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I love a cappella music; the unadorned human voice is a glorious instrument. Here, Tina Lambert's An A Cappella Noel builds upon that theme. This album is all about Lambert, a life-long singer and lover of holiday tunes. Originally conceived as a "practice CD" to assist the family as they headed out caroling, the offering features Lambert "magically" singing all the parts. She's a heavenly harmonizer.

The album contains a dozen familiar carols and finishes in just 28 minutes. Even so, Lambert makes the limited time count--she sings with crystalline clarity and abundant sincerity. Of course, the various vocal parts blend seamlessly; after all, the voices all belong to Lambert.

An A Cappella Noel was produced in North Canton, Ohio, just a stone's throw from where I grew up. This naturally makes me think about my childhood home and Christmases from long ago, when groups of us used to go out caroling, too. Unfortunately, nobody in our group had Lambert's vocal chops--we would have benefited greatly from her "practice CD" (not that CDs were around in that era, but you get the picture).

If you're interested in having a homey little album that celebrates the cult of the caroler in a lovely, straightforward fashion, consider listening to Tina Lambert make digital magic on An A Cappella Noel. You'll want her to stand on your door step all evening!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)

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From the liner notes:

Produced by Jeff Marginean
Executive Producers: Jeff Marginean & Tina Lambert
Production Assistant: Lisa Rizzo

From the artist's Website:

Born in Connecticut, Tina has been singing all of her life. Coming from a musical family, music was an important part of her life. Harmonizing came natural for her and so it wasn't long before she began singing in adult groups as a child. She sang in several sections, wherever needed: 1st and 2nd soprano and alto, and even tenor. After singing in many choral groups and church choirs as both a group singer and soloist for several years, she began experimenting with digital music recording. Traditional church hymns, especially those about Christmas, are one of her favorite styles of music. When her sister told her that she wanted to go Christmas caroling in 2001, Tina decided to make a practice CD containing her sister's song choices. It was a difficult and interesting project where Tina sang several tracks of all the various parts of each Christmas carol without any musical accompaniment. This practice CD was named An A Cappella Noel and was used the night that her sister and sister's kids as well as mother went Christmas caroling door to door on a very chilly night. Years later, this CD was given as a gift to her husband's father, who passed it along to Jeff Marginean at JEMAR Entertainment and Frog & Scorpion Records. To make a long story short Jeff contacted Tina and wanted to produce the Project and Voila! Here it is and we all hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas!

Tina Lambert

An A Cappella Noel

Artist link

Track List