Expatriate New Orleans composer and pianist Richard Carr couldn’t have cooked up a more appropriate set of Christmas music if he had come to my table and taken my order. His latest seasonal release Christmastide, Christmas Around the World is tastefully garnished and served over easy, with all the fixings. In addition to a number of well-placed favorites, his offering is leavened with several new seasonal numbers unfamiliar to me. Not only was I grateful that these selections had no umlauts, tildes, acute accents or grave (that so often mar my data entry experience), they consistently delivered uniquely pleasurable musical experiences. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful Polish melody Mizerna Cicha (Only a Manger Bed). Carr’s play is rich, textured, soft-spoken and elegant. Listening to it puts me in a very peaceful place. Christmastide is warm and sweet, without ever becoming syrupy or tepid. This is no mean feat with holiday music, which too often lends itself to the manufacture of homilies and false cheer.
Richard Banks, ChristmasReviews.com
I must tell you…from Joy To The World all the way to your original composition Drifting Snow…this is a wonderful album to play during the holiday season.
Eric Cohen, WAER Radio, Syracuse, NY
Return to Christmastide album page
