Review and More

Our Review

Stephanie Osborne's Victorian Christmas was different from most of the Christmas fare I receive, if only because the copy I was sent is the DVD audio release. It includes an instructive video where Ms. Osborne demonstrates her technique, as well as explaining a few things about the harp--its parts, some of the different sounds she is able to achieve, and a little bit of history of the instrument. I don't consider myself to be a particularly sophisticated harp music listener, so I found the video to be both entertaining and useful.

Ms. Osborne's style is gentle and unadorned. Her arrangements are, by her own admission, old-fashioned, simply phrased, and innocent of any stylistic elements from the 20th century. This old-fashioned innocence gives the entire work a soothing, New Age quality, but one without the affectedness or pretense one often finds with contemporary pop classical music. Nor does she anachronistically attempt any recent Christmas songs; instead, she plays only seasonal classics, well-known carols, and such old-fashioned popular songs as Jingle Bells. I enjoyed the music, but the video is what I'll remember most, because I've never had a close-up look at someone playing a harp.

Victorian Christmas is designed to play on home theatre systems, where each song is accompanied by its own Victorian style televised image, some of which are quite charming. According to the Windows Media Player, the running time is 56 minutes, plenty of time to enjoy a relaxed dinner with the sights and sounds of Victorian Christmas in the background.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2004)

No More

Stephanie Osborne

Victorian Christmas

Artist link

Track List