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It's Christmas Again at Longwood Gardens is the third in a series of Direct-to-Tape Recording's Christmas CDs featuring the 1930 Aeolian organ at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Again showcasing Michael Stairs at the organ, this recording features a number of Stairs' arrangements for organ and violin, with Davyd Booth of the Philadelphia Orchestra playing the violin.

I liked the gentle and soothing mode of Stairs organ harmony, which complimented and enhanced Booth's delicate string melodies. Their techniques matched particularly well on the sentimental O Holy Night, where Booth's lightly articulated string voice made its emotional presence felt with its echoing counterpoint. This effect was later duplicated in a memorable rendition of Silent Night. However, No. 12 Noël Suisse, Grand jeu ed Duo made its point with bold bass notes, contrasting with high-pitched and plaintive violin articulation, and giving a hint of the enormous power of the Longwood Gardens organ.

The recording includes several tracks recorded in 1985, with the majority recorded in 1995. The acoustical quality of both sessions was excellent, and I can discern no difference between the two on my system.

Pairing the organ with the violin matches the most mechanical of instruments with one of the most personal and human. The result should be to leverage the the humanity of the violin and mask the the mechanical qualities of the organ. Stairs and Booth have certainly achieved that result here.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2001)

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Davyd Booth and Michael Stairs

It's Christmas Again at Longwood Gardens

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Track List