Merry Christmas
Elizabeth Anderson and friends put a fresh twist on Christmas carols: eight tracks packaged as a Christmas card, with a vibrant cover and space for a personal inscription.
The Choir of Ormond College choir
Christoph Maubach xylophone, glockenspiel
Danny Fischer drums
Ian Wilmot double bass
Kylie Davies double bass
Joel Gladman tuba
Katrina Renard vocals
Helena Simpson vocals
Vaughan McAlley vocals
Jonathan Wallis vocals
Johannes Hirschler very low bass voice
Johann Sebastian Bach composer
Johnny Marks composer
Haven Gillespie songwriter
John Frederick Coots songwriter
Vaughan McAlley arranger
Elizabeth Anderson arranger
Christoph Maubach arranger
Johann Sebastian Bach arranger
Bartholomäus Gesius arranger
Arthur Warrell arranger
Nelly McAvaugh arranger
You better watch out! You better not cry!
Harpsichordist Elizabeth Anderson will show you why … on Merry Christmas.
The disc gathers fun and traditional Christmas pieces. Tongue-in-cheek arrangements of Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer and Santa Claus is coming to town sit beside more exquisite readings of In dulci jubilo, Good King Wenceslas, I saw three ships and We wish you a merry Christmas.
Anderson’s harpsichord is joined by drums, glockenspiel, double bass and four singers from the acclaimed Choir of Ormond College.
With a bright cover, room for a personal inscription and lively music, it was a fun, unusual gift idea at a price close to ordinary Christmas cards.
Artist
Elizabeth Anderson
Elizabeth Anderson has performed on eleven international concert tours to Europe, Japan and Singapore, and is a regular guest lecturer and performer at universities and music schools throughout Australia.
Audio preview
Tracks
- Santa Claus is coming to town Haven Gillespie John Frederick Coots Arr: Vaughan McAlley 3:14
- I saw three ships (Traditional) Arr: Elizabeth Anderson Christoph Maubach Johann Sebastian Bach 1:10
- [vocal] 2:13
- [instrumental] (BWV 608) 1:34
- Good King Wenceslas (Traditional) Arr: Vaughan McAlley 1:14
- We wish you a merry Christmas (Traditional) Arr: Arthur Warrell 1:38
- Chocolate Bunnies Donald Angle 2:32
- Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer Johnny Marks Arr: Nelly McAvaugh 1:36
In dulci jubilo (Traditional) Arr: Johann Sebastian Bach Bartholomäus Gesius
Performers
- Elizabeth Anderson
- The Choir of Ormond College
- Christoph Maubach · xylophone, glockenspiel
- Danny Fischer
- Ian Wilmot
- Kylie Davies · track 7
- Joel Gladman
- Katrina Renard
- Helena Simpson
- Vaughan McAlley
- Jonathan Wallis
- Johannes Hirschler · very low bass voice
Composers
Donald Angle
Donald Angle’s music comes from, or is influenced most directly by, twentieth-century pop, country and jazz, and is mostly geared to solo performance on the harpsichord.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a German composer and organist of the late Baroque. His sacred and secular music for choir, orchestra, organ and solo instruments remains among the foundations of the Western concert and church repertory.
Christoph Maubach
Christoph Maubach migrated from Germany to Australia in 1979 after completing the ‘A’ Course at the Orff-Institute in Salzburg. From 1980 onwards he conducted many Orff music education workshops throughout Australia and abroad.
Vaughan McAlley
Vaughan McAlley is a composer and arranger, alto and tenor, a capable flautist and French horn player, and the recording engineer behind countless Move releases.
John Frederick Coots
J. Fred Coots composed the melody for Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, the 1934 song that became one of the biggest sellers in American popular music, along with hundreds of other songs and more than a dozen Broadway scores.
Bartholomäus Gesius
Bartholomäus Gesius wrote choral Passions in German and Latin and hymn settings for the Lutheran church. His melody for the Easter hymn Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn was later taken up by Buxtehude and Bach, and his name also stands on arrangements of In dulci jubilo.
Haven Gillespie
Haven Gillespie (1888–1975) was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist, best known for the Christmas standard Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.
Johnny Marks
Johnny Marks wrote Christmas songs that settled into the seasonal repertoire as standards, led by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and including A Holly Jolly Christmas, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and Silver and Gold.
Arthur Warrell
Arthur Warrell is known for his arrangement of the traditional West Country carol We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Contributors
Photography
Howard Birnstihl
Howard Birnstihl is a photographer whose cover, exterior and general photography appears across many Move Records releases from the late 1970s into the 2000s.
Cover concept
Jeff Weaver
Image manipulation
Simon Wright
Where to listen
Merry Christmas is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
Merry Christmas is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.
Product details
- Catalogue number
- MD 3195
- List price
- $5.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 15 minutes 11 seconds
- Contributor
- Douglas Lawrence
- Producer
- Martin Wright
- Recording Engineer
- Vaughan McAlley
- Editing Engineer
- Vaughan McAlley
- Venue
- Move Records Studio
- Credit
- Howard Birnstihl
Jeff Weaver
Simon Wright - Release date
- 1997
- Musical work
copyright - © 1997 Move Records
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 1997 Move Records
- Categories
- Choral, Christmas, Classical
- Genres
- Christmas, Choral & Sacred
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574319521
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