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Truth be known, I listen to a lot more Christmas music as a music critic than I do simply as an interested listener. Which is a shame, really, and a sad admission to make, especially here! But of the much smaller subset of Christmas CDs I'll listen to when I'm off work, Noel Lester's A Christmas Fantasy is one I enjoy regularly and one I've even thought about more than once during the off-season.

So, how pleased do you think I was when I received word that Dr. Lester had released a second CD of Christmas music? My excitement meter, on a scale of 1 to 10, was cranked up to 11 (as Spinal Tap Nigel so brilliantly understood it). That tortured reference behind us, I'll explain what I so enjoyed about A Christmas Fantasy and now A Classical Christmas.

When I hear Noel Lester, I hear a man who takes obvious pleasure in his play, pleasure unambiguously conveyed by high-energy, enthusiastic performances. He has the ability to convey a level of passion in his performances that completely won me over the first time I heard him. But his first CD was mostly modern carols and popular songs. I was a little concerned that he might have left his enthusiasm at home when he recorded his latest set, a set where there are no song writers in the mix, only composers.

But I shouldn't have worried: Dr. Lester has no trepidation about turning up the the intensity on these time-honored, staid classical works to a Nigel-pleasing 11. His performance of classic works has the same energy and passion as his earlier performance of holiday favorites. His ability to convey warmth and emotion through changes in tempo and volume are just as evident on this recording as on his first.

But there is something else: Dr. Lester does not play with a light touch. While he can play both soft and loud, the variation is always from strong to stronger, with his fingers producing a raw, percussiveness approaching the register of barrelhouse jazz piano. I like his style a lot.

The collection--15 classical works, comprising 23 CD tracks--is remarkable for a few of its more unusual selections. In addition to the usual Nutcrackers and Pastorales are quite a good many compositions one does not usually hear, even on classical recordings. My favorite unfamiliar was Tchaikovsky's delightful Christmas, though it was challenged by Sergei Bortkovich's Sleigh Drive (as good a musical metaphor for a downhill ride on a sleigh as there could be). Also of interest was the pensive and dramatic Pastorale (on the Angel Is From Heaven), by Ernö Dohnányi. Easily over half of these tracks are not on anyone's seasonal playlists, quite a relief to your humble spirit guide.

I liked everything on this recording, and I'm looking forward to hearing the next installment in the series.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2004)

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From the liner notes:

Recorded August, 2003, Michael Christopher Productions, Maryland.

Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, mastered by Dan Cassin, Yamaha piano.

Tracks 20 and 21 recorded at Peabody Conservatory of Music, Baltimore, Maryland, Steinway piano.

Cover art: Moon Over Friedrich, original watercolor by Barry D. Richardson.

Graphic design by Charlie Lester. Produced by Noel Lester.

This recording is dedicated to Homer Carhart, without whose support this project would not have been possible.

Noel Lester

A Classical Christmas

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Track List