No comments about Hanukkah Celebration.

No comments about Sweet Songs of Christmas.

No comments about Soothing Sounds.

No comments about Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure 2000.

2 comments about Celtic Myst.

1. This has to be one of the most vapid, puts you to sleep, albums I have ever heard! Granted the preson who does the vocals, has a nice, if boring and monotonous, voice and the person who plays the violin is good! But...every song sounds very similiar. And the woman who sings doesn't seem to sing very many different notes! And the violin music is also fairly monotonous!
   
   Obviously, I don't reccomend this CD. Celtic Muzak! Who Woulda Thunk It!



2. This music is soft and gentle, like lullabies, with birds twittering in the background. It is music that reminds you of looking out over a lake in the evening and watching the sunset. Certainly not up to standards of previous reviewer, judging by reviews.
   Would be great for putting children to sleep. I liked it. Very calming effect.

5 comments about Home for the Holidays.

1. This is an exquisite combination of classical and popular Christmas standards. The texture of the arrangements and quality of the recording make this album sound like you have three friends playing in your Music Room while you're in the kitchen baking. Highly recommended for children, for appreciating good sounds, and for adults, for a simple, basic lovely set of songs.



2. This is a wonderful CD. If you love chamber music, piano trios or just good Christmas music this one is highly recommended. I've had it for over a year now and have even secretly listened to it in the middle of the summer, just for the wonderful arrangements. So inventive. Love the sound they make.



3. The Eaken Piano Trio is a glorious combination of terrific talent! They play so well together, it is as if there are six hands, playing three different instruments with one mind. Try any recording you can find of this tremendous trio!



4. Simply wonderful with a continental, sophisticated and European flavor! Have images of entering the elegant lobby of some posh European hotel - like the Ritz on the Champs Elysee. The combination of piano, cello and violin are inspirational, meditative, and joyously reflective; and, resonate sounds from holidays past that need to be heard in the new millinneum!



5. The Eaken Trio, consisting of piano, cello and violin, is providing a soothing and unique holiday album with selections from classical and modern Christmas songs as well as some Chanukah melodies and a Chanukah medley. Each artist is a sensitive player, completely in sinc with their partners which makes for a beautiful CD. The arrangements are terrific. Those who celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas in their families will enjoy this CD, and you could even find December wedding music on this album. There are both secular and sacred melodies here and I am enjoying all of them.

No comments about Lights: Music for Chanukah.

1 comments about Traditional Jewish Songs.

1. I bought this cd for my father as a birthday present. He loved it! It contains many melodies that he heard growing up in Brooklyn New York. Many of the songs are associated with weddings and bar mitzvahs; times when the family would come together and celebrate. It brought backa lot of good memories of all of us sitting around and listening.

2 comments about Shine Little Candles: Chanukah Songs for Children.

1. Really REALLY enjoyed this CD! Nice mix of English, Yiddish, Ladino, Hebrew - all with transliterations as well as verses in English. Melodies are fun and singable, all very different and nicely put together so you get a nice "flow" as you listen to the whole thing. Buchman's instrumentation is simple, mostly nylon-strung guitar and some violin and accordion and bells, but have an intimate cozy feel to them. Use of children's voices is just right. Dreydl songs, latke songs, party songs, and the story of Chanukah all rolled into one CD. Bonus: you can sing along with the candle blessings on track 4 if you don't know them well yourself. If you only get one Chanukah CD for your kids (or you), this should be it!



2. I bought this CD to be able to "teach" my daughter the blessings and the classic songs "Maoz Tsur" and "Hanerot Halaluh". I got a lot more than I had bargained for. We thoroughly enjoy hearing the story of Chanukah told by delightful characters such as the "candle" and the "gelt". And we have the added bonus of learning a little Yiddish and Ladino, too.
   If I see something similar for Passover or the high holidays, I will buy it immediately. Lots of fun and the perfect way to teach Kindergarten kids.

5 comments about Vol. 2 - Festival of Light.

1. Aha! A Hanukkah CD that's fresh, eclectic, and not too folksy-sappy. This is an enchanting, original combination of music styles to enhance the Festival of Light. In particular, "La Mujer de Terah," a Sephardic selection, was astoundingly beautiful. My only regret is that some of the songs don't have a more obvious connection to Hanukkah.



2. Well put together and a definite improvement on the original Festival of Lights CD. However, I don't think the Might Be Giants song is appropriate for this CD. Having a Jewish mother and a Catholic father I have come to appreciate my exposure to Jewish music. I believe that CD's like this are 'a good start' when compared to Christian music CD's like WOW 2000, which is better.



3. Many seem to feel that this second volume in the Festival of Light series is not as good as the first. I do not agree, and in some ways I think it is actually stronger. Le'Eyla's opening track, "Haneros Halallu," is all I need to play to put me in the mood for Chanukah. A beautiful melody for this traditional prayer, I find myself playing it over and over. Neshama Carlebach's "A Love Trancsending" is another beautiful tune, haunting and moving. They Might Be Giants, an always quirky and offbeat group, give their take on the holiday with the wry "Feast of Lights," and it always makes me smile. Israeli vocalist Chava Alberstein is a standout with the Klezmatics on the Yiddish "I'm Going to Take Off My Shoes." As with the first CD in the series, the musical styles presented are varied, but they are all interesting and fun. Again, this is a great CD for getting into a Chanukah mood or frame of mind. As a bonus, it may expose the listener to some new or unfamiliar artists on the Jewish music scene.



4. What an excellent CD! I'm not even officially Jewish [only 1/8th on my dad's side] but I keep the promise & the flame in my heart as well. What I like most about this Hanukkah CD is that it travels the globe with taste & style. Neshama Carlebach is simply exquisite-- her father would have been so proud; Dave Koz, smooth as usual; Continuo with those Turkish/Sephardic melodies & vocals by Berta Aguado BLOWS ME AWAY on La Mujer de Terah-- WOW! I could live without Peter Himmelman, but with art, like life, you get everything... including a little comedy relief from They Might Be Giants [Adam Sandler might have done equally as well in that slot...] Frank London with or without his Big Band is AWESOME-- Song of Praise is both solemn & dreamy. These are just the highlights folks! Get this CD!! From start to finish it's wonderful!



5. Since the first "Festival of Lights" was one of the more unique, inspired and inspiring Holiday albums, I eagerly picked this one up this past Hannukah (I don't know how it got by me these past seven years). I'll have to live with it a while. On first listen, it doesn't seem to approach the original, a tough act to follow after all. However, I must say that Peter Himmelman's "In the Embryo of Silence" is absolutely awful. It reminded me of one of those old National Lampoon parodies of, in this case, Dylan. And then, there was another track that used Hannukah/harmonica, a rhyme forever owned by Adam Sandler. I guess I'll just program the good stuff, or better yet, compilate the best of both albums.