It’s really hard to believe that another Thanksgiving has come and gone. I hope yours was wonderful!

You’ve probably seen posts complaining about Christmas music and may even have made some yourself. When I walk through stores and other public spaces, I get it. So much of what they play is bad. But there is a LOT of very beautiful Christmas and Hannukah music, I promise! I’ve created playlists of some of my favorites on Spotify and YouTube that you might enjoy. 

Many on this email list played a key role in the creation of my From Here to Nativity Christmas album by participating in my crowd fund campaign. Thank you. My eclectic collection of 7 original and 7 classic carols was a wonderful way of collaborating with some of my favorite musicians. It’s a musical journey from Advent through Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and on to Epiphany with a variety of styles and genres intended to invoke the mix of sacred and secular decorations found on many family Christmas trees. On our tree you’ll see a whimsical Santa, snowman, or reindeer next to an angel or manger scene. That’s one thing I love about Christmas! Working with a wide range of great musicians helped me achieve that diversity.

One such collaboration was with talented composer-singer-instrumentalist Lynn Kowal. I sent Lynn a lyric I wrote titled “Shepherd’s Light” about the appearance of the angel to the shepherds “Watching over their flocks by night” on Christmas Eve. Lynn responded with a stunningly beautiful melody and offered to produce the track. She envisioned a simple duet with autoharp and vocals in the tradition of the minstrel storytellers that have passed down beautiful messages in song for millenia. I took my vocal cue from Lynn in singing lightly and thoughtfully to let the story take center stage. Lynn borrowed a beautiful autoharp from a friend whose mother, Victoria Henry, had played it for many years. The friend also shared with Lynn a book of carols Victoria had loved. The combination of the lovely strumming of the autoharp with the simple vocals is a perfect representation of a distinct type of Christmas carol singing that both complements and contrasts with the other songs on the album to help me achieve my goal of taking the listener on a journey of sights and sounds.

Paco has created a gorgeous music video for “Shepherd’s Light”  Lynn will be on hand to chat with us as the video plays to the world for the first time. We think of it as a multi-media Christmas Card you can share with loved ones in emails and social media posts. We hope you will stop by and leave a comment or greeting.

To experience all of the fantastic videos Paco has created for From Here to Nativity at once, I have created a YouTube Playlist for the album. If you haven’t subscribed to my channel, yet, please do. There is so much more to come! 

In the collaborative spirit of the project, I also engaged my talented artist friend, Deb Blount to create the cover image for From Here to Nativity and artwork for a lovely 12-page lyric booklet. You can see more of Deb’s whimsical artistic world here. Her Etsy store is here. Jeff Lindfors beautifully put it all together. You still have time to buy the album and I’ll even let you set your own price at hearjohnny.com. The cover star is also available there as a beautiful Christmas ornament with a quote from my song, Joseph’s Prayer. The CD and ornament make a great Christmas gift (hint hint). 

Much Love,

Johnny