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David James (aka David James Fritch) need not conceal his true identity; this classic baritone comfortably delivers a nice range of serious holiday fare on A Christmas Tale. Avoiding the pitfalls of operatic baritones who sometimes get carried away by the force of their vibratos, James adopts a purist approach with clean lines and warm emotion. Against a lovely orchestral backdrop, James' vocals hit the mark; if anything, I would have preferred more focus on his voice over the supporting instruments.

A Christmas Tale is a traditional slice of the holiday music pie; the ancient carols are served up with reverence, and the original numbers reflect the same religious tone. My personal tastes push me towards the simpler arrangements; for example, I loved James' hushed rendition of Mary, Did You Know? with Michael Dowdle on guitar. Nice! Best of all, though, is the priceless duet with Sarah Kaelin Wirthlin on the original It Was a Starry Night; their well-matched voices soar effortlessly into the "Gloria" chorus, creating goose bumps in appreciative listeners (me, anyway). In fact, I'd love to hear a full album of holiday duets by these two superb singers. Next year, perhaps?

If you are tired of jazzy fluff when December rolls around--or you just yearn for a simpler time when holiday music was presented in traditional contexts and championed the "reason for the season," then A Christmas Tale is a solid music option for you. As an added bonus, David James is also very easy on the eyes; you may want to buy the CD just to gaze upon his handsome visage. Even so, don't neglect to play the music!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)

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From the liner notes:

Produced by: Daniel G. Fritch & Michael Dowdle



From the artist's Website:

This music of David James will sooth and relax you as you reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas.

David James - also known as David James Fritch - is a classical pop singer with a rich voice. David has long had a love of music and has been performing with groups since elementary school. He performed the title roles of 'Joseph' in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and 'Adam' in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". David has been a featured soloist for over ten thousand attendees at the Manti Pageant and shared his musical talents with international audiences.

David provides a powerful, yet peaceful rendition of traditional and contemporary Christ focused selections, and was involved with the orchestral and choral arrangements on this album.

Michael Dowdle (http://www.michaeldowdle.com ) produced the album and provided two of the arrangements. Michael has recorded thousands of sessions for artists and companies, averaging 250 sessions a year in all styles of music.

Dean Kaelin (http://www.deankaelin.com), one of the few Seth Riggs associates of Speech Level Singing in the world and David's vocal coach, composed and provided the piano accompaniment for "God's Gift of Love".

David teamed up with David Huntsinger (http://www.huntsingermusic.com), who arranged and co-produced the recent Grammy Award winning hymns release by well-known television star, Andy Griffith, to provide three contemporary arrangements for this album - "How Far is it to Bethlehem?", "Gabriel's Message with Gloria and Magnificat", and " It Was a Starry Night".

Maryanne Munk provided editorial music review and a new arrangement of "In the Bleak Midwinter" for this album. She studied piano and composition since the age of seven and majored in music at Brigham Young University.

Also featured on the album is Sarah Kaelin Wirthlin who performs a duet with David on "It Was a Starry Night". Sarah has been singing since the age of two. She has starred in many theatrical productions, recently playing Belle in "Beauty and the Beast". Sarah attended the American Music and Dramatic Academy for Musical Theater, and afterward toured with the National Touring Company of "OKLAHOMA!"

Daniel G Fritch oversaw production and the remaining arrangements. Daniel produced his first arrangement in high school and obtained a minor in music as a part of his Bachelor of Science degree. More recently, Daniel has been studying music composition and orchestration with fellow members of the Seattle Composers Alliance. This album is the first time his music has been released.

David James

A Christmas Tale

Artist link

Track List