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Wow. If you favor the warm, simple stylings of nylon strings bringing a huge array (28 cuts over nearly an hour) of Christmas classics to life, then you should give Greg Askins' A Classical Guitar Holiday an enormous hug. Instrumental seasonal music rarely gets better than this.

Keep in mind that Askins' presentation is stately, never raucous, and conveys a gentle intimacy throughout. His song selection is stellar, beginning with a personal favorite (I Saw Three Ships) and providing relatively short exposures of numerous traditional carols, both religious and secular, as well as a few classical gems. The tone is subdued, but never boring, and the overall feeling is mellow and welcoming.

Picking a "greatest hit" among such consistently well-performed tracks is virtually impossible. Still, I suppose that I especially enjoyed the delicate intricacy of Tchaikovsky's The Walz of the Flowers, which is the album's longest cut (4:27). The guitar's impressive staccato voice on Silent Night caught my attention, too. Atkins' first-class musicianship shines on every piece.

Greg Askins' A Classical Guitar Holiday is a classic seasonal offering with broad appeal. It is perfect mood music for a contemplative evening before the fire or at any holiday gathering with family and friends. Enjoy!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2006)

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Greg Askins

A Classical Guitar Holiday

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Track List