In The Bleak Midwinter By James Michael Stevens

 

In The Bleak Midwinter

 By

James Michael Stevens

Written by

Andy Rogers

James Michael Stevens is a pianist, composer and arranger from Nashville, Tennessee.  A prolific performer and composer, he has a large and very successful back-catalogue of albums and is currently accruing over 75,000 listens per month on Spotify.

This new release sees James turn his attention to Christmas and consists of his own take on 12 seasonal favourites for solo piano: most are very familiar to us all but there are one two surprises in there too.

The album starts with the title track “In the Bleak Midwinter”. James has opted for the Gustav Holst tune rather than the one by Harold Darke. The familiar tune is played in a soothing calm way along with some lovely variations, and it is clear already that this album is no straightforward run through of those old much loved tunes, instead we have a collection of personal interpretations of the music.

“Ukrainian Bell Carol” (aka “Carol of the bells”) is a beautiful version of the well-known tune, taken at a slower pace than usual and I must say is all the better for it. Just lovely.

“Away in a Manger” is a carol known to us all from our school-days and James evokes that sense of childlike wonder with a softly played version that stays true to the original.

Next up is the longest track on the album. Beginning and ending with “O Holy Night” it segues cleverly into a version of “Holy Holy Holy” before returning to “O Holy Night” to end the track. A very unusual idea but it works beautifully.

It wouldn’t be a Christmas album without “Silent Night” and James does not disappoint with his version. The familiar tune is lovingly played with variations and embellishments plus a few unusual harmonies that work perfectly.

Track 6,”Sing We Now of Christmas” starts with the tune we all know before James takes it to new places with musical bridges and a wonderful arrangement of the melody.

The next track was new to me; "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne" is a hymn written in 1864, reflecting on the humility of Jesus' birth.  A gorgeous tune given a suitably melodic simple rendition.

“Still Still Still” is the popular Austrian Christmas carol & lullaby and as such is played in a gentle and calming manner with little or no extemporising. This may just be my favourite track on the album.

Up next is “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”. This carol is sung to a great many tunes and I thought I had heard most of them but this was a new tune to me… it has elements of “Joy to the World” and yet is definitely not that tune. Nonetheless, it is rather lovely and of course it’s exquisitely played here.

Track 10 “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” is a carol dating back to the 17^th Century. James gives the old tune a simple harmonious treatment that suits the atmosphere of the music perfectly.

The penultimate tune here is “The First Noel” played with a beautiful arrangement by James that takes the familiar old carol to a new place without losing the feel of the much-loved piece.  

Finally we come to “Auld Lang Syne”, the classic Robert Burns tune sung to say farewell to the old year and welcome in the new. Softly and reflectively played it is the perfect end to the album.

This is an album for those people looking to celebrate Christmas & the Holidays without the razzmatazz and over commercialisation that has swamped the season. This beautiful calm piano album is perfect to play at home with the lights on the tree, a candle or two and perhaps a glass of something festive to savour as we reflect on what this magical time of year is supposed to be about.