Peace on Earth

Quiet Carols for the Christmas Season

Performed by Neal Ewers

• What's on the CD
• Message from the Performer
• Order the CD

Contents - Peace on Earth

We invite you to sample some of the selections from this warm and peaceful collection. The few song titles on this CD that are duplicated on "The Joy of Christmas" have totally different arrangements. You'll need the free RealPlayer to play these Real Audio clips. Select the RealPlayer icon or visit the Real Networks Web site for further information. If you have a fast connection and prefer to hear higher-quality MP3 format files, visit our MP3 Clips page.

1. What child is this? (3:44) Traditional English
2. I Wonder as I Wander (2:10) Traditional American
3. Away in a Manger (3:20) Version 1 W.I.Kirkpatrick
4. Coventry Carol (3:15) Traditional 16th century English
5. All Through the Night (3:16) Traditional
6. Ave Maria (3:33) J.S. Bach
7. Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head (4:07) Appalachian folk song
8. How Far Is It to Bethlehem? (2:10) Traditional English
9. He Shall Feed His Flock (4:16) From Handel’s Messiah
10. Infant Holy, Infant Lowly (3:24) Traditional Polish
11. Once in Royal David's City (3:15) Henry S. Gauntlett
12. Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel (2:35) 15th century plainsong
13. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem (4:13) Lewis Redner
14. The Sleep of the Infant Jesus (1:55) Traditional French
15. Lo, How a Rose (3:28) Traditional German melody arranged by Praetorius
16. In the Bleak Midwinter (5:27) Gustav Theodore Holtz
17. Still, Still, Still (3:37) Traditional Austrian
18. It Came upon a Midnight Clear (2:06) Richard Willis
19. Away in a Manger (2:40) Version 2 Traditional
20. Ballad of Jesus Christ (1:53) Traditional French
21. Oh Holy Night (5:09) A.C. Adams
22. Silent Night (4:15) Franz Gruber

Message from the Performer

When you produce a disk that includes the sounds of brass choirs, flutes, oboes, pianos, string orchestras, harpsichords, and a variety of hand-bells, glockenspiels, and other very delicate bells, you

Neal Ewers

have one very over-arching problem. How do you get these very disparate instruments to work together to bring about a harmonious whole? If the brass choir is too loud, the smallest, most delicate bell will never be heard. If on the other hand, the bells and other delicate instruments try to play loudly enough to gain equality with the louder sounds, they negate their own identity and become no more than loud, hard to listen to, noise.

One of the first things I had to do was to gain an understanding of, and develop a respect for, the differing characteristics of each instrument. I had to understand how each of them would have to sing the melodies and harmonies that were truly their own while producing a harmonic whole that could only be achieved with the help of all instruments.

These very different instruments and the work they had to do together reminds me of the work people need to do to achieve cooperation between nations of the world. Summits happen and treaties are signed in an attempt to bring about peace, and yet thousands of people are killed by war each year. Nations, it would appear, are only too eager to play as loudly as they can while insisting that others join them in singing their nations own perfect tune.

I believe that peace on earth will only exist when ordinary people like you and me come to know and respect, and even to applaud, the very differences which cause us to shrink away from the music we could create together. You may be a resounding trumpet and I a simple bell, but if we are careful to preserve the essence of each other's song, we can, in fact, still learn to sing as one. The music we make together may begin softly and haltingly, but our combined melody may be all it takes to cause others at first to listen, and then to sing along.

About the recording.

The carols on this CD were recorded on the Kurzweil K2500XS keyboard. Unlike many keyboards, this state-of-the-art keyboard allows one to record the actual sounds of real instruments; brass choirs, bells, etc., which can then be played with all the variation one might achieve when actually playing the original instrument.

These carols have been arranged and orchestrated by Neal Ewers to allow the simple beauty of each traditional melody to remain in tact. The result is a masterful weaving together of the sounds of brass choirs, flutes, oboes, harps, choir voices, string orchestras, and a variety of delicate bells into a tapestry that allows each carol to sing it's own true song.