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Our Review

Looking for something classic, but different? You may well be looking for Christmas Treasures: Wonderful carols you never knew. The artists are Eileen Mager, an impeccably trained soprano, and Ellen Brown, whose accompaniment is equally important to the success of this disc.

True to the title, this charming recording is chock full of holiday numbers that are complete unknowns. Oh, there are a few ringers in the group; most of us probably know Fum, Fum, Fum!, for example, but the vast majority will have listeners scratching their heads. There is tremendous value in the variety here.

Eileen Mager is an accomplished soprano with a light, effortless voice. Her tones are gentle, but emotional, and never overbearing. By recording over the tracks, Mager creates lovely duets with herself on several numbers.

Accompanist Ellen Brown is quite the chameleon-like magician, working a digital keyboard to mimic a wide range of instruments. She arranged many of the numbers here, and the arrangements are excellent. The instrumentation is its own special delight; the mood changes with each number to reflect the style and origins of each piece. Brown's support truly enhances and showcases Mager's voice.

Christmas Treasures is quite the international affair. The smorgasbord includes carols that are 14^th century Latin, traditional Spanish, Provençal, Glatz folk, traditional French, traditional Catalonian, 16^th century German, traditional Galician, Chinese, American Negro spiritual, Polish, Scottish, Puerto Rican, etc., etc. One very nice touch is that Mager sings almost all foreign numbers in a mix of English and the original tongue, providing a more meaningful connection for her English-speaking audience. The arrangements and accompaniment are geared to reflect the unique culture associated with each cut.

The album opens with the sound of church bells, which created a "George Bailey" moment for me. I could just picture George running through the streets of Bedford Falls at the end of "It's a Wonderful Life." My favorite tracks include Las Posadas, which is all-too-brief, but is fun, bright, and beautiful; and the last two numbers, which close the album especially well. Still, Still, Still is tender and warm; Fum! Fum! Fum! uses castanets and a spirited "duet" to good effect.

Christmas Treasures provides a fun exploration of relatively untapped holiday offerings, and the journey does yield some fascinating finds. Have a good trip.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2003)

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From the liner notes:

Quote from the artist:

"Christmas is the season for which more music has been written than any other--gorgeous music, touching mujsic, charming music, grand music, light-hearted music, even funny music. Some Christmas music was written by famous composers, and some by people like you and me whose names will never be known. And the sad thing is that most of it only rarely heard. This recording contains that kind of delightful Christmas carol: the kind you don't hear all the time, and may never have heard at all. Enjoy!"

"These Christmas carols absolutely are celebratory of the Christmas story. But the carols also tell us about the cultures from which they come, because each culture expresses the Christmas story in its own metaphor. You find echo carols (like 'Als ich bei meinen') coming from Alpine countries. The Huron Indian carol, 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime' speaks of wrapping the baby Jesus in a ragged rabbit skin."

"We have tried to capture the individual cultural flavor and spirit of these songs with the sounds we've chosen for the accompaniment, and with the arrangements we've used (many of them created for this recording by Ellen Brown)."

"We went round and round about whether to do the carols in English, or in the original languages with printed translations provided in this booklety. After considerable thought, I decided on a compromise, and sang at least one verse of all the carols of non-English-language origin in the original language, then in an English translation. This way, I felt, the listener could hear a sample of the complete sound--language and music--without having to hunt for the translation in the booklet. There are two exceptions: 'Midnight, Sleeping Bethlehem,' (I couldn't find the Chinese text), and 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime' (because although I found the Huron text, I couldn't fit it to the music or find a native speaker to work with on pronunciation)."
--Eileen Mager

About the musicians:

"Eileen Mager began studying voice at age 14 with Marie Simmelink Kraft at the Cleveland Institute of Music, continued with Julia LeVine in Chicago, and currently studies with John Merwin in Scottsdale. She began singing professionally in Chicago, moved with her husband to California, and then to Arizona in 1982. She now sings her own solo concerts, sings with the Arizona chamber choir Cantemus, and is a frequently-featured soloist in Arizona churches and concert venues. Her repertoire is broad--from opera to jazz, Broadway to folk, classical religious works to spirituals and gospel--and her performances have included works of more than 80 composers, in 15 languages."

"Ellen Brown was a piano student steeped in the classics at Mount Union College in Ohio, where she met future husband Glenn Brown, who introduced her to jazz. She finished her music education degree, taught public school music, and studied piano Eunice Podis at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 1971, she and Glenn moved to Arizona, established their piano rebuilding business, where she earned a Master of Music degree at ASU. She has arranged and accompanied for the McGuire Sisters, and for Metropolitan and New York City Opera singers Robert Hale, Richard McKee, and Patricia Miller. She is also currently a professional church organist and choir director."

Eileen Mager

Christmas Treasures: Wonderful carols you never knew

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Track List