2. Silent Night
3. Panis Angelicus
4. Ding Dong Merrily
5. Angels We Have Heard
6. Bach/Gounod, Ave Maria
7. Sylvian Joululaulu
8. Jul,Jul,Strålande Jul
9. När Det Lider Mot Jul
10. Sancta Lucia
11. Away In A Manger
12. När Juldagsmorgon Glimmar
13. Ser Du Stjärnan I Det Blå (When You Wish Upon A Star)
14. Gläns Över Sjö Och Strand
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Linda Lampenius is a Finish violin player. She's played both Classical and Pop styles and has often incorporated rock, celtic, jazz and folk influences in her classical playing. Still, she's likely best known by her stage name of Linda Brava and for posing in Playboy back in 1998. That's right. Playboy. In addition to her music, Linda Lampenius has also managed careers in modeling and acting--appearing in the pages of Elle, GQ, Maxim, Esquire, and the aforementioned Playboy, among others. She also appeared in a single episode of "Baywatch". This Christmas cover doesn't do her justice; she's really quite striking. But, back to the music, she's also extremely talented. And I mean extremely. I've never heard anyone make a violin sing--or weep, or laugh--the way Linda can.
I'm not very much of a classical music buff, but there are a few artists in the genre that I absolutely adore and this is one of them. Most classical music, to me, sounds rather stiff and emotionless, overwrought. Imagine if every artist who sang Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" sang it exactly the same way, at the same tempo and with the same arrangement. Oh, it already sounds that way to you? Then you know how most classical music sounds to me. But when Linda Brava plays, she puts her heart and soul into the music. It sounds fresh and full of passion. And it helps that she's not afraid to try something a little different. Case in point....
There's currently one track from the forthcoming album featured on Linda's MySpace page. For the most part, Linda's rendition of "Panis Angelicus" is straight forward enough, Linda's violin rising from from the harmony of a string quartet and then the gentleness of the interplay with a harp. Finally, halfway through, a single muted horn joins in--playing a counter line, complete with subtle jazz flourishes. I think its amazing.
The rest of "Angels" features traditional carols from many countries, including America, arranged for solo violin, string quartet, harp, guitar, and female choir. Among the remaining tracks are Linda's takes on "Ave Maria", "O Holy Night", "Away In A Manger", "Sancta Lucia", "Jul, jul, strålande jul", "När det lider mot jul", "Sylvian joululaulu", and"Ding Dong Merrily On High".