A Windham Hill Christmas

by Windham Hill Xmas / Various

Overview

A Windham Hill Christmas celebrates the season as it should be -- crystal clear and elegant in its simplicity. It brings together Windham Hill's original roster of artists, including Will Ackerman, Alex de Grassi, Liz Story, George Winston, Barbara Higbie, Michael Manring, and the Celtic band Nightnoise. A Windham Hill Christmas is the perfect respite from the mediocre commercial holiday music that dominates store shelves. It's both gorgeous and moving, evocative of crisp winter nights and quiet evenings. Steve Erquiaga's guitar rendition of "Angels We Have Heard on High" breathes new life into the familiar hymn. Jim Brickman's piano arrangement of "O Holy Night" is splendid, letting the song's moving melody take the forefront rather than cluttering it with the overwrought orchestral arrangements frequently heard of this tune. George Winston's take on Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Is Coming," made famous in the A Charlie Brown Christmas TV special, is great fun, while "Deck the Halls" is almost unrecognizable, taking on a relaxed, subdued elegance in Liz Story's hands. Tracy Silverman and Thea Suits' take on "Silent Night" is haunting and timely, faithful to the melody while bringing it into the present with the underscoring of Silverman's electric six-string violin. A Windham Hill Christmas is the holiday as it should be: calm, relaxing, relevant, and joyful. ~ Melinda Hill

Product Details

Release Date:	10/22/2002
Label:	Windham Hill Records
UPC:	0019341165125
Rank:	19796

Tracks

1. Sussex Carol  - Brian Dunning  - John Fitzpatrick
2. Angels We Have Heard on High  - Steve Erquiaga  -  Traditional
3. O Holy Night  - Adolphe Adam  - Jim Brickman  - John Sullivan Dwight
4. In Dulci Jubilo  - Barbara Higbie
5. Christmas Is Coming  - George Winston
6. The First Noel  - William Sandys  - W.G. Snuffy Walden
7. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear  - Edmund Sears  - Tim Story  - Richard Storrs Willis
8. Silent Night  - Franz Gruber  - Joseph Mohr  - Tracy Silverman  - Thea Suits-Silverman
9. Christ the Apple Tree/Once in Royal David's City  - Alex De Grassi
10. Deck the Halls  - Liz Story  -  Traditional
11. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel  - Paul McCandless  - John Mason Neale  -  Traditional
12. What Strangers Are These  - Will Ackerman  - David Cullen
13. The Holly and the Ivy  -  Nightnoise
14. Lo, How a Rose  - Paul Schwartz

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Liz Story   Primary Artist,Soloist,Piano
W.G. Snuffy Walden   Primary Artist,Guitar
Tracy Silverman   Primary Artist,Violin,Keyboards,Violin (Electric)
Paul McCandless   Primary Artist,Oboe,Keyboards,Horn (English)
Alex de Grassi   Primary Artist,Guitar,Soloist
Barbara Higbie   Primary Artist,Piano,Violin,Celtic Harp,Synthesizer
John Fitzpatrick   Primary Artist,Violin
Jim Brickman   Primary Artist,Piano
David Cullen   Primary Artist,Guitar
Brian Dunning   Primary Artist,Flute,Accordion,Whistle (Human)
Will Ackerman   Primary Artist,Guitar (Baritone)
Paul Schwartz   Primary Artist,Piano
Steve Erquiaga   Primary Artist,Guitar (Nylon String)
Tim Story   Primary Artist,Piano,Synthesizer
Nightnoise   Primary Artist
Thea Suits-Silverman   Primary Artist,Flute
Jeff Johnson   Primary Artist,Keyboards
George Winston   Primary Artist,Piano,Soloist
Nina Gerber   Guitar,Hi String Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Kimberly Bryden   Oboe
Triona Ni Dhomhnaill   Piano
Phil Baker   Bass
Andrew Shulman   Cello
Robert Ward   French Horn
Michael Manring   Fretless Bass
Micheal O Domhnaill   Guitar
George Doering   Guitar
Tim Ellis   Guitar
Bennett Salvay   Strings
Gregg Williams   Percussion

Technical Credits

Philip Begley   Engineer,Mixing
Tim Story   Arranger,Engineer,Producer
Liz Story   Arranger,Producer
David Moore   Technical Support
George Winston   Producer
William Sandys   Composer
Mo Stroem   Design
Ray Katchatorian   Photography
John Mason Neale   Composer
Richard Storrs Willis   Composer
Patrick Hinely   Photography
Tony Mills   Mixing,Engineer
Traditional   Composer
Paul McCandless   Arranger,Producer,Assistant Engineer
Paul Schwartz   Arranger,Producer
Alex de Grassi   Producer,Arranger
Chris Bellman   Mastering
Barbara Higbie   Arranger
Carl Story & the Rambling Mountaineers   Photography
Edmund Sears   Composer
John Fitzpatrick   Arranger
David Ross   Photography
Dawn Atkinson   Producer,Liner Notes
Franz Gruber   Composer
John Anthony   Engineer
Joseph Mohr   Composer
Howard Johnston   Mixing,Engineer
Justin Lieberman   Assistant Engineer
Jim Brickman   Arranger,Engineer,Producer
David Cullen   Arranger
Avi Kipper   Engineer
Brian Dunning   Arranger,Engineer
Henry Diltz   Photography
Richard Schultz   Photography
Irene Young   Photography
Will Ackerman   Producer
John Sullivan Dwight   Composer
Lee Valasek   Assistant
Freddy Sheinfeld   Assistant Engineer
Steve Erquiaga   Arranger,Engineer,Producer
Adolphe Adam   Composer
Nightnoise   Arranger,Producer
Thea Suits-Silverman   Arranger,Engineer,Producer
Brian Dozoretz   Engineer
David Luke   Engineer
Stephen Hart   Mixing,Engineer
Jeff Johnson   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
W.G. Snuffy Walden   Arranger,Producer,Programming