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Our Review

Many Moods of Christmas is an instrumental album that is all flutes, all the time. Linn Kezer and Jessica Summerville play C flutes, alto flutes, E flat flutes, piccolos, and even bass flutes. The album is filled with glorious flute duets of every sort, and the two women definitely make beautiful music together!

The album's title is certainly accurate--Many Moods of Christmas covers just about every sentiment, from staid classical stylings to convivial frivolity (try saying THAT ten times fast!). So if you wrongly believe that Kezer and Summerville are just involved in some stuffy, classical affair, listen closely to the crazy, discordant "Jingle Bells" and the sweetly uplifting "Up On the Housetop." With 24 pieces packed into 40 minutes, each song must be relatively short (most are well under two minutes each); this allows for tremendous variety and versatility in one album. If you long for straightforward interpretations of classic ancient carols, Kezer and Summerville have them for you. If you seek a great mix of tempos, blending the sacred with the secular and the reverent with the whimsical, this is it.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2005)

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From the liner notes:

The Performers

Linn Kezer and Jessica Summerville have played together for several years in the Woodbridge Flute Choir, the WyndSong Flute Quartet, and various other small ensembles. The inspiration for this CD came about in 2003 when they played these very same pieces for Linn's office holiday party. They were very well received with a few people suggesting that they should make a CD. So here it is. They hope you enjoy listening to it as much as they have enjoyed making it.

Linn Kezer began her music career in the U.S. Army Band program with the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) Band at Fort Carson, CO. She studied voice at Armstrong State College in Savannah, GA. Linn performs vocally and on flute throughout Northern Virginia. She is a long-time member of the Woodbridge Flute Choir; plays flutes and sings with Stringer Folk - an Irish, Canadian, and American folk group; and is the leader of WyndSong Flute Quartet. Linn has studied flute with Rebecca Jeffreys and performed in master classes for Rebecca Jeffreys, Per Oien, and Chris Potter. She is active in the music program at her church and has played and sung as a soloist in several area churches. She has also sung the National Anthem for the Potomac Cannons and the George Mason Patriots.

Jessica Summerville began playing the flute at age 10 while growing up in Williamsburg, VA. She later attended the University of Michigan where she pursued degrees in Music and Mathematics, eventually opting for a math career while continuing to play flute on the side. Afterwards, she received a masters degree in Applied Math from the College of William and Mary and has since worked as a Statistical Analyst and Manager for Northrop Grumman in Chantilly, VA. Jessica currently enjoys playing in the Woodbridge Flute Choir and the City of Fairfax Band in addition to various small ensemble and solo opportunities. She especially enjoys any opportunity to play bass flute! Her newest endeavor is exploring the world of traditional music on Irish flute, attending workshops in various parts of the world, as well as local sessions throughout the DC area. Jessica currently lives in Springfield, VA with her two fat and happy cats, Tux and Pugsley.

The Music

In 1984 Ricky Lombardo published his arrangements of eleven familiar Christmas carols for flute duet in a collection called "The Many Moods of Christmas." The book was published by ALRY Publications in Charlotte, NC, and has been quite popular. In 1985 Ricky published eleven more of his arrangements of carols and called the collection "The Many Moods of Christmas-Book 2," also published by ALRY. In 1996 he published his arrangements of fifteen Christmas carols from the United States, England, France, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Norway. By this time he had his own publishing company and "International Duets for Christmas" was published by Lombardo Music Publications in Trenton, NJ. These delightful books are available directly from the publishers or your favorite flute music reseller.

Although Ricky Lombardo arranged these duets for two C Flutes, Linn and Jessica have chosen to use various combinations of Piccolo, Eb Flute, C Flute, Alto Flute, and Bass Flute. They have transposed some pieces to better suit the selected instrumentation, and to some they have added repeats to lengthen the beautiful arrangements.

All arrangements by Ricky Lombardo

Linn Kezer & Jessica Summerville

Many Moods of Christmas

Artist link

Track List