Shushan the Palace (Hymns of Earth), Jane Siberry's Christmas album, also doubles as her classical album.
The recording, "originally only Christmas songs, but ultimately becoming less seasonal," as she puts it in her liner notes, finds her singing religious material composed by the likes of Handel, Bach, Mendelssohn, Holst, and others.
The classical music meets her more than halfway, especially because of her own orchestrations and those of Peter Kiesewalter, which, employing a small orchestra, are not dissimilar to the style of some of Siberry's original, secular music.
As a vocalist, she likes to overdub numerous parts, creating a sound that sometimes recalls vocal groups of the mid-'50s, such as the Chordettes and the McGuire Sisters.
This is not the average Christmas album, but it may please the more reverent and serve as a formal, yet not stuffy, change of pace from typical seasonal fare.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly LightJohann Schop | Jane Siberry | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | How Beautiful Are The Feet | Jane Siberry | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | Sheep May Safely Graze | Jane Siberry | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | A Star Shall Rise Up Out Of Jacob | Jane Siberry | Play | 01:39 | 3 MB | 10 MB |
| 5 | I Know That My Redeemer Liveth | Jane Siberry | Play | 06:07 | 14 MB | 34 MB |
| 6 | Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming | Jane Siberry | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 7 | In The Bleak Midwinter | Jane Siberry | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | Jesus Christ The Apple Tree | Jane Siberry | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 9 | If God Be For Us | Jane Siberry | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| 36 mins | 83 MB | |||||
| 36 mins | 203 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Alfonso | Design |
| 2 | Susan Anderson | Paintings |
| 3 | Susan Anderson | Paintings |
| 4 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Adaptation, Composer, Harmony |
| 5 | Theodore Baker | Lyric Translation |
| 6 | Sally Benson | Viola |
| 7 | Greg Calbi | Mastering |
| 8 | Martine Dubé | Violin |
| 9 | Steve Fallone | Assistant, Mastering Assistant |
| 10 | Salomon Franck | Lyricist |
| 11 | Mark Friedman | Violin |
| 12 | John Geggie | Double Bass |
| 13 | Jason George | Photography |
| 14 | George Frederick Handel | Composer |
| 15 | David Hutchenreuther | Cello |
| 16 | Charles Jennens | Composer, Lyricist |
| 17 | Peter Kiesewalter | Arranger, Clarinet, Composer, Engineer, Keyboards, Orchestration, Recording |
| 18 | Tob Kiesewalter | Recorder |
| 19 | Jill Kirwan | French Horn |
| 20 | Manon Lafrance | Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet, Trumpet |
| 21 | J. William Lamb | Liner Notes |
| 22 | J. William Lamb | Liner Notes |
| 23 | Chris Lane | Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet, Trumpet |
| 24 | Christopher Lane | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 25 | Aiden Meehan | Artwork |
| 26 | Ross Murray | Engineer |
| 27 | Ross Murray | Recording |
| 28 | Elizabeth Poston | Composer |
| 29 | Michael Praetorius | Harmony |
| 30 | Harriet Reynolds | Lyric Translation |
| 31 | Jim Roe | Oboe |
| 32 | Jim "Eno" Roe | Oboe |
| 33 | Leah Roseman | Violin |
| 34 | Christina Rossetti | Lyricist |
| 35 | Johann Rost | Lyricist |
| 36 | Rosalind Sartori | Cello |
| 37 | Johann Schop | Composer |
| 38 | Michelle Seto | Viola |
| 39 | Jane Siberry | Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Liner Notes, Lyricist, Orchestration, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals |
| 40 | David Thies-Thompson | Violin |
| 41 | Colin Traquair | Trombone |
| 42 | Robert Uchida | Violin |
| 43 | Ingrid Veninger | Photography |
| 44 | Lawrence Vine | French Horn |
| 45 | Jim Zolis | Engineer, Recording |
| 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). |