Top Picks: Our staff selects the best of holiday music
Christmas choir
Italian heartthrob was a contralto in the fabled Sistine Chapel Choir, one of the world鈥檚 oldest choirs, whose purpose is to uphold the highest standard for religious music. The arrangements on Ave Maria were composed especially for the choir and have never been recorded or sung by anyone else. Four of these works are by two choirmasters/composers 鈥� Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci and Padre Giovanni Maria Catena 鈥� whom Grig貌lo knew personally.
Family warmth
, the enfant terrible of Britain鈥檚 1980s new wave music invasion, continues to write and record witty and winning songs. His first holiday-themed album, Quality Street, is warmhearted and folksy, like the man himself. In this collection, Lowe has penned a few new songs that, if anybody鈥檚 listening, should become holiday classics. 鈥淚 Was Born in Bethlehem鈥� features a quiet but compelling Jesus describing the night he was born in touching detail. Prepare to be moved, in heart and soul.
Glittery starlight
On her debut Christmas album, Wrapped in Red, the first 鈥� and still the best 鈥� 鈥淎merican Idol鈥� winner, , relies on the same kind of slick, radio-friendly production that has kept her hovering at the top of the charts for a decade, with mixed results. When she wants to be soulful, she sure can bring it. The Eagles鈥� 鈥淧lease Be Home for Christmas鈥� and the bluesy 鈥淓very Christmas鈥� are right in her Texas wheelhouse. But most of the album feels shiny and somewhat distant, like the star on top of the tree.
Cross-cultural holiday
Because violinist l鈥檚 late father was an Episcopal priest and his mother is Jewish, he wanted Musical Gifts from Joshua Bell and Friends to be a broader-than-usual holiday album. An admirer of classical wunderkind Jascha Heifetz, who recorded with icon Bing Crosby, Bell follows suit with an eclectic mix of collaborations with names from all over the musical landscape, such as Gloria Estefan, Alison Krauss, Kristin Chenoweth, Chick Corea, Ren茅e Fleming, Michael Feinstein, and Pl谩cido Domingo.
Childlike wonder
The Sounding Joy is a lively amalgam of folk carols drawn from Ruth Crawford Seeger鈥檚 1953 songbook, 鈥淎merican Folk Songs for Christmas.鈥� calls on a long list of musical friends to celebrate the heart of community and homespun traditions that existed in times before the commercialization of Christmas. Collaborators include Natalie Merchant, Aoife O鈥橠onovan, Amy Helm, John Sebastian, Dan Zanes, and Happy Traum.
In from the cold
Teaming with crooner Michael Bubl茅鈥檚 superproducer David Foster might seem like a weird choice for a singer with 鈥檚 R&B cred. But the yin and yang work beautifully on A Mary Christmas, with Blige鈥檚 rough-and-ready vocals sanding down the overly smooth surfaces of Foster鈥檚 arrangements. She breathes some genuine humanity into a familiar list of Christmas standards, giving 鈥淭he Little Drummer Boy鈥� a soulful lift and putting a sultry spin on 鈥淗ave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.鈥�
