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. Concerto Barocco by Voices of Music: Lilting Renaissance & Baroque vocal interpretations
2. Bach and Telemann - Sonatas, Preludes and Fantasias by Voices of Music: Lilting Renaissance & Baroque vocal interpretations
3. Ancient Mosaic with Guitar by La Reverie: Recreating traditional music from a modern perspective
4. A Harper's Holiday in Wales by Cheryl Ann Fulton: World-class performer and teacher of Medieval, Baroque, Welsh triple, Celtic and Concert harps.
5. Litha by Skarazula: medieval European, Turkish and Arabic music
6. Christmas Through the Gateway by Osamu Kitajima and Chris Mancinelli: pan pacific ambient dance masters
7. The Dawn of Joy by Shira Kammen: early folk and celtic music.
8. Silent Night by Lisa Lynne and George Tortorelli: Celtic harp and bamboo flutes. Soft and soothing, perfect for quiet times and relaxation
9. Christmas Guitar by Jeff Wahl: acoustic new age and jazz guitar.
10. Mistral by Shira Kammen: early folk and celtic music.
11. Another Day by Claire Fitch: ambient cellist
12. Dances and Suites of Rameau and Couperin by American Baroque: Spectacular Baroque and Classical chamber music
13. The Airs of Wales by Cheryl Ann Fulton: World-class performer and teacher of Medieval, Baroque, Welsh triple, Celtic and Concert harps.
14. Luis Milan El Maestro by Jacob Heringman and Catherine King: renaissance songs
15. Canconier by Canconier: Medieval music from the 12th to the 15th centuries
16. Musical Incense - volume two (Hang and Guitar Duets) by Laura Inserra: the Hang, a new instrument from Switzerland
17. Colors of Spain by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
18. In a Garden So Green, Lute Music of Scotland by Voices of Music: Lilting Renaissance & Baroque vocal interpretations
19. Alessandro Piccinini by Paul Beier: solo lute of the Italian renaissance.
20. Reverie by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar

• 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.