Search - David Lanz :: Christmas Eve

The best Christmas CD I've ever heard!

11/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own over 150 Christmas CD's, and this one is the best by far. It's always the first one I pull out to get me in the Christmas spirit. Like Mozart, David doesn't waste a single note. Every song is beautifully arranged, with just enough variations to keep it interesting, yet familiar. There's some real magic in these songs. I prefer to listen to it while I'm alone, but it also works great as background music for a holiday party. If you like piano music, you'll love this CD. It doesn't get any better than this."

The most beautiful Christmas CD ever recorded!

Kathy Parsons | 04/20/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I admit it: I'm a huge fan of David Lanz. I love almost everything he's ever recorded. I also love listening to Chritmas music. It's about the only way I can get in the right mood for the season anymore. Lanz has a way of taking songs that have become very familiar, and changing them, ever so slightly, until they are fresh and new again. My first taste of his music was on the original Narada Christmas Sampler. He did a version of "O Holy Night" with Paul Speer, that is a highlight of that CD. The version of that song that he does on this CD is even more beautiful, because it is just David, sans accompanyment, at his home, with his piano. One year, as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law, I gave her a tape that included songs from this CD, along with many other Christmas songs. She is a very traditional woman, and I was worried that she wouldn't like the tape, because there weren't any of the usual renditions of Christmas songs that she had grown up with. She listens to the tape year-round. It helps calm her and lets her sleep more peacefully. This is truly music for anybody who appreciates beauty."

From Solo Piano Publications

Kathy Parsons | Florence, OR United States | 11/13/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"David Lanz designed this album to be an antidote to the rush, commercialism, and madness that the holiday season can bring. As most of Lanz's solo piano recordings are, this album is introspective and calming, and, with a couple of exceptions, most of the arrangements are rather somber. "Joy to the World" is a very big exception, as this is just about the most joyful version I've ever heard or played. (The companion songbook is the most popular Christmas book I use with my more advanced students, and this and several of the other songs are always played in my students' Christmas recital!) "The First Noel / Christmas Eve Waltz" is a delight. The waltz is a Lanz original, and it weaves in and out of "The First Noel" seamlessly with a warm, cozy feel. "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is my favorite piece on this album. Dark and mysterious, the piece is at once ancient and very contemporary. Lanz's arrangements of "Silent Night" and "Angels We Have Heard on High" are also exceptional. I'm not crazy about the "angel" improvisations between most of the songs, although "Angel of Hope" is lovely. I was surprised to find that "O Holy Night", to me the most passionate of all the Christmas carols, was presented in such a cool and distant manner. I was also disappointed in "What Child Is This" for the same reason. I have to say that since I teach Christmas music from the end of October until the end of December, I am very picky about the Christmas music I listen to. The outstanding arrangements I mentioned make this CD worth buying. It is quiet and introspective for the most part, and Lanz succeeded well in his goal of creating an album of tranquil Christmas music. A few of the pieces are just a bit too tranquil for my ears."