97 | Jeremy Turner | Cello |
| 98 | Felix Wallmann | Engineer |
| 99 | Julia Wesely | Photography |
| 100 | Young People's Chorus of New York City | Choir/Chorus |
| 101 | Drea Young | Assistant Engineer |
| 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). |