Songs For Christmas

Talented multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens

Christmas is one of the most favourite holidays in our life. But sometimes, on account of our business or different circumstances, people can’t feel the fascination of the moment. But there's one man who can save the festive period. This is Sufjan Stevens. He's the only artist who could make you forget all your vital problems, sit and have a rest. A singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Sufjan Stevens started his venture in the music world as a member of Marzuki, a folk-rock band based in Holland, MI. Stevens has one of the most strikingly beautiful voices in contemporary music and, moreover, he is a gifted songwriter. His new work is Songs For Christmas. It is a collection of 5 short Christmas albums that were recorded by Sufjan every year since 2001. The first EP, recorded at the beginning of this millennium, is full of folk music. And as the collection moves forward, Stevens' music becomes more complex and more enchanting: guitar, oboe, banjo, a little flute and lots and lots of bells – a fascinating collection of Christmas ballades one of America's most talented musicians is ready. Songs For Christmas was recorded for friends and family "as a kind of benediction to a tumultuous year". Here you can find the traditional well-known songs, hymns and, in addition, a lot of new songs written by Sufjan Stevens.

Songs For Christmas - over two hours of sheer joy

Songs For Christmas is a perfect collection of a good music. Sufjan Stevens have done a great deal of work, because most of the material required substantial editing, new arrangements or vocals. As a result, old compositions acquired a fresh sounding, and new songs become a truly magic. With the exception of Volume 5 of the collection, Peace, you won't find any of the symphonic embellishments that you've come to expect with albums like Illinois and The Avalanche. Instead, what you'll find is a very toned-down Sufjan Stevens, reminiscent of Seven Swans or the lighter moments on Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State. The best parts of this album are the original songs that Sufjan has written: It’s Christmas! Lets be glad!, Come on! Lets Boogly To The Elf Dance!, Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!, and many of the others. After listening to the O Holy Night! and O Come O Come Emmanuel!, every listener will be pleasantly surprised by idiosyncratic and oddity arrangements of the compositions. Simple, but at the same time, splendid renditions of O Come O Come Emmanuel, We Three Kings, and Away in a Manger provide the strongest argument for Sufjan as Relevant Folk Artist. In the album Songs For Christmas also we can find jolly notes of pop music, as for example in Come On! Lets Boogey to the Elf Dance! And in Once in Royal David’s City. Sufjan Stevens can’t leave his fans without romantic and he records a couple of very lyric, emotional hits: Star of Wonder and Angels We Have Heard on High. Well we can make a conclusion that and for this time Sufjan Stevens prepared for his listeners over two hours of sheer joy.

A perfect mood is guaranteed

Songs For Christmas it is a enchanting, festive and affecting music. Sufjan Stevens has many people help out on this album: “a college friend, a Presbyterian pastor and his wife, a string quartet, my little brother. Thanks for everything…”. The original songs on this collection are all surprisingly top-notch. Undoubtedly, Sufjan Stevens put his whole soul to his listeners can take pleasure in words, sounding and singing of the fascinating compositions in full. “They are not genius, by any means, but they are good and they definitely serve their purpose. They give an emotional up-lift, filling of the holiday and help to gather together all people”-, says Sufjan Stevens. Songs For Christmas can make happy everybody, beginning with your little brother, who you're trying to bribe into liking the same music as you, to your grandma who can't, for once, complain that it's too loud. Songs For Christmas is the best collection of Christmas songs with their exultant melodies and earnest words.