When Christmas is Near...

Max Fillmore E., November 2001
"A magnificent collection of well-known Christmas music beautifully performed by master pianist. This gem will enrich your music collection."

Product Description
All original piano arrangements are romantic, dramatic, nostalgic, or simply dance over the keys with Yelena's light jazzy touch. You will love the beautiful new harmonies and developed piano textures in the familiar songs. This will likely become one of your favorite holiday CDs, also suitable as classy piano background music at any time of the year. Total playing time – 70 min.

When Christmas is Near...

When Christmas is Near...,Yelena Eckemoff,L & H Production,Miscellaneous,Pop

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Average customer rating: One of our favorites from Solo Piano Publications Our favorite album at Christmas

When Christmas is Near... Yelena Eckemoff Manufacturer: L & H Production ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music General | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B0009VS3O0 Release Date: 2001-11-11

Tracks:

1. There's a Song in the Air
2. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
3. The Holy and the Ivy / We Three Kings / Coventry Carol
4. O Little Town of Bethlehem / Away in a Manger
5. Patapan / God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
6. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming / What Child is This
7. Ave Maria
8. On This Day Earth Shall Ring
9. Sing We Now of Christmas / He is Born
10. O Jesus So Meek, O Jesu So Kind
11. Here We Come / Masters in This Hall
12. The First Noel
13. Silent Night, Holy Night
14. Jingle Bells / It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
15. The Nutcracker Suite

Product Description

All original piano arrangements are romantic, dramatic, nostalgic, or simply dance over the keys with Yelena's light jazzy touch. You will love the beautiful new harmonies and developed piano textures in the familiar songs. This will likely become one of your favorite holiday CDs, also suitable as classy piano background music at any time of the year. Total playing time – 70 min.

Customer Reviews:

One of our favorites.......2006-11-17

If you are looking for a very moving listening experience this Christmas season, then purchase this CD. The arrangements and medleys transform familiar classics into beautiful new combinations. It is one of our favorite Christmas CDs.

from Solo Piano Publications.......2005-09-09

"Christmas Is Near...." is a fascinating solo piano collection of individual Christmas pieces and medleys. Counting "The Nutcracker Suite" as one piece, there is a total of twenty-seven pieces on this album, most of which are spiritual rather than Santa songs. Very classically inspired, Yelena Eckemoff's arrangements include jazz touches and a very Russian musical spirit (she was born and trained in Russia). A pianist/composer with incredible playing skills, she shows her sensitivity as well as her bravura technique on this CD more than on some of her other recordings. The album was recorded live, with several takes of each piece to choose from for the final album, giving the music a very open, spontaneous feeling even through Eckemoff doesn't improvise much in the studio. I really like this collection because many of the arrangements are quite unusual, and the combinations of songs in the medleys are often inventive. I also like that she has included quite a few less commonly-heard songs. I wish the liner notes were more extensive, explaining the origins of some of these songs, but that's the teacher in me, I think, and it's a very minor point.

The CD opens with a beautiful and expressive arrangement of "There's a Song in the Air," where Eckemoff uses different variations on the theme, some in a classical style and some more contemporary. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is bluesy and very dark - an unusual treatment that makes it sound much newer than its 12th century roots, even as it evolves into a more classical mode. This is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and I really like this arrangement. The medley of "The Holly and the Ivy/We Three Kings/Coventry Carol" combines jazz and classical elements, with the three songs weaving in and out of each other - very colorful and unique. "O LIttle Town of Bethlehem/Away in a Manger/Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" is much quieter and more reflective. I also really like "Patapan/ God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," both minor key pieces that are lively and fun in this arrangement. "Here We Come A-Wassailing/Masters In This Hall" pairs two pieces you don't often hear and gives them a lovely, dreamy quality. Eckemoff takes the melody in "The First Noel" to places you might not expect, yet keeps the song from straying too far. She does something similar with "Silent Night," but jazzes it a little, keeping the mood peaceful and serene. The most unusual medley is "Jingle Bells/ It Came Upon the Midnight Clear/ I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day/ O Holy Night." Featuring some incredibly nimble finger work as well as gentle and heartfelt playing of a more introspective type, this is a tour de force! I was also delighted with her playing of the full "Nutcracker Suite." Tchaikovsky composed this work on piano before orchestrating it, but you rarely heard it played as a piano solo - love it!

Yelena Eckemoff is an amazing pianist/composer who offers the music world something different from the norm. She combines her classical background with more contemporary elements, producing an art form that is both serious and accessible, but is far from being ear candy. If you prefer Christmas music that is different and substantial, give this one a try!

Our favorite album at Christmas.......2005-08-11

Yelena Eckemoff's collection of Christmas music is not one you will want to save just for the season. With its artful and original arrangements, one would enjoy these beautiful melodies anytime. Classically trained in Moscow, her talent is superb, and her albums provide wonderful pleasure.

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