General Books - Page 5

Christmas Hits (Easy Piano Solo) (Easy Piano (Hal Leonard))

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Editorial Review:

A baker's dozen holiday favorites arranged as beautiful solos for beginning-level players. Includes: Blue Christmas * Feliz Navidad * Happy Holiday * I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus * Jingle-Bell Rock * Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree * Silver Bells * Somewhere in My Memory * and more.

Christmas Medleys (Piano Solo) (The Phillip Keveren Series: Piano Solo)

Phillip Keveren

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Christmas Medleys - Phillip Keveren 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased with this music. The arrangements are beautiful and just what I wanted.

Editorial Review:

Beloved songs of the season expertly arranged into medleys by Phillip Keveren. Includes: Angel Suite (Angels We Have Heard on High; Angels from the Realms of Glory; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing) * Away in a Manger * A Christmas Celebration (Joy to the World; The First Noel; Go, Tell It on the Mountain) * Christmas Reminiscence * God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen/Carol of the Bells * It Came upon the Midnight Clear/Silent Night * O Holy Night (with "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee") * Still, Still, Still (with Brahms' "Lullaby") * We Three Kings/What Child Is This?

Te Deum: The Church and Music

Paul Westermeyer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An Excellent Resource... 4 out of 5 stars.
15 of 16 people found this review helpful.

Paul Westermeyer's Te Deum: The Church and Music demonstrates the utter importance of music throughout the church's turbulent history. He details the music of the Old Testament, New Testament, the church fathers, reformation, and briefly describes the modern period. Westermeyer masterfully interweaves his philosophy of music with a moving commentary and the pertinent details of history. He explains the worship of the Old Testament choosing to highlight the use of the Psalms in worship. He moves to the New Testament age and the early church and helps the reader to understand the important role that music played in the church.
Westermeyer's commentary on the medieval times was helpful. He adequately illustrates the progress of music in that age and helps the student to realize that the music (style, rythm, notes) were completely different. He explains the different views of using instruments, non-instrumental vocals, and silence. His balanced approach to history makes one really ponder the circumstances that the different ministers in different ages had to deal with.
Dr. Westermeyer cover the Reformation period and gives information on some of the Reformers and their particular views. His section on Luther was fascinating, thought-provoking, and well-written. He ties in the theology, philosophy, and the musical abilities of each Reformer. His work on the modern age was rather brief and incomplete; however, he does give information on the early hymn writers and the development of different kinds of hymns and other church music.

Dr. Paul Westermeyer is more than qualified to write such a book. His work is excellent. He is an able historian, theologian, and philosopher--not to mention his abilities as a musician. His stated purpose in writing the book was to present a workable text for students and laymen alike. His careful historical treatment with just the right mix of commentary makes for excellent reading. I was amazed to realize my own lack of knowledge about church music. He really drove home the point of understanding your philosophy of worship. He backs up all of his statements with evidence and provides ample footnotes for further research. His treatment of the differing views was also quite fair.
I felt as though he may have gotten a little too technical at times. He feared "oversimplifying" some of his explanations from time to time, but I rarely found this to be the case! His explanation of Luther's views (and those of the major Reformers) was exceedingly helpful. He managed to successfully navigate the troubled water of church history with ease. His comments about modern music were quite incomplete. I would really enjoy reading his opinion about different modern day streams of thought with regard to worship. His emphasis on Lutheranism was interesting, but when it comes to the modern age he should have dedicated more time to discussing mainline evangelical musicians and their philosophies of worship.

Paul Heier, author of Leading Out of Love

All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul

Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Tons of useful information but print way too small 2 out of 5 stars.
24 of 33 people found this review helpful.

I had never owned an All Music Guide and I have been told by fellow music collectors that they are really terrific. Seeing that All Music had just recently published their new guide to R & B and Soul I decided to give it a try. I must say I was impressed by the extensive detail given to each entry in this book. You would not only learn the history of an artist or group, but in many cases you got an update as to what the artist was doing nowadays. This was impressive and distinguishes this book from others I have seen on the market. The book covers a wide array of genres including rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco and one of my personal favorites doo wop. There is one major problem however. The print is so small that I got a headache trying to read it. Try as a might I just could not get past this major flaw. I wound up sending it back. Too bad. I suspect anyone over the age of 40 will encounter the same problem. It seems to me that it would have been much wiser to divide this into 2 volumes with print that you could actually read. I would have gladly paid the difference.

Editorial Review:

This comprehensive guide is a must-have for the legions of fans of the beloved and perennially popular music known as soul and rhythm and blues. The latest in the definitive All Music Guide series, the All Music Guide to Soul offers nearly 8,500 entertaining and informative reviews that lead readers to the best recordings by more than 1,500 artists and help them find new music to explore. Informative biographies, essays and "music maps" trace RandB's growth from its roots in blues and gospel through its flowering in Memphis and Motown, to its many branches today. Complete discographies note bootlegs, important out-of-print albums, and import-only releases. "Extremely valuable and exhaustive." - The Christian Science Monitor

Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture

William D. Romanowski

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Eyes Wide Open 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Romanowski is skillful at paring down his previous work, Pop Culture Wars, and enhancing the practical aspects of interacting with Popular Culture as an evangelical Christian. He Gives the necessary background and history to contextualize his position, while providing the reader with good tools for thinking critically about popular art.

One note of critique would be that, though it is obvious that he has a commanding knowledge of film, it would be beneficial to explore other popular artforms and give current expamples. Along the same lines, the examples that he used to prove some critical comments directed to the evangelical Christian popular art (particularly the Christian Contemporary Music) community were a bit dated.

But overall, this is a book that I have and will continue to use in a classroom and small group setting because it packs a punch in a small space.

Editorial Review:

Grounded in Christian principles, this accessible and engaging book offers an informed and fascinating approach to popular culture. William Romanowski provides affectionate yet astute analysis of familiar, well-loved movies and television characters from Pretty Woman to Homer Simpson. He speaks with expertise on films from Titanic to Casablanca and music from Mozart to Springsteen, bringing sources as diverse as Shakespeare and Allan Bloom into the discussion.

Romanowski's confessional approach affirms a role for popular culture in faithful living. Practical, analytical approaches to content, meaning, and artistic style offer the tools to participate responsibly and imaginatively in popular cultural activities. A quick and enjoyable read, Eyes Wide Open is ideal for ordinary Christians ready to more faithfully engage pop culture-one of the most influential forces in contemporary society.

Guitar Worship Songbook, Book 1: Strum and Sing Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Nice selection of recognizable "standards". CD helps you play-along. 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

The book is laid out with clean looking, uncluttered pages. The arrangements are simplified to mostly verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus and all songs amount to 2 pages so page turning isn't necassary. It is easy to follow along with the book's layout and the recorded tracks which act as your reference. A beginning guitarist that knows their primary and secondary open string chords in the key of G, C or D will the able to handle the fingerings. Chords are diagrammed along the top of the title page and are nice and large. There is both male and female voices represented on the recorded tracks. The one drawback I found was that the strumming patterns aren't notated, so you'll either have to have a good ear to match your strums to the recording or come up with your own. There are quite a few songs here and the book is very reasonably priced. This is a good buy for the praise and worship acoustic strummer.

Editorial Review:

This book can be used on its own, as a supplement to Guitar Worship Method Book 1 (00695681) or with any other guitar method. You get lyrics, chord frames, strumming patterns, and a full-band CD, so you can hear how each song sounds and then play along when you're ready. Songs include: Better Is One Day * Blessed Be Your Name * Breathe * Come, Now Is the Time to Worship * Days of Elijah * Forever * Here I Am to Worship * I Could Sing of Your Love Forever * Lord, Reign in Me * My Redeemer Lives * Open the Eyes of My Heart * You Are My King (Amazing Love).

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

William P. Edwards

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

First aired in 1918, it is broadcast annually by BBC Radio direct from King's College Chapel in Cambridge and carried in the United States by NPR. Many have organized their holiday festivities to be part of the audience for this very special performance.
With beautiful illustrations of details from illuminated manuscripts, photographs, and paintings appropriate to the season, this elegant volume is a wonderful companion to this unique Christmas celebration. It is packaged with a CD of a slightly abridged version of a service that includes a dozen carols, including "Once in Royal David's City," "O Come, All Ye Faithful," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "Good King Wenceslas," "Silent Night, Holy Night," and "In Dulci Jubilo," all sung by the internationally renowned boy's and men's choir of King's College.
In addition to following the complete festival in sequence, the book contains a history of the service and of King's College's choir, what the service means today, and the origins and history of the hymns and carols. A keepsake that families will cherish, the book is a romantic and religious departure from the modern world, a glorious affirmation that Christmas has arrived.

Stories Behind Christmas Boxed Set

Ace Collins

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wonderful Christmas stories 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (10/07)

One of the toughest challenges for me after moving to the South was - and still is - getting in the mood for Christmas. When one grew up with snow on the ground and chestnuts roasting, it just isn't easy to get used to palm trees and temperatures in the 80s when Christmas comes around. That said, the challenge has gotten bigger in the past years and all of a sudden I stopped looking forward to the holidays. Nothing seemed right any longer, until I discovered the wonderful boxed set of "Stories Behind Christmas," written by Ace Collins.

The set consists of three wonderful collections of stories, two of which deal with the songs of Christmas and one which deals with the traditions of Christmas. Written in a fluid, easy to follow style, the stories touch on 26 traditions and a total of 62 songs, connected to Christmas. The attention to detail, as well as the obviously huge amount of research that went into them, make for pleasant, uplifting reading. With selections as diverse as Silent Night, Ave Maria, Auld Lang Syne, The Little Drummer Boy, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, White Christmas and more you'll be able to find many of your favorites and learn a lot of surprising facts about them. The majority of the chapters also include the words of the songs, and if you are anything like me, they will be a useful tool to finally decipher some of the more difficult lines.

While I found both Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas and More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas utterly delightful and charming, it was the Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas that stole my heart. Ace Collins managed to include all of my favorites, from holly and mistletoe to nativity scenes and Nutcracker ballet, and definitely not forgetting candy canes, ornaments, stockings, gifts and lights. Any and every question about the symbols and traditions of Christmas that you've ever had - and maybe didn't even realize you had it - is answered in this book. Reading the wonderful vignettes behind each of them put me in the Christmas mood early this year and I have no doubt the spirit will stay around.

This set would make a wonderful Christmas gift, especially for people with children or anybody with a curious mind. Those books are appropriate for most any age and should find their way to the bookshelves of all who celebrate Christmas. And if you are one of those, who - like me - misses a White Christmas, read a couple of stories in "Stories Behind Christmas" and I bet you will see a million tiny crystals sparkling all around you.

Editorial Review:

Three books by bestselling music historian Ace Collins take you and your family inside the fascinating stories of beloved songs and traditions of Christmas. From centuries past to today, Collins takes you on a journey of discovery that will surprise, delight, and move you and your family and deepen your celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Oxford Choral Classics: European Sacred Music (Oxford Choral Classics)

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent Resource 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent book of some of the better choral classics. I have sung some of them for years (Mozart's Ave verum) but others are not so familiar (Viadiana's Exaultate justi) to some old friends in a different arrangement (Franck's Panis Angelicus in SATB). Difficulty ranges from fairly easy to difficult, with something for everyone. A good collection for any serious classical chorus or church choir.

Editorial Review:

The Oxford Choral Classics gathers together over three hundred of the world's choral masterpieces into a unique series of seven volumes that span the whole of Western choral literature. Each volume contains all of the established classics of its genre under a single cover, in authoritative new editions and at a budget price. European Sacred Music is the second volume in the series and a fabulous value for money. From the Allegri Misereri to the Victora O vos omnes, John Rutter and co-editor Clifford Bartlett have researched the best available sources and provided excellent new English singing translations and sensible, practical keyboard reductions.

A Celtic Christmas (Phillip Keveren)

Phillip Keveren

Amazon Price: $8.76 List Price: $10.95 Usually ships in 3 to 5 weeks By: Hal Leonard Corporation Amazon Marketplace: 7 new & used starting at $6.55

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Editorial Review:

16 Christmas carols arranged Celtic-style by the talented Phillip Keveren: Angels We Have Heard on High * Away in a Manger * Deck the Hall * God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen * Here We Come A-Wassailing * The Holly and the Ivy * Irish Carol * Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming * O Christmas Tree * We Three Kings of Orient Are * Wexford Carol * What Child Is This? * more.