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Author Topic: My idea for another Christmas album  (Read 1692 times)
ShiningBright
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« on: November 27, 2021, 07:20:54 AM »

We cannot ever have enough Christmas albums, so there!

I don't have a specific title in mind, but I know what sort of style I'd want: lots of harmonies, almost choral-style, with choir and orchestra, rather classical with distinct traditional and folk-ish elements, and suitable for church.

Every singer gets on solo, plus two duets with all possible combinations, Tara has two solos and sometimes accompanies the singers. All other songs are group numbers with singers and Tara, except for the ones that are just named with singers.

 1.  For Unto Us A Child Is Born (Group)
 2.  I Wonder As I Wander (Megan with Tara on harp)
 3.  The Holly and the Ivy (Singers, acapella)
 4.  Kommet, ihr Hirten (Tara)
 5.  What Sweeter Music (Chloe and Megan)
 6 . In Dulci Jubilo (Group)
 7.  Myn Lyking (Muirgen and Megan with Tara on harp)
 8.  Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day (Muirgen)
 9.  Hodie Christus Natus Est (Group)
10. I Saw Three Ships (Chloe and Muirgen with Tara)
11. Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen (Tara)
12. Wassail! Wassail! (Group)
13. Candlelight Carol (Chloe with Tara)
14. Curoo, Curoo (Singers)
15. Laudate dominum (Group, acapella, Tara on harp)
16. Thine Be the Glory (Group)

In all honesty, I did something that could be considered an accident, but what was actually on purpose: the last song I chose would actually be performed for Easter. But I am fine with this for two reasons, and that is 1) CW have also performed the gorgeous Panis Angelicus on a Christmas album even though it is for Corpus Christi, and b) the melody of Thine Be the Glory is that of the German Advent carol Tochter Zion, feue Dich ("Daughter Zion, rejoice") which is what I actually meant to include. However, there are already two German titles on here (that could also be translated) as instrumentals, and I think it'd be a difficult song in German, so the English version it is. That aside, Rejoice greatly, o daughter of Zion from Handel's Messiah Part I is also similarly named. I actually considered including that or His yoke is easy to make it a sort of circle with the opening, which is, of course, also from the Messiah, but it didn't really suit the group, I think. Anyway, Thyne Be The Glory is also Handel, so it's still a sort of circle...

For a DVD version, I'd want to have the first and last songs in their places, anything else could change up a bit. I would also add the following songs in no specific order, which should also appear on a Deluxe edition of the album, all of them group numbers:

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
2. Once, as I remember
3. In The Bleak Midwinter (Darke... or maybe Holst again, re-arrangement)
4. Veni, Veni Emmanuel (re-arrangement)
5. Shepherd's Pipe Carol
6. The Wexford Carol (re-arrangement)
7. Tàladh Chriosda (with Tara on harp)
8. How Great Our Joy

That would make twenty four songs in total, fit for an Advent calendar.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2021, 08:20:50 AM by ShiningBright » Logged
GG
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« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2021, 08:25:07 AM »

That's actually quite cool!  :) I'd love to see an album like that. However, some other songs I'd add on there would be Tàladh Chriosda (a beautiful Scottish Gaelic carol which does have English lyrics as far as I'm concerned), Believe (from The Polar Express), Where Are You Christmas? (from The Grinch), and Highland Cathedral (a song that isn't too Christmas-related, but still worthy of a Celtic Woman cover as André Rieu has covered it on some of his Christmas tours).
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ShiningBright
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« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2021, 09:29:21 AM »

Tàladh Chriosda is a great idea, also for this album. The others, too, but not for this particular album idea I had. Thank you for your response!
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ShiningBright
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« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2021, 02:22:46 PM »

You know what? I replaced The Sheep Beneath the Snow with Tàladh Chriosda, because that is a much better fit.

Here's a Spotify playlist with all the songs on it:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0zVm8kYRlTAFzwzSkmCtSU?si=9b3516d4792c490c

I've got Tara's solos twice, once a violin version and also a sung version to get a proper idea of it. I also used Darke's and Holst's versions of In The Bleak Midwinter since I'm not quite sure which I'd prefer for the album.

I am also glad to have learned that Thine Be The Glory is also considered a Christmas/Advent song in Ireland!
« Last Edit: November 27, 2021, 02:24:28 PM by ShiningBright » Logged
GG
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« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2021, 02:41:12 PM »

You know what? I replaced The Sheep Beneath the Snow with Tàladh Chriosda, because that is a much better fit.

Here's a Spotify playlist with all the songs on it:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0zVm8kYRlTAFzwzSkmCtSU?si=9b3516d4792c490c

I've got Tara's solos twice, once a violin version and also a sung version to get a proper idea of it. I also used Darke's and Holst's versions of In The Bleak Midwinter since I'm not quite sure which I'd prefer for the album.

I am also glad to have learned that Thine Be The Glory is also considered a Christmas/Advent song in Ireland!
👏👏👏
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John910
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« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2021, 10:48:20 PM »

My suggestions are "O Bambino (One Cold and Blessed Winter)"

and some Polish carols specifically "Lulajże Jezuniu" -"Lullaby Sweet Jesus";
"Christ the King Is Born (Gdy Się Chrystus Rodzi)"; and "Today in Bethlehem (Dzisiaj W Betlejem)"

The Polish carols can be sung in English, but the tunes so beautiful and I would like to hear the vocal harmonies
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ShiningBright
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« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2021, 07:09:01 AM »

Those are also very good choices! Polish music is underrated anyway, and yet very suitable for Irish musicians – a seemingly complicated but gorgeous language from a very Catholic country.

I realized that most of these songs are also Advent songs, so it would be very much appropriate to listen before Christmas. Only Hodie Christus Natus Est is very plainly a carol for Christmas Day itself. Obviously.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2021, 07:11:27 AM by ShiningBright » Logged
ShiningBright
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« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2021, 04:40:14 PM »

I also have ideas for a special! Like Postcards, filmed on different locations, however in a simpler style: only a few locations for several songs, like one or two churches or chapels and a few outdoor locations, ideally a forest or wood, to suit the respective songs.

There wouldn't be official acts or parts, but it would be vaguely changed in three thirds, with the last third being only group songs with a specific set of dresses.

For the largest part of the special, in all group songs the girls would be wearing purple dresses, except Tara's would be a lighter shade of rose, to match the four candles in an Advent wreath. (I chose Tara for the Gaudete Sunday colour, because she is the slightly different one as the instrumentalist, and also she is the tallest.) The dresses would match in colour, but be slightly different styles for each girl, with delicate golden and silver decorations at the top. For solos and duets, each girl would wear a different unique dress with matching accessoires: dark green with a partly silver top for Muirgen, and with a sort of mistletoe-like wreath for her hair; a simple white dress with a green and golden cape for Megan; a golden dress with a dark blue ribbon belt and long gloves for Chloe; and a silver dress with red details and holly decorations on the belt and in her hair for Tara. The mistletoe and holly wouldn't have to be real, of course. Then, for the last part, they would all wear the same plain and longsleeved dress in bright Christmas-like red, with simple white and golden ribbon belts around their waists. That last part would also be filmed all in the same location, like a chapel or something.

Choir and orchestra wouldn't be invisible, but actually filmed playing and singing, if the location doesn't allow it, then somewhere nearby so that one can see that it's technically in one place – just as the Postcards special shows all sorts of different parts of the filming locations.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2021, 04:47:39 PM by ShiningBright » Logged
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