Tag: holiday

Voctave | O Come, O Come Emmanuel/The First Noel/I Wonder As I Wander

This Christmas medley is featured on Voctave‘s 2016 album The Spirit of the Season. It includes two key changes: from D minor to D major at 1:09 as the first tune transitions into the second, and then to E minor at 2:36 for the final melody.

Mary J Blige | The First Noel

Legendary R&B artist Mary J Blige released her first Christmas album, A Mary Christmas, in 2013. Produced by David Foster, the record features guest appearances by Barbra Streisand, Chris Botti and others. It peaked at #10 on the US Billboard Top 200, and was certified Gold after selling over 500,000 copies. “The First Noel” features the American gospel vocal group The Clark Sisters, and has a series of modulations, all by half step. Starting in Gb, the tune modulates to G at 0:51, Ab at 2:00, A at 3:18, and Bb at 3:38, where it remains until the end.

Straight No Chaser | The First Noel

American a cappella group Straight No Chaser formed at Indiana University in 1996. In 2006, they released a video of “12 Days of Christmas” that has since been viewed over 24 million times on YouTube. “The First Noel” is featured on the group’s first full-length Christmas album, Social Christmasing, which came out in November. Beginning in Gb, the track modulates to Ab at 1:35.

Jacob Collier | The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)

Jacob Collier released his arrangement of this holiday classic in November, and it has all the hallmarks of his distinctive style: thick chordal textures, extensive reharmonization, and frequent modulations (as well as stunning video production.) The first noticeable shift in key occurs at 2:35, then again at 3:10. At 3:48, Collier begins a cycle of modulations over the last phrase of the tune, finally landing in B at the end.

Emmet Cohen | It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Another solo piano performance, this time from jazz pianist Emmet Cohen. Recognized as a prodigy, the 29-year old Cohen has been hailed by Downbeat magazine for his “nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary.” He has performed with Ron Carter, Kurt Elling, and Christian McBride, among others, and composes as well. Key change at 1:54. Thanks to MotD contributor Paul Steckler for this find.

Henry Lewers | Silent Night/Still, Still, Still

Breaking new ground today by featuring a performance by yours truly for the first time on the page. This mash-up of two beautiful carols, “Silent Night” and “Still, Still, Still,” was arranged by Sally DeFord (the sheet music is available here.) Starting in D Major, the music shifts to Bb with the entrance of the second tune at 1:25, and then to G at 3:05 with the return of “Silent Night.”

Owl City | Peppermint Winter

Adam Brown, the creator of the electronic music project Owl City, described this song as being about his “…own participation in snowball fights and sidewalk shoveling. Sleigh rides, present-giving and receiving and of course, the ingestion of marvelous Yuletide nutrition (or lack thereof), namely sugar cookies, hot chocolate and peppermint candy canes…”

Released in 2010 as a stand-alone single, the track has a lilting waltz-like feel, and modulates from C major to D at 2:39.

Nando Lauria | Gloria

A native of Recife, Brazil’s fifth-largest city, guitarist and vocalist Nando Lauria is perhaps known for his wordless vocals on many tracks from the Pat Metheny Group. The Chicago Tribune describes Lauria’s work as “meld(ing) the Afro-Latin sensibilities of his native Brazil with American contemporary jazz to soothing effect.” AllMusic outlines Lauria’s sound: “Rather than blazing, polyrhythmic compositions, Lauria performs romantic, hypnotic numbers. He doesn’t downplay his ethnic heritage, but the rhythms are subdued rather than bubbling, aggressive, or intense … a tight balance between electric and acoustic instrumentation and modern and vintage arrangements, with a contemporary outlook.”

The track was released on Narada Records, which Billboard describes as “an independent New Age music label … (which) evolved through an expansion of formats to include world music, jazz, Celtic music, new flamenco, acoustic guitar, and piano genre releases.” Narada started in 1979 as a mail-order business, expanding in the 1990s to include Jazz and World divisions in addition to New Age.

“Gloria” (1992) is essentially a short multi-movement piece. The first section, centered around acoustic guitar, doesn’t introduce the melody until 1:09. This intro presents less of a specifically Christmas-y mood than a gentle scene of winter wonder. At 2:30, the track is built on the contemporary Latin text for the Catholic mass Gloria segment, performed a cappella by a multi-tracked Lauria. At 3:52, the acoustic guitar returns to accompany the vocals. 4:09, 5:05, and 5:16 bring more changes, re-visiting and expanding upon previous melodic and harmonic ideas while adding and subtracting groove elements. There are several modulations, with the first substantial shift at 2:27.