Joy to the World - A Celebration of International Music of the Season

How would you like to celebrate Christmas this year? Would you prefer to get your presents in a stocking, a shoe, or a jar? Who would you like to deliver your presents? Should it be Santa Clause, Saint Nicholas or Father Christmas? In some countries The Three Kings or a Fairy Queen delivers them. In England on the night before Christmas, Father Christmas sneaks quietly into the house and fills all the children's stocking with gifts. In the United States, Santa Claus makes all the deliveries on Christmas Eve. In France, on Christmas Eve, you put empty shoes on the doorstep or by the fireplace. It is said that The Christ Child will come during the night and put gifts in them. If you live in the Netherlands, you put hay and sugar inside a shoe on the night before Saint Nicholas Day. Saint Nicholas' horse will eat the hay and sugar when they stop at your house. After the horse eats, Saint Nicholas repays you by filling your shoes with candy and tiny gifts. In Spain, you put straw inside your shoes. The camels of The Three Kings will eat the straw. They will pass your house and leave gifts on Epiphany, twelve nights after Christmas. In Italy you get your gifts in a large jar, called the Urn of Fate. It is said that a fairy queen flys down the chimney and fills each jar with gifts and goodies on Epiphany instead of Christmas. It was in Italy that the nativity scene became popular and spread through the Alps eventually making its way to the United States with German pioneers. In some parts of Germany at Christmas you get gifts from a girl called Christkind. She wears a crown of candles and carries a basket full of gifts to the children. A dreadful demon called Hans Trapp goes with Christkind to deliver the gifts. Before Christkind gives any gifts, Hans Trapp waves a stick to threaten the naughty children. At Christmas time in Sweden you might hear a thump at your front door or wake up the next morning to find gifts. It'll just be the old man and woman who go about on the night before Christmas throwing gifts inside children's front doors. No one in Sweden has ever found out who they are. In other parts of Europe at Christmas time you might get a gift from a ferocious-looking man with a sooty face. It'll be Knight Rupprecht passing out gifts as he travels with Saint Nicholas. There are so many ways to celebrate christmas and this album has music for all of them. If you like this try this: Caroling

Alfred Reed's Russian Christmas Music is a standard of wind band literature. I'm sure anyone who has participated in a concert band in any number of American schools has played it. I myself have played every trumpet, cornet, and euphonium part in the piece at some point, and I am very picky about the piece's interpretation. I would like to download versions to compare them. iTunes makes this difficult, as a $0.99 purchase turns into a $10 one as the piece is only available as part of an album, for all 5 versions that I could find...