Search - John Boswell :: Festival of the Heart

John Boswell
Festival of the Heart
Genres: Jazz, Special Interest, New Age, Pop, Classical

Track Listings (16) - Disc #1
1. O Come All Ye Faithful - John Boswell, Oakeley, Frederick
2. What Child Is This? (Greensleeves) - John Boswell, Dix, William Chatte
3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - John Boswell, Traditional
4. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - John Boswell, Neale, John Mason
5. Angels We Have Heard on High - John Boswell, Traditional
6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - John Boswell, Mendelssohn, Felix
7. Festival of the Heart - John Boswell, Boswell, John [1]
8. The First Noel - John Boswell, Sandys, William
9. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - John Boswell, Sears, Edmund Hamil
10. The Little Drummer Boy - John Boswell, Davis, Katherine [2
11. O Holy Night - John Boswell, Adam, Adolphe
12. Away in a Manger - John Boswell, Murray, James Ramse
13. Coventry Carol - John Boswell, Traditional
14. Fugue from the Messiah - John Boswell, Handel, George Frid
15. Silent Night - John Boswell, Gruber, Franz
16. Eastern Star - John Boswell, Boswell, John [1]

CD Details

All Artists: John Boswell
Title: Festival of the Heart
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Hearts of Space
Release Date: 2/25/1993
Genres: Jazz, Special Interest, New Age, Pop, Classical
Styles: Vocal Jazz, Holiday & Wedding, Instrumental, Vocal Pop, Opera & Classical Vocal
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 025041103121, 036322571027

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Largely piano driven, Festival of the Heart showcases John Boswell's delicately warm tones on an hour's worth of seasonal hymns and carols. All but the title cut and the album's closer, "Eastern Star" (both composed by Boswell), are traditionals and classics, many dating back to the 17th century. Mendelssohn's "Hark! The Harold Angels Sing" resounds beautifully in a duet of piano and bells. Other standouts are Handel's English-horn-adorned "Fugue" from the Messiah and a reverent take on "Coventry Carol," the collection's oldest hymn, which dates to 16th-century England. For those for whom Christmas is more enchanted and holy than commercial, Festival of the Heart is true blue. --Paige La Grone

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CD Reviews

If you love Xmas music you will love this album

riteclik@riteclik.com | 01/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In my fervor to find new Xmas music early one Yuletide season several years ago, I stumbled across this album and bought it simply because I liked the cover art. Little did I know as I went thru the check-out that I was purchasing what was one of the most fabulous Xmas albums ever produced! Boswell has taken a turn at creating a Chip Davis like Xmas album but instead of total synths he use a wide array of unusual old world instruments. There are no vocals. His arrangements are phenomenal and he even throws in 2 original compositions which are quite nice. His treatment of The Little Drummer Boy is out of this world. If you love Xmas music you will LOVE this album. This is probably the best kept secret in Xmas music since Franz Gruber wrote Stille Nacht for his church's own use."

For Christmas Spirit, the BEST CD EVER MADE.

riteclik@riteclik.com | 12/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is a rare jewel that is incredibly worth discovering, experiencing, and sharing with anyone who wants to feel in a true spirit of christmas. Every cut exudes warmth, beauty and serenity. This CD has regularly accompanied the Christmas season in our family for years now and it never gets tired. By the way, everyone who has been turned on to this CD that we know feels the same way we do. If you're going to buy one Christmas CD, I can't recommend enough that it be this one."

From Solo Piano Publications

Kathy Parsons | Florence, OR United States | 11/13/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Boswell's "Festival of the Heart" is one of the best Christmas albums I've ever heard. Primarily a piano album, Boswell adds synth and bells, and is joined on some of the tracks by guitar, percussion, English horn, and flutes. Boswell keeps his treatments of the carols fairly traditional and dignified, but somehow breathes fresh life into all of these songs, making them new again. As a piano teacher, the onslaught of Christmas music everywhere I go, plus listening to carols in all states of wonder and disarray all of my working days for about eight weeks a year have dramatically reduced my enjoyment of holiday music. So, it is a joy to find an album that reminds me of why this music means so much to people and why it continues to endure and enthrall no matter what the world is going through during the holiday season. All of the selections on this album are of more serious nature (as opposed to "Up On the Housetop" or "Frosty the Snowman"), and would provide an elegant backdrop to a holiday dinner or get-together or an evening of tree-trimming. Don't just relegate it to background music, though. This album needs to be savored again and again, allowing it to bring Christmas peace and tranquility. The sixteen tracks include two Boswell originals, and all of them are so good that I can't pick a favorite. Guaranteed to delight!"