Last Minute Christmas
Highly recommended presents you can get for a friend or loved one that will convey meaning without breaking your budget.
The Top Ten Christmas Albums
Christmas is known for its music. During the holiday season people who seldom attend flock to the churches for a performance of sacred music or to sing a few carols with friends. Why not bring the glory of the season into your own home?
On Being a Jew at Christmas
The commercial Christmas is as much a problem for Christians as it is for Jews according to a series of articles on the meaning of the holiday.
Christmas is known for its music. During
the holiday season people who seldom attend flock to the churches for a performance
of sacred music or to sing a few carols with friends. Why not bring the glory
of the season into your own home? These CD's are sure to uplift and inspire, filling
your home with joy!
This is the grand-daddy of them all. G.F.
Handel put not only the Christmas story, but the entire narrative of Christ's
life, death and resurrection to music. This work will keep you listening from
Christmas, right on through until Easter. There are numerous versions out there.
The one I like best features Kiri te Kanawa, soprano, and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra. It's on the London label.
When
many people think of a Christmas Eve Service, what they probably have in mind
is the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols as sung by the King's College Choir,
Cambridge, England. This album contains all the classic carols in that service
and many, many more. Nobody does this better as this double album powerfully illustrates.
A wonderful gift of pure inspiration!
For
more than ten years this series of albums has benefited the Special Olympics and
thousands of people with mental retardation. Not only does buying this album support
a great cause, it brings you some winning Christmas music performed by contemporary
artists. This year's album features Cheryl Crow, B.B. King, Stevie Nicks, Tom
Petty and more.
If
you are just starting out collecting some of the more popular Christmas music,
this two disc album is a good place to begin. From Bing Cosby to Nat King Cole,
from Eva Cassidy to Charles Brown and the Chipmucks. For more information and
a complete listing of the tracks on both albums.
If
you find collections such as A Christmas Treasury too secular, you might prefer
this one. This album contains two discs of the most favorite Christmas music as
performed in what has come to be know as the "praise song" style popular
in many worship settings. All the selections here are specifically Christian.
By
Elvis Presley. Believe it or not, Elvis Presley recorded more Christmas music
than almost anyone, and he performed it better than most. This album contains
some of his best.
By Emmylou Harris. This collection has become
a classic since being put out first in 1980. In addition to her rendition of familiar
music such as "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "The First Noel,"
Harris also includes less familiar pieces such as "Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes)"
written specifically for this project. Harris teams up here the likes of Linda
Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Neil Young.
Another classic album
is Joan Baez's "Noel," originally published by Vanguard in 1966 and
remastered for digital CD and cassette. As Christmas carols are, in essence, folk
music, who better to bring these alive in a contemporary folk idiom that the queen
of folk, Joan Baez?
Rutter
is one of the best contemporary composers of classical music. He is also a choral
conductor, arranger, publisher and editor! In 1981 he founded his own choir, the
Cambridge Singers, which he conducts and with which he has made many recordings
of sacred choral music (including his own works), much of this on his own label,
Collegium Records. He lives near Cambridge, England, but frequently conducts other
choirs and orchestras around the world. If you are not familiar with Rutter, and
want to get to know his music better, this is a good place to begin.
This is
Charlotte Church's third album. The young soprano seemed to gain instant stardom
when she recorded "Voice of an Angel" at age 13. Here she applies her
remarkable talent to some of the most familiar Christmas music. Maybe Charlotte's
is not literally the voice of an angel, but it is well worth a listen.
You are invited to use our search engine to see a list of the most popular Christmas albums available now from Amazon and other sellers.
If you want to talk with someone in person, please feel free to call 917-439-2305
The Rev. Charles P. Henderson is a Presbyterian minister and is the author of God and Science (John Knox Press, 1986).
A revised and expanded version of the book is appearing here. God and Science (Hypertext Edition,
2015).
He is also editor of a new book, featuring articles by world class scientists and theologians, and illustrating the leading views on the relationship between science and religion: Faith, Science and the Future (CrossCurrents Press, 2017).
Charles also tracks the boundry between the virtual and the real at his blog: Next World Design, focusing on the mediation of art, science and spirituality in the metaverse.