2. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
3. What Child Is This?
4. Magnificat
5. How Suddenly A Baby Cries
6. Joy Has Dawned/Angels We Have Heard On High
7. Jesus Joy Of The Highest Heaven
8. Carol Of The Bells
9. O Savior Of Our Fallen Race
10. Fullness Of Grace
11. Joy To The World (finale)
12. An Irish Christmas Blessing
AMAZON
CHRISTIAN BOOK
ARTIST SITE
Among the foremost practitioners of the "modern hymn" movement are Keith & Kristyn Getty, a married couple from Ireland now living and creating their music in America. Partly in celebration of the birth of their first child, the couple decided to create a Christmas album. About half the songs on "Joy-An Irish Christmas" are the old carols while the other half are newly written pieces.
I'm not about to run out and buy up all of the Getty family's modern hymn albums. But, as you might expect, this sort of thing works really well with Christmas music. Really well. And all the more so with the Irish flavor the couple adds in to the mix. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", as interpreted here, is quite dynamic and joyous. And Irish! In many more traditional arrangements, the song is much more somber--sometimes to the point of being depressing. This album might be worth it for that track alone. But everything else hit just the right notes as well.
Whether turning an ancient carol into a modern Irish jig, or spinning a beautiful original ballad, Keith & Kristyn Getty have crafted a truly magnificent holiday album. About the only song that didn't click with me was "Jesu Joy Of The Highest Heaven". But that was more than made up for by a trio of absolutely stunning originals--"How Suddenly A Baby Cries", "Fullness Of Grace" and "An Irish Christmas Blessing".
The Getty's are even offering up a free download of their medley of "Joy Has Dawned" and "Angels We Have Heard On High" (which, ironically, is my second least favorite track on the album...but free is free). Just hit the little downward arrow on the Soundcloud widget above. Or head to Soundcloud yourself to pick it up. And just make sure to check out all the clips (available on the Getty's web site) before deciding whether or not "Joy-An Irish Christmas" is for you. You might be surprised. I was.