Chandeen is a European band that has been around for quite a few years. The band started as far back as 1990, and has transitiond musically (as bands will do) into a EuroPop style that is pretty good if I do say so myself. For my part, I have been a fan of the band for some time after being alerted to their existence by one of the band affiliates, Harald Löwy. I have a lot of love for their brilliant 1996 issue, The Waking Dream. Since, I have enjoyed their subsequent releases that include their most recent, Forever And Ever, issued in 2014. That new album has generated a popular European Pop track, “Wake Up, Starbuck”. Currently, the band is still promoting this album. They have just released a new single from it called “The Wild Unknown”.
Now, with the Holidays arriving at a fast pace (just two months away as of this writing), Chandeen will be releasing their first holiday-themed set, Winter Reverbs, Winter Reverbs will contain a well-thought out collection of ten tracks that will offer traditionals, chants, and contemporary songs (see track-list). (I would have LOVED to hear a Chandeen version of “In The Bleak Midwinter”, a poem written in 1872 by Christina Rosetti, and famously set to music by famed English composer, Gustav Holst, and later, beautifully augmented by Harold Darke in a haunting choir piece.
I’m excited to get this album as not only do I really like Chandeen, I also like the old songs presented in a European fashion. They always seem to add a little more than the usual.
Winter Reverbs is set for release on November 24. It will be released as a digital download, with a vinyl LP set coming later.
Winter Reverbs – Chandeen
Track-List:
01 – I Wonder As I Wander (Christian Folk Hymn by John Jacob Niles)
02 – Es Kommt Ein Schiff, Geladen (17th Century traditional)
03 – Stille Nacht (Silent Night, Gruber/Mohr composition from 1818)
04 – Christmas Time Is Here (Peanuts classic)
05 – Veni Veni Emmanuel (O Come, O Come Emannuel, James Macmillan – 1992)
06 – Maria Durch Ein Dornwald Ging (Maria Walks Among The Thorns, Hesse – 16th Century traditional)
07 – Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (3rd Century Greek Eucharistic chant)
08 – In Praise Of Christmas (inspired by Loreena McKennitt-sung traditional)
09 – Carol Of The Bells (Popular Christmas song composed by Leontovych/Wilhousky – 1904)
10 – Welcome Christmas (The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Dr Seuss)