Our Review
I judge Christmas music by how it makes me feel. Braintree's Amid the Winter Snow makes me feel happy and at peace. It is a beautifully mysterious sound, which opens with a wondrously haunting arrangement of Deck the Halls.
The style could be described as either new age, electronica, or acoustic. The work combines elements of all three. Although it isn't clear from the liner notes, Alan Stewart and Todd Keenhold have apparently combined acoustic instruments with electronic accompaniment. The result is a soothing blend of flavors, with no single element able to overpower the others.
Their new Christmas composition, A Christmas Canon, is a lightly serious piece which doesn't make its appearance until the very end, following one of the best arrangements on the record, O Christmas Tree.
It would be very easy to leave this CD in the changer throughout the holiday season. The arrangements are appealing, the musicianship is first rate, and the recording resonates throughout.
--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2000)
No More
Braintree
Amid the Winter Snow
Artist link
Label: Braintree
Length: 43 minutes
Genre: New Age
Release: 1999
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Deck the Halls |
| Pachelbel's Canon |
| See Amid the Winter Snow |
| Joy to the World |
| It Came Upon a Midnight Clear |
| Coventry Carol |
| Angels from the Realms of Glory |
| O Come Emmanuel |
| I Saw Three Ships |
| Away in a Manger |
| We Three Kings |
| The Holly and the Ivy |
| Greensleeves |
| Good King Wenceslas |
| Silent Night |
| The First Nöel |
| I Wonder as I Wander |
| O Christmas Tree |
| A Christmas Canon |
| We Wish You a Merry Christmas |