Tag: Christmas Romance

Do You Hear What I Hear? (piano solo)

Christmas Romance - Jim BrickmanOn this Christmas Eve 2020, I’m embracing a more relaxed and quiet evening than last year. 2019 was the year I was cast in an elaborate and beautifully staged production of a Christmas pageant called “The Majesty of Christmas” at Six Flags in Eureka, MO.  There were twelve performers including the main characters of the Christmas story and live animals including six cuddly looking sheep, a temperamental donkey, and Clarence the camel.

We performed 3-4 shows a day every weekend starting the weekend of Thanksgiving and then everyday during school Christmas break except for Christmas Eve & Day, and all the way to New Year’s Day. This was the most performance I’ve done for a show in my career. It was close to 50 shows and my voice stayed strong in singing 1st Soprano, until I got sick with a cold then flu and missed one day of shows.

What a stark contrast Christmas 2020 has been with almost no live shows except for “live on-line.” While tonight is not the traditional Christmas Eve I’m accustomed to, I’m embracing this time to reflect and treasure the true meaning of Christmas. Instead of rushing to get ready to perform, I can be still and pause with my heart filled with Joy for the birth of My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who is the reason my family and I celebrate Christmas, along with others who believe in Jesus Christ as the begotten Son of God who came to be the Savior of the World.

As I reflect on Matthew 1-2, with my Christmas playlist in the background, Jim Brickman’s contemplative piano solo recording of this song allows me to sing along and imagine the time when the Wise Men came to visit the baby Jesus.

Matthew 2:10-11 English Standard Version (ESV)

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ESV

Listen on Spotify if you’re a subscriber or YouTube. This is the Dec. 24 Song Blog from (my) Julie-Ann Joy’s 2020 Christmas Playlist. Check back everyday until New Year’s Day as I add another song to my playlist.

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What Child Is This?

This week I’m blogging about songs that focus on the meaning and reason Christmas is celebrated by Christians around the world. Christmas Romance - Jim Brickman

Greensleeves is a traditional English folk song that dates back to 1500. The writer of this song is unknown. Today, the tune of this song is associated with the Christmas hymn “What Child Is This?” The hymn text is part of a Christmas poem written by William Dix called “The Manger Throne.”

This arrangement begins with the chorus or refrain played by the harp. The harp is a stringed musical instrument that was popular in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance Period, around the same time this English Folk Tune became popular. This recording highlights the ethereal sound of the harp and I’m imagining angels singing “This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing…” The harp and piano playing beautifully and blending to create a delightful and heavenly sound together.

Listen on Spotify if you’re a subscriber or YouTube.

Chorus:
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.

Stanza 1
What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?

Stanza 2
Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here, the silent Word is pleading.

Stanza 3
So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh, come, peasant, king, to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone him.

This is the Dec. 20 Song Blog from (my) Julie-Ann Joy’s 2020 Christmas Playlist. Check back everyday until New Year’s Day as I add another song to my playlist.

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We Wish You A Merry Christmas

All my Christmas cards are sent and it’s ten (10) days until Christmas. As the countdown starts and we begin greeting each other with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” here’s what I’ve gathered about the origins of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” Christmas Romance - Jim Brickman

While the writers are unknown for this universal Christmas greeting, Arthur Warrell is given credit for its world-wide popularity. This song was performed by carolers in the Victorian Era. Carolers were a group or ensemble of singers who went to the homes of wealthy families singing Christmas songs (carols) door-to-door. Traditionally, they were rewarded with dessert treats after their performance.

Filipinos love music and singing. When I was a child, my Mom was the Choir Director of our church choir. During the week of Christmas, my Mom brought our church choir to homes of church members who hosted a gathering and enjoyed having traditional Christmas carols performed in their homes. I remembered tagging along with my parents and eating all night long at different homes because the host homes didn’t only reward the choir with dessert treats but a whole meal!

In Jim Brickman’s solo piano recording of this Christmas Carol, he performs several variations of the song infused with improvisational jazz elements that gives a little more sparkle to the melody. Listen on Spotify if you’re a subscriber or YouTube.

This is the Dec. 15 Song Blog from (my) Julie-Ann Joy’s 2020 Christmas Playlist. Check back everyday until New Year’s Day as I add another song to my playlist.

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Winter Wonderland

This holiday song was written by American conductor, pianist and composer Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith in 1934. Jim Brickman’s arrangement and performance starts dreamy and mystical in a slow tempo, and then the tempo picks up into a lyrical song, which I often join in and sing. Christmas Romance - Jim Brickman

While living in the Philippines as a child, my sisters and I enjoyed singing “walking in a winter wonderland” complete with arm & hand gestures. So just imagine our delight when we first experienced SNOW! We couldn’t help singing “Winter Wonderland” as we jumped, played, and crashed in a bed of snow for the first time. To this day, I burst out singing this song whenever I go for a walk around my neighborhood after a snow storm, and I make the first snow tracks.

You can listen on Spotify if you’re a subscriber or YouTube. This is the Dec. 10 Song Blog from (my) Julie-Ann Joy’s 2020 Christmas Playlist. Check back everyday until New Year’s Day as I add another song to my playlist.

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I’ll Be Home For Christmas

Here’s the piano solo rendition of another Christmas classic. It is said that lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent wrote this song for the soldiers overseas longing to be home for Christmas. It was first recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943 in the midst of World War II. This song peaked to No. 3 in the billboard charts that year.

For almost twenty years I only saw my family at Christmas and this song was meaningful the year I decided to spend time with my family in January instead of Christmas to celebrate my grandfather’s 100th Birthday. Christmas Romance - Jim Brickman

That was the first Christmas I spent alone and it was a somber day. Thankfully, my voice teacher at the time invited me to join her family for Christmas lunch, at their magnificent home in Rockport, MA overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Listen to Jim’s sweet and gentle performance of this song on Spotify if you’re a subscriber or YouTube. This is the Dec. 5 song of the day from (my) Julie-Ann Joy’s 2020 Christmas Playlist. Check back everyday until New Year’s Day as I add another song to my playlist.

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Silver Bells (solo piano)

First recorded and popularized by legendary Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in 1950, this song made its cinematic debut in the movie “The Lemon Drop Kid” with entertainer and comedian Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell singing the song.

Christmas Romance - Jim BrickmanThis Christmas Classic is in my playlist as an instrumental version recorded by Jim Brickman in his album “Christmas Romance.” He is an American pianist and songwriter known for his solo piano compositions. Released in 2008, when I was still living in Boston, MA, this CD was a musical gift from Pam, one of my dear friends.

This arrangement brings together the piano and accompanying instruments into a cool, jazzy, dreamlike recording that paints a winter wonderland picture in my mind. This is my first and only CD from another prolific composer whose career spans more than two decades. Listen to this winter wonderland rendition of “Silver Bells” on Spotify if you’re a subscriber, or the full album on YouTube.

This is the 11/28/20 song of the day from (my) Julie-Ann Joy’s 2020 Christmas Playlist. Check back everyday until New Year’s Day as I add another song to my playlist.

WELCOME | ABOUT | JAMM | LOVING YOU | ORDER CDs | SILVER BELLS

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