This album is a free download, our Christmas gift to you!

Here are the download links, in all the various audio formats we offer: mp3, mp3 high quality, wav, aac, alac, flac, ogg, opus.

Although interesting and wide ranging, that 2007 compilation wasn't exactly everyone's idea of Christmas music.

On the other hand, this compilation was surprisingly easy to create, in that I had hundreds of truly Christmas tunes to pick from, but hard in a way, because there was so many weird and wonderful things to chose among.

Virtually all the songs on this album come from an entire record of Christmas music by each musician: if you like one of the songs by an artist, by all means go explore what other songs they have on their Christmas album!

Among other gems, you'll find:

a) Two very different versions of "Noel Nouvelet". Galliarda's version is an instrumental and lively renaissance version, which Stephane Potvin's version is choral.

b) Ralph Rousseau Meulenbroeks playing popular Christmas tunes on the baroque viola da gamba.

c) Harper's Hamper doing a solo operatic "What Child is This", as well as what sounds like a group of drunk Victorian Brits meeting a folk band in a dark alley, doing their version of "Jingle Bells".

d) And speaking of "Jingle Bells", no Christmas would be complete without Anup's Indian/Electronica fusion version of that song.

e) An electro/Chinese version of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".

f) A lyrically revised version of "Wassail", capturing what our homeless might want for their Christmas meal.

g) and many other interesting, sparkly treats!

Enjoy!

from John Buckman, Magnatune's founder/gardener/janitor

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Steve Eulberg)
2. Noel Nouvelet (Galliarda)
3. Stille Nacht (Ralph Rousseau Meulenbroeks)
4. What Child is this (Harper's Hamper)
5. Good King Wenceslas (Lydia McCauley)
6. We Three Kings (Almanova)
7. Jingle Bells (Anup)
8. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Osamu Kitajima and Chris Mancinelli)
9. Ding Dong Merrily on High (Cari Live)
10. What Child is this (Chad Lawson)
11. Homeless Wassail (Music for a Winter's Eve)
12. O Little Town of Bethlehem (Jeff Wahl)
13. Megan's Daughter (Cheryl Ann Fulton)
14. Greensleeves (In Nova Cantica)
15. Noel Nouvelet (Stephane Potvin and the Con Brio Choir)
16. Shchedrik (Kitka)
17. Jingle Bells (Harper's Hamper)

Listen to: the entire album.

Release date: 12/14/2014
Magnatune Compilation lives in California USA

Tagged as: Classical, Chamber Music, Christmas, Compilation

1. The Christmas Album by AlmaNova: lively flute/guitar duo
2. Christmas Guitar by Jeff Wahl: acoustic new age and jazz guitar.
3. A Harper's Holiday in Wales by Cheryl Ann Fulton: World-class performer and teacher of Medieval, Baroque, Welsh triple, Celtic and Concert harps.
4. A Solo Piano Christmas by Chad Lawson: Multi-award winning pianist and composer who is not afraid to put his hat in anything
5. Sounds of the Season by Aryeh Frankfurter: Timeless and enchanting folk music for the soul
6. Bringing Light to the Darkness by Music for a Winter's Eve: Early song and dance to celebrate midwinter
7. Christmas Through the Gateway by Osamu Kitajima and Chris Mancinelli: pan pacific ambient dance masters
8. Silent Night by Lisa Lynne and George Tortorelli: Celtic harp and bamboo flutes. Soft and soothing, perfect for quiet times and relaxation
9. Goode Christemas Musicke by Stephane Potvin and the Con Brio Choir: choral conductor extraordinaire
10. Medieval and Traditional Carols, Chansons and Festive Dances by In Nova Cantica: carols and chansons from the 13th - 17th Centuries for dancing, festivities and mayhem
11. The Chinese Four Seasons and the Korean Four Seasons by Vito Paternoster: cellist extraordinaire
12. All Hayle to the Days by Harper's Hamper: well loved and lesser known British carols for the festive season, performed with single voices and instruments
13. Garden of Healing by Healing Muses: early music for healing
14. In a Garden So Green, Lute Music of Scotland by Voices of Music: Lilting Renaissance & Baroque vocal interpretations
15. 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime by Steve Eulberg: smile-inducing, toe-tapping folkgrass
16. Aurora of the Northern Harp by Aryeh Frankfurter: Timeless and enchanting folk music for the soul

• MP3: High quality MP3 variable-bit-rate files. Most people download these: they are audiophile files that play everywhere.
• ALAC: Perfect quality Apple Lossless format files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, get these. They're an exact audio copy of the original CD, and include the CD artwork and artist info. This is the same format as High Definition audio provided by the iTunes store.
• AAC: High quality Apple Audio Codec files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, these files sound great and include CD art and artist info. This is the standard format provided by the iTunes music store.
• WAV: Perfect quality WAV files. This format works everywhere, and is an exact audio copy of the original CD. It sounds fantastic. Album art and artist info is unfortunately not possible with this format.
• FLAC Perfect quality open source FLAC files. This is an open source audio format. It is an exact copy of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
• OGG: High quality open source OGG files. This is an open source audio format. It is a compressed (smaller file size) version of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
• 128k: Medium quality 128K MP3 files. These are medium audio quality MP3 files that will work on every device. The audio quality is good enough for most uses. These files are intended for cases where you want to conserve disk space.