by Carol Wright
Pianist and composer Robin Spielberg has arranged traditional Christmas carols and four original holiday tunes with both sparkling originality and sublime innocence. &Jolly Old St. Nicholas& springs alive with sleighbells, while the whispering voice and subtle synth strings on the Spielberg's title track captures the stillness and peace of a moonlit snowfield. &Hark! The Herald Angels Sing& and &God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen& (usually performed with gusto) each receive a gentle, starlit performance, while &Christmas Day in the Morning& and &We Wish You a Merry Christmas& prance and stomp with Medieval gaity. &Amazing Grace/Silent Night& is introduced a Celtic framework, then Spielberg presents the two classics with amazing simplicity. If you pay attention, you'll notice how few notes populate most of Spielberg's arrangements; it takes a special artist to give a commanding presence to just the essence. Spielberg can do it. This album should be a lovely addition to your holiday music collection.