Holiday Music – “The Sounding Joy” by Elizabeth Mitchell and Friends

26 November 2013 by Leave a Comment

This holiday season, I have a huge confession to make.

The Christmas Song by Alvin & The Chipmunks is one of my favorite holiday songs.

Yeah, yeah, I can hear your groan all the way over here.  But I’m sure you have your guilty pleasures, too.  Perhaps it’s Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.  I don’t know.  But whatever it is, I won’t judge you for it.

In our house, we accept all kinds of holiday music in to the fold.  While decorating our tree, we crank out tunes of artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Run DMC to Perry Como.

Some are for the kids, sure.  But some are for the adults as well.

This holiday, I’ll be adding some new songs in to my rotation.

Award-winning children’s musician and her group Elizabeth Mitchell and Friends has released The Sounding Joy featuring songs from the Ruth Crawford Seeger Songbook American Folk Songs for Christmas.

The Sounding JoyFor those of you who are thinking, “Seeger?  Like, as in Pete Seeger?”, the answer would be yes.  Ruth was his stepmother and a formidable musician in her own right.

Mitchell gathered an impressive group of musicians, including Natalie Merchant, Joan Osborne and Dan Zanes to create an album of 24 holiday songs drawn from Seeger’s songbook.  Accompanying the album is a beautifully designed jacket with artwork by Brian Selznick, with notes from Natalie Merchant, Mitchell’s husband Daniel Littleton and Mitchell herself.

The album starts off with “Oh, Mary and the Baby, Sweet Lamb”, it’s lively clapping call-and-response cementing a foundation of community that seems vital to Mitchell’s livelihood and runs like a current throughout the album.

The Sounding Joy offers up renditions of familiar Christmas songs such as “The First Noel” and “Christmas Day in the Morning,” among others.

“Joy to the World” was a song I adored as a child, and I was delighted to hear with Mitchell’s voice.  Accompanied by her daughter, Storey, the two create a glorious harmony together.  You can’t hear this song and not get filled with some kind of holiday spirit.

Mitchell and her daughter also sing “Silent Night” and it’s perfect in it’s simplicity.  It’s quite possibly my favorite song on the album.

Allowing strong vocals to shine seems to be a favorite of Mitchell’s, as is evident in uncomplicated songs like “Mary Had a Baby”, “Sing Hallelu”, “Cradle Hymn” with it’s angelic voices, and “Joseph and Mary” featuring Natalie Merchant.  Merchant also lends her amazing talent to “Singing in the Land”.

The album, like the liner notes, tends to run a bit on the long side.  Darker tracks like “Aint’ That a Rockin’ All Night,” “Bright Morning Stars Are Rising,” “The Blessings of Mary,” and “Great Big Stars” don’t hook you with a catchy melody off the bat and can take a while to hit their stride.

“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” is exactly what I think of when I recall hearing Christmas music as a child with hints of a round and three- and four-part harmony.

“Sing-a-Lamb” featuring Dan Zanes and Suzan-Lori Parks has a Gospel hymn feel to it that is a refreshing change of pace for the album.

Closing out the album is “Children, Go Where I Send Thee”, a cumulative song that adds characters and singers along the way.   It’s a great track to conclude the album, as it brings back almost everyone that’s appeared on The Sounding Joy and captures the essence of the musical community Elizabeth Mitchell has so fondly described in her liner notes.

Elizabeth Mitchell and Friends’ The Sounding Joy may not be for everyone.  It’s probably not going to appease your young listener.  But if you’re looking for some quiet holiday music to wrap presents to while you sip your spiked apple cider, this is the album for you.

You can enjoy a FREE download of “Children, Go Where I Send Thee” HERE!!!

Wishing you all a very happy and full Thanksgiving!

The Sounding Joy is available on Elizabeth’s site, iTunes, and Amazon.

 

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Filed Under: Christmas, Holiday, Kid Tune Tuesday

The gift that keeps on giving…

14 June 2013 by 2 Comments

giftWith Father’s Day coming up, the kids and I have been running secretive errands to find the perfect gift.

I pitched it to the kids as a reconnaissance mission, rather than a “I need to go to the mall to find something for Daddy and I’m dragging you with me.”

Rest assured, we have also secured the standard home-made, heart-tugging, sentimental gifts to present as well.  But sometimes you just need a little Wow Factor to hand to the paternal figure in the house.

However, I’m not that great of a gift finder.

You probably have one of those people in your life, right?  That one person who always procures the perfect gift that strikes the right balance of uniqueness and suitability to your personality.  They manage to hunt down items you didn’t even know existed but now can’t live without.  And they get all their Christmas shopping done in October.

I am not one of these people.

I’ve had brief moments of brilliance, but they’ve been few and far between.  For my first anniversary to my husband, I culled all of our emails during our long-distance relationship, relegated a specific font and color to each sender, printed that sucker off and bound it in to a book.  You know, with paper being the Hallmark-required first anniversary gift. I felt like Martha Stewart reincarnate.

And I haven’t done a thing like that since.

We’ve instead resorted to some standard gifts that we come to rely on year after year.  Jon knows that he will probably receive new running shoes for either his birthday or Christmas, so I don’t even bother to hide the fact that I’m looking for his shoe size. And I know that my perfume will be replenished on my birthday each fall.

For his sister and brother-in-law, we’ve established a tradition of finding the most tacky and gaudy bottle opener we can find (preferably with a magnet to be displayed for all to see on their fridge).  There is a Cat Fancy magazine that circulates amongst the Christmas stockings, and it’s a roulette wheel of luck each year as to who gets stuck with it.

But nothing tops The Obscenity Shirt.

One year, while we were living in New York City, Jon had a friend come in to town.  While this friend was out and about seeing the sights, he came upon a t-shirt that he thought would be a perfect gift for Jon, and presented it to him during dinner at a very fancy schmancy restaurant.

At first glance, it was just a solid black shirt, daring in its simplicity.  But as Jon unfurled the garment, his face squished in laughter as he turned it around to reveal these words in bold white print:

FU

Too good not to share, we wrapped that brilliance up in a bow and gave it to Jon’s brother-in-law that Christmas. The next year, the brother-in-law gave it to Jon’s mom.  The next, it was gifted to a great-aunt with an impressive sense of humor for someone over 80.  It went to Jon’s youngest sister the year after that.

And then, it abruptly stopped.

Because our kids were finally able to read.

It’s a shame, really.  I loved that tradition.  I loved the surprise of forgetting the shirt even existed, and then seeing someone open it up on Christmas Day.  The resignation that you were the target of that shirt that year.  That this shirt, in all it’s vulgarity, had become a standard holiday custom.

Perhaps, as the kids get older, much, much, much older, we can resume this inheritance.  Maybe even bringing them in to the fold.  And relishing in the delight of seeing them receive this time-honored bestowal.

Because this will make a fantastic Father’s Day present one year.

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Filed Under: Christmas, Father's Day, giving

A holiday of apocalyptic proportions…

24 December 2012 by 2 Comments

Photo by Dennis Jarvis via Flickr

On Friday morning, they day of the proposed Mayan apocalypse, the power went off in the entire house at 5:45 in the morning. At first I just rolled over and grunted “power, off” to my husband.

Then the screams began.

Mr. B’s was more of an informative “Dad! The power’s out!”

Miss P’s was a blood-curdling shriek of fear and confusion, as she couldn’t figure out why her night light, Christmas tree, and the vortex of sound creating machines (sound machine AND humidifier) suddenly shut down.

At 5:45 am.

Photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr

Have you tried getting a child back to sleep after getting the crap scared out of them at the crack of dawn? It’s darn near impossible. I kept trying to cuddle, to lull her back to sleep, to even sprinkle her with sleepy dust, but to no avail.

We were all up. And in the dark. And at any moment, a meteor was going to collide with earth, the solar flares were going to burn us all to smithereens, and the poles’ reversal would doubtingly mess up our internal organs.


 

While none of that nonsense really happened, it was my first foray in to managing a power outage with small children. One that I would hope I don’t have to experience again for a while.

Seeing as we had 6 pounds of stew meat and a ton of other food in our fridge for our huge family gathering the next day, I was beginning to sweat. Luckily the power came back on about a half our before our deadline to start throwing food out on to the snow covered lawn like the fishmongers in Seattle.

Our big fete on Saturday was a blast. In part, because it meant I didn’t have to spend Christmas day somewhere other than my home. And in other ways, because we got to show off our home. But mainly because there was more space for everyone to spread out and relax. I have to admit, I’m a bit like a toddler. Give me a crowded room with lots of people, noise, and too much sugar and I get a bit overstimulated.

I even managed to feed all of these people without a single report of e coli or salmonella poisoning.  Merry Christmas indeed!

The only thing I have left to avoid is the rabid and furious stomach bug that’s going around.

And now, here we stand, less than 24 hours before the big day.  The kids have already dragged out the presents from the tree and performed very scientific predictions and calculations on the quantity of bounty.  My pants already reject my indulgence of way too much salt and sugar and have hit critical mass.  Our trash and recycling cans are already overtaxed.

But I can still feel the excitement.  The newness of being in our home for the very first time on Christmas morning.  The fun of indecisiveness in figuring out what traditions we’ll begin on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.  It’s uncharted territory.  One I’ve been looking forward to exploring for a while.  And I get to do it with a great group of scouts with me.

May you and your family have a merry adventure ahead!

Filed Under: Christmas, fun, Holiday

Christmas calamity…

20 December 2012 by 7 Comments

Our first Christmas with a child, Mr B was 7 months old. Sure, he didn’t have a clue who Santa was, or even know how to open a present. But we were excited all the same. I went overboard with presents. I strung lights on our house for the first time. We had a real tree. It was perfect.

We celebrated an early Christmas in Denver because we’d be spending the holiday with Jon’s family in Indiana. Two days before our flight was to leave? Denver got hit with a massive blizzard. I’m talking 24 inches of snow.

At first it was beautiful. Jon and I layered Mr. B and ourselves up and headed out to the park to frolic in the winter wonderland. We made snow angels. Snowballs were thrown. And when Mr. B’s snot started to freeze to his upper lip, we headed home.

Only, when we got to our doorstep, Jon reached in to his pocket and started to panic. Yes, we had been locked out of our house. Somewhere in the two feet of snow in the park, the key must have slipped out in the flurry of angel making.

Dangerously close to feeding and nap time, we really didn’t know what to do. Our neighbors invited us in to make a call to a locksmith, and I contemplated nursing Mr. B there. But the stench of a lifetime of cigarettes, merged with cat urine and dog hair made me verp at the thought.

An hour and $125 dollar check to a locksmith later, and we were back in our home, warming up and laughing it off.

And yet, the calamity didn’t end there that season. We still had to travel to Indiana to celebrate with relatives, and recommendations were sent out to arrive at least four hours early.  Yeah.  Have you had to hang out with a wiggly infant in a cramped airport for hours on end?  Not a party, people.

Thanks to Jon’s international traveling, he was a member of United’s Red Carpet, so we camped out in the lounge, feasting on processed snacks and waiting things out.

The plan was to nurse Mr. B a couple of times before getting on the plane.  Mr. B had boycotted this idea, far too interested in what everyone else was doing in the United lounge to focus on getting fed.   Same deal on the plane.  So by the time we made it to Jon’s parents’ home almost 10 hours later, my boobs were so engorged I was busting out of my bra.

My mother-in-law had rented a hospital-grade pump for me so that I didn’t have to fly with mine, and I frantically hooked myself up to that puppy as soon as I walked in to the house.   Only, this pumping session was unlike anything I’d ever experience, my milk shooting out like a fire hose, getting almost 20 ounces out of one session.

Merry Christmas, little buddy!

But despite all of the mishaps of the holiday, something happened that erased them all.  On Christmas Day, I was in the bedroom fielding phone calls from relatives, when I hear this bizarre noise coming from my child in the living room.  And this?  This is what I was greeted with:

When my sister-in-law picked him up after his laughing fit, his pants were soaked through from peeing himself.  And he’s still capable of laughter so hard, so deep, so pure that I think he’ll wet his pants.

 

Filed Under: Christmas, Mr. B, snow

Gaining downtime this holiday (with A Solo Piano Christmas)…

18 December 2012 by 1 Comment

I’m not sure how I managed to negotiate this, but this year, for the first Christmas in ELEVEN YEARS, I will be waking up in my own home on Christmas morning.  I am so relieved not to have to travel this year, to be able to witness my kids experience Christmas in their own home for the first time, and to create new traditions.

But this season is not without family, as we’re hosting a little pre-Christmas gathering in our home this coming weekend.  Family is driving in from out of state, and what looked like a small group is now looking close to 20 people.  Exciting and nerve wracking (I mean, we bought a second fridge last week, people).  But I feel blessed to be able to share our home, and grateful that family is letting us take a year off from traveling.

Ever the planner, I’ve been scouring my iTunes collection for some ambiance during our fete.  Somehow Alvin & The Chipmunks seems too immature, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra too harsh.  I’m looking for something more mature and mellow this holiday season.  Maybe you are, too.

And in that spirit, Keesha at Mom’s New Stage and I have something for you.




Here, have a listen:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-solo-piano-christmas/id477915501

 

Wasn’t that lovely?

 

Chad Lawson’s A Solo Piano Christmas is a perfect Christmas gift, either for yourself, or for a loved one.  It is a beautiful assortment of classic Christmas carols including What Child is This, Joy to the World and The Holly and the Ivy, all rearranged for solo piano. 

The purity and tenderness of the lone piano chords cleanse and soothe the spirit, inviting both escape and reflection.  It is an “end of the night, kids in bed, glass of wine by the fire and breathe” CD.  A Solo Piano Christmas is music for relaxing, for mellowing out and for taking a personal Calgon moment –no bathtub necessary—while rediscovering your favorite Christmas carols.

Chad Lawson was recently featured on Bob Edwards Weekend edition.  His album, The Piano, went to #19 on iTunes Classical.  The Piano as well as his Christmas release are hot sellers on Amazon.  His music has been critically acclaimed as “absolutely stunning for its delicate complexity and emotional depth.”

In this giveaway, two readers will each have the opportunity to receive an autographed copy of Chad Lawson’s A Solo Piano Christmas free!  One person will win from Full of It, and one from Mom’s New Stage.  Simply enter using the Rafflecopter form below.  This giveaway is open to residents of the Continental U.S. only. 

 

A Solo Piano Christmas is for you, whether you need to lose yourself, or to find yourself. Gina and I are so happy to be able to be able to give you the gift of music this season.




Filed Under: Christmas, Giveaway