Merrily On High is an exciting compilation of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany music for church, cathedral, school, youth and community choirs of 'upper voices' - trebles or sopranos and altos. Thirty pieces are included, eleven published for the first time. Contents include new settings and arrangements of familiar and lesser known carols, a 3-part Advent Responsory and Mark Blatchly's setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in B flat. Lyrics are in English, French, German, Latin and Polish. Includes invaluable historical and performance notes for each piece by Barry Rose.

Songlist: Adam Lay Ybounden, An Advent Responsory: I Look From Afar, Come, Thou Redeemer of Earth, Brightest and Best, A Child Is Born, Come, Watch With Us This Christmas Night, Down In Yon Forest, Fum, Fum, Fum, Gabriel's Message, Go, Tell It On The Mountain, When Christ Was Born of Mary Free, The Holly and the Ivy, How Far is it to Bethlehem?, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, Myn Lynking, No Room at the Inn, Now the Most High Is Born, O This Night is Born Noel, People, Look East, Two Polish Carols, Rejoice and be Merry, The Shepherd's Farewell, Say, Where is He Born?, Silent Night, Still, Still, Still, Sweet Was The Song, Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day, Torches!, Watts's Cradle Hymn, Whence is that Goodly Fragrance Flowing?

The Miracle of Christmas told by two narrators (one child, one adult) as they recount the miraculous events from scripture. Once Upon a Miracle includes beloved carols and newer songs of the season, including A Child Is Born by the late Joe E. Parks.

Songlist: Angels, from the Realms of Glory, Season Most Sacred, O Come, All Ye Faithful, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, A Child Is Born, Bright New Star, You Are the Light, Once upon a Miracle, Once upon a Miracle, Once upon a Miracle

Thad Jones, a wonderful writer, left us the beautiful, sensitive piece, 'A Child Is Born.' With all due respect to the music, the arrangement is simple, sparse and, of course, a cappella. Vocalists must work wholeheartedly with breathing, phrasing, matching of vowel shapes, cutoffs and impeccable dynamics. Ellen Hoffman's arrangement of 'A Song For Christmas' is a fun jazzy tune for all who love the season. A knockout amalgam of jazz waltz/traditional carol moves 'Carol of the Bells' along at a rocket pace with phrases alternating between straight 8th and swing, and harmonic content between jazz and traditional. The middle section of the piece offers a brief slowdown before returning to the fast-paced crescendo to the climax. With an uptempo swinging groove, a rockin solo and gorgeous background vocals, 'Merry Christmas Baby' is sure to be an audience pleaser at your holiday concert.

Songlist: A Child Is Born, A Song For Christmas, Carol of the Bells, Silent Night

Whether you're a karaoke singer or preparing for an audition, the Pro Vocal series is for you. The book contains the lyrics, melody, and chord symbols for eight classic songs. The CD contains demos for listening and separate backing tracks so you can sing along. The CD is playable on any CD, but it is also enhanced for PC and Mac computer users so you can adjust the recording to any pitch without changing the tempo! Perfect for home rehearsal, parties, auditions, corporate events, and gigs without a backup band.

Songlist: Body And Soul, A Child Is Born, For All We Know, Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?), My Foolish Heart, The Nearness of You, Night Song, Unforgettable

This huge songbook (672 pages!) features 151 standards that every musician should know! Each song is arranged for piano and voice with guitar chord frames. Songs include: All the Things You Are - At Last - Bridge over Troubled Water - City of Stars - Constant Craving - Crazy - Gabriel's Oboe - Hallelujah - Imagine - La Vie En Rose (Take Me to Your Heart Again) - My Heart Will Go on (Love Theme from 'Titanic') - Over the Rainbow - Perfect - River Flows in You - Shallow - Somewhere - Summertime - This Is Me - Time After Time - Wonderful Tonight - You Raise Me Up - and more. Listen to a Spotify playlist of all the songs from this book!

Songlist: Easy Living, Open Arms, Crazy, Good Night, Can You Feel The Love Tonight, Believe, Beautiful In My Eyes, You Belong To Me, Beauty And The Beast, The Colour Of My Love, At Last, Gabriel's Oboe, The Rose, Time After Time, Sway, Faithfully, If, Perfect, Hello, All I Ask Of You, All I Have To Do Is Dream, Change The World, Someone Like You, All Of Me, The Tracks Of My Tears, Ooo Baby Baby, Best Of My Love, All The Things You Are, All The Way, Somewhere, and more

The Real Vocal Book has many of the selections from volumes 1 and 2 of the instrumental Real Books, but now with the lyrics added to the pre-existing melody line. Nearly 300 essential songs compiled especially for singers.

Songlist: Agua De Beber, Alfie, Alice In Wonderland, All Alone (Left Alone), (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings, All Of Me, All Of You, All The Things You Are, Alright, Okay, You Win, Always, Angel Eyes, April In Paris, Are You Havin' Any Fun?, Autumn In New York, Autumn Leaves, Avalon, Azure, Baby, It's Cold Outside, Baltimore Oriole, Basin Street Blues, Bewitched, Beyond The Sea, Billie's Blues, Billie's Bounce, Birdland, The Birth of the Blues, Blame It on My Youth, Blue Skies, Bluesette, Body And Soul, and more

The 2011 Christmas Concert was the 85th annual and is one of the nation's most dramatic choral Christmas celebrations.

Songlist: Nimrod from Enigma Variations, In the Beginning, God, Thou Who Wast God, Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming, O Magnum Mysterium, A Child Is Born, Coventry Carol, The First Noel, Today Heaven Sings!, Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella, Let Our Gladness Have No End, The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy, Once In Royal David's City, Past Three A Clock, Away In A Manger, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, Shout The Glad Tidings, Patapan, Our Father, It Is Well With My Soul, Compline

We will never forget the way these two men and two women from Australia, members of Vocal Jazz group The Idea of North, whose reputation as the best a cappella group in Australia preceded them, strode onto the stage of the 2003 Harmony Sweeps National Finals in San Rafael. They would be the very last to perform a 12-minute set, and the regional winners from around the country, many of whom had performed to standing ovations by the sold-out audience, had set the bar incredibly high. But their first sweet notes were a revelation, and after ION's own roaring standing O, it was obvious to all who the audience favorite and National Champions were. There are 12 tunes here, some of our favorites are a bluesy, finger-popping take on "The Christmas Song," "Christmas Medley," which blends "Once in Royal David's City," "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" with innovative arrangements; a gentle lullaby new to our ears, "The Silver Stars are In the Sky" touched and moved us; "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, a big-band accompanied celebration; two Salsa band-accompanied versions of "Mary's Boy Child," one featuring James Morrison, and a pair of lovely, soaring, orchestra-accompanied songs, "Candlelight Carol" and "A Child is Born." The Pop-flavored title tune is also new to us, a joyous, Jazz band-accompanied greeting to the season. The a cappella "Angel" with its powerful "in the arms of the angel" chorus underscores the probable meanness of the nativity. We hold The Idea of North in a special place in our hearts and relate to "This Christmas" as a gift from this extraordinary quartet!

Songlist: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, The Christmas Song, Candlelight Carol, Mary's Boy Child, This Christmas, Angel, The Silver Stars are in the Sky, Once in Royal David's City, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, A Child Is Born, Poverty, I'll Be Home For Christmas

Just 4 Kicks : Joyful Noise   

Talented, highly-respected music industry educators and arrangers Kirby Shaw, Randy Crenshaw, Kirk Marcy and Vijay Singh were asked by a dear friend, the minister of music at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem, OR, if Just 4 Kicks would perform at an upcoming concert and service at St. Paul's. His parameters were simple: "It needs to be all sacred music, but it needs to be Just 4 Kicks!" The group decided to accept the opportunity as a chance for rejuvenation that it needed, and immediately the creative juices started flowing within the quartet. The event was a huge success, and soon the group found itself in the studio, recording a fresh new book of tunes. We can see from the song list, there's a lot of diversity in these 11 tunes, from the jazzy "Sermonette," scattish "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and "Come Sunday," to a Reggae-flavored, manic "Jesus Loves Me;" to a couple of Bob Dylan tunes, the bluesy "Gotta Serve Somebody" and the Reggae-arranged "Man Gave Names To All The Animals," there's lots of fun stuff here. Other favorites are a hip, finger-popping "Daniel in the Lion's Den," bluenote "A Child is Born," a foot-tapping Bluegrass take on "Walk On" and a hauntingly harmonic "A Quiet Place." We've always loved Just 4 Kicks, and we love this album-it's a great new direction for these talented men, and we look forward to hearing more inspirational, upbeat material like "Joyful Noise" from them!

Songlist: Sermonette, Gotta Serve Somebody, Jesus Loves Me, Come Thou, Almighty King, Jesus Loves the Little Children, Come Sunday, Man Gave Names to all the Animals, Daniel In the Lion's Den, A Child is Born, Walk On, A Quiet Place

Formed in 1982 by students of the esteemed director Phil Mattson, members of the P.M. Singers became identified with the Phil Mattson School and many have gone on to great professional and academic success in their own right. (Two examples are Joe Finetti, who now sings with The Bobs, and Michele Weir, a respected educator and arranger.) This mixed group has the talent and range to master the most technical of charts, as well as the warmth and emotion to stir the heart-witness"A Child Is Born," with a facile piano accompaniment by Phil Mattson himself, who plays keyboards throughout. Many of the arrangements allow one voice to solo, adding and subtracting harmonies for interest and variety. "I'll BeSeeing You" is a cappella and allows the melody to shine, gradually opening up the song with a frugal harmony that never interferes, but builds to a subtle crescendo and then resolves to an elegant closing cadence, the lead voice holding the final note while the lower parts complete the subject. A pleasure to listen to and a model of arranging virtuosity.

Songlist: New York Afternoon, Desafinado, Body And Soul, I Hear Music, Night In The City, How Long Has This Been Goin' On, A Child Is Born, Jeanine, I'll Be Seeing You

The Real Group : Unreal   

Whee! "The Flight Of The Foobirds" is chock full of delicious scat, "A Cappella In Acapulco" is not only alliteratively alluring but it will have your feet tapping for sure. "A Child Is Born" is nothing short of unreal! Hmm, there's a recording title there somewhere. The vocal trumpet on that one tune is plenty of reason enough to listen to Unreal! about a hundred times. It doesn't seem possible. What we have here is one of two cds released only for the Canadian and U.S. markets which includes some of the very finest of The Real Group. In addition to the dozen tunes sung in English, there are two Swedish folk songs. No, no, neither the Beatles nor Hoagy Carmichael is Swedish but Anders Edenroth is, and shares three originals with us including the aforementioned "A Cappella In Acapulco."

Songlist: Flight of the Foo-Brids, Walkin', A Cappella in Acapulco, A Child is Born, Come Together, Wait and See, Skylark, I've Found a New Baby, What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life?, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), Body and Soul, Kristallen Den Fina, Jag Vet En Dejlig Rosa, For the One I Love

The Real Group : Get Real   

A Korean import, this CD is similar to the Real Group's earlier release, 'Unreal,' with a few very exciting differences. If you've ever looked at their sheet music collection published by 'Walton,' you may have stumbled upon a song called 'How Come Its So Hard To Be The Way You Are?' If you've listened to a decent amount of their Swedish repertoire, you would have learned that the song is actually the English version of 'Varfor Far Man Inte Bara Vara Som Man Ar?' But where can you find the English version of this song? Look no further, its on 'Get Real.' A few other new highlights to this CD are a studio version of 'Strawberry Fields Forever,' their award-winning cover of 'Dancing Queen,' and you'll get to hear English lyrics added to 'For The One I Love.' All three of these additional tracks show off the group's virtuoso ability to create a vocal accompaniment that you will swear sounds more like other instruments rather than the human voice! While you may have heard many of the tracks on this CD before, this is a must have for all Real Group fans worldwide!

Songlist: A Cappella in Acapulco, A Child is Born, Dancing Queen, Wait and See, How Come It Is So Hard To Be The Way You Are, What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life?, For the One I Love, Flight of the Foo-Brids, Love Is Meant For Everybody, Come Together, Strawberry Fields Forever, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), Kristallen Den Fina

Singers Unlimited with Oscar Peterson : In Tune   

A Classic Reissued! Legendary vocal group The Singers Unlimited, for their third album on Germany's MPS label, recorded a collaboration with the Oscar Peterson Trio. Grammy-winning arranger Gene Puerling wrote the charts and the musicians recorded this remarkable session in 1971 at the storied Villingen studios in the Black Forest. The then latest breakthroughs in studio technology, and the masterful engineer and MPS Records owner Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, allowed the artists to overdub vocals creating the layered vocals the Singers Unlimited are famous for. Using a sixteen-track deck Brunner-Schwer had bought for the occasion, the group layered on chords, melody lines and solos which we often sung in four or eight part pieces that were later assembled almost magically. The CD sleeve includes rare photos from the session plus both the original LP liner notes and extensive new notes, including many new quotes from Puerling, by noted jazz musicologist James Gaven. A gem of a recording!

Songlist: Sesame Street, It Never Entered My Mind, Children's Game, The Gentle Rain, A Child Is Born, The Shadow of Your Smile, Catherine, Once Upon a Summertime, Here's That Rainy Day

Various Artists : A Voices Only Christmas   

Our own compilation, featuring a diverse line-up of artists. It's an original gift idea, particularly for those ears not yet familiar with a cappella. The track list includes the most popular, such as the contemporary Christian group Glad ("O Come All Ye Faithful"), the legendary doo-wop group the Persuasions ("Christmas Means Love") and The Swingle Singers ("Carol Medley"), whose vocal jazz technique is flawless. Several of the new and exciting vocal groups, such as Naturally Seven, m-pact, Go Fish and the Edlos are represented. All a cappella fans will appreciate Acoustix' "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (from their new "Cool Yule" CD), Just For Kick's "A Child is Born" and ReGeneration "Do You Hear What I Hear?". The Blenders "Christmas Song," from Nog (one of the greatest holiday CD's ever), Chanticleer's "In Dulci Jubilo," (Chanticleer's holiday concerts are a highlight of every season) and the Accidentals' signature "Rudiana" are also included. 17 tracks in all.

Songlist: Carol Medley, Do You Hear What I Hear, O Come, O Come Emanuel, The Christmas Song, Bless This House, Caroling, Caroling, Sim Shalom, I'm In The Mood For Joy, Rudiana, Your'e a Mean One Mr. Grinch, A Child Is Born, Charlie Brown Christmas, Away In a Manger, O Come All Ye Faithful, Stilla Natt (Silent Night), In Dulci Jubilo, Christmas Means Love

Founded in 2002, all-women Dutch Vocal Jazz quartet Velvet Voices has been appearing in some serious European and international events, like the 2003 Voice Mania in Vienna, the Jeunesse-the largest German a cappella festival in Munich), and they won the Jazz Gold at the international "Ward Swingle Awards." There are 11 finely-crafted tunes on "Essence," the group's 5th excellent album, some wonderful covers like Lennon/McCartney's "Come Together," Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," Cy Coleman's "With every breath I take," Freddie Mercury's "You take my breath away," Brown, Sutton and Brody's "Stop," a fine faux trumpet solo on Harold Arlen's "Somewhere over the rainbow," Jones and Wilder's "A child is born," and Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer's "It's raining man." There's also a pair of very nice originals by group member Gerda, the moody "Try to remember" and "Quarter to five," and one original by group member Monika, the title tune. Each of these beautiful young women can easily sing perfect solos and leads, so even a difficult, dissonant piece like "A child is born" comes off as effortless, and the harmonies are clean, sharp and on perfect pitch. Even a powerful rocker like "It's raining man," which is reprised as a surprise bonus cut with amped-up vocal percussion, is cleanly nailed both times with no sweat. The voices here are so perfect, the sound so effortlessly clean, we had to listen to it again just to fully appreciate it. "Essence" is a gift for the ears by the Velvet Voices, who have, in a very short time, risen to a level attained by only a few elite Vocal Jazz groups, like the Real Group, Vox One and the Swingle Singers. Treat yourself to one of the best of the year!

Songlist: Come Together, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, With Every Breath I Take, Try to Remember, Quarter to Five, You Take my Breath Away, Stop, Somewhere over the Rainbow, A Child is Born, Essence, It's Raining Men, Surprise

Voena's latest Holiday CD features a culmination of world flavors in a celebration of our cultural diversity. Hear Olivia Hurst (American Idol's season 2007 top 40 finalist), Tori Langfitt (purity to rouse the attention of Disney), Charlie Baggett (12-yr old "Josh Groban-like" sensation), & Aleza D'Agostino (daughter of world-famous Sicilian guitarist, Peppino D'Agostino). From our multiple performances for Presidents Clinton and Bush, including the 2003 & 2005 Pageants of Peace, to our Japan World Expo 2005 tour representing the United States on U.S. National Day, and the many stars gracing the stages with us, we bring the sounds of seasons past, present, and future; Seasons of wonder captured in the angelic voices of this unique and special group of children!

Songlist: When You Wish Upon A Star, Christmas Canon, Il Est Ne, African Noel, Dance For The Nations, O Holy Night, Christmas Star, Carol of the Bels, Vois Sur Ton Chemin, Al Shlosha D’varim, Ave Maria, Fum Fum Fum, A Child Is Born, Ancora Un Estante

Three sisters - Rae, Vicki and Shelley - are the core of this mixed group's clean and contemporary jazz sound. About half accompanied, the CD begins with a Gene Puerling arrangement of "The Christmas Song" (a second Puerling chart, "Deck The Halls," is a cappella). Michele Weir's version of "A Child Is Born" (certainly one of the loveliest of Christmas carols) includes a vocal trombone solo by Denis Allaire. Phil Mattson's a cappella "Here We Come A Caroling" offsets the first verse with a delightful four-bar countermelody; it's these little touches that elevate a song from the pedestrian to the remarkable.

Songlist: The Christmas Song, God Rest Ye Merry Gentelmen, Here We Come a Caroling, Mary's Lullaby, Deck the Halls, Sleigh Ride, A Child is Born, Ah Bleak & Chill the Wintery Mind, Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas