Elliott Music Studio

12.13.2009

Quote of the Week "Oh! Lovely voices of the sky..."

Oh! lovely voices of the sky

Which hymned the Saviour's birth,

Are ye not singing still on high,
Ye that sang, "Peace on earth"?

~Felicia Hemans

12.10.2009

Top 50 Contemporary Christian Christmas Songs

I am becoming more savy this year when it comes to contemporary Christmas music and the Top 50 list from Musicnotes.com blog has been a great help. I have been working on a few new songs this year for our contemporary worship at One Spirit UMC as well. Here are five of my new favorites from the list.

4.All is Well by Michael W. Smith

29.Mary, Did you Know? by Kathy Mattea and several others

32.O Come, O Come Emmanuel by BarlowGirl, Steven Curtis Chapman and more!

42.The Christmas Shoes by NewSong

49.Unto Us (Isaiah 9) by Sandi Patty

For the complete list of 50 songs see the musicnotes.com blog.

I can't wait to hear about your favorites. Please share in the comments.

12.09.2009

A Caroling We Will Go - "Silent Night"

I have fallen in love with Sixpence None The Richer's album "The Dawn of Grace" which features eight Christmas classics and two original recordings for the season. I have chosen "Silent Night" Featuring Dan Haseltine from Jars Of Clay for this week's Wednesday video. The amazingly cute animated video is a cool bonus. I have found a great arrangement of "Silent Night" for my own recording project and hope to put it on Youtube soon. Enjoy!

12.08.2009

A Caroling We Will Go - "Drummer Boy"

I am kicking off my first ever "A Caroling We Will Go" series for the seasons of Advent and Epiphany. So, from now until mid January I will be sharing with you some of my favorite carols from various artists. Our first one comes from a live performance of "Drummer Boy" by Jars of Clay. This song and 14 others are available on Jars Of Clay's album "Christmas Songs". I love the use of mallet percussion constantly reminding the listener visually of the drum and the little boy going to visit Jesus in the Stable. For more information about the history of carols and your favorite carol check out this article. Enjoy!