Now playing: NewGrange: Christmas Heritage

The music on A Christmas Heritage from Newgrange plays out like an evening among friends during a quiet winter snowfall -- rising and falling, dark and light, laughter and silences, ideas reflecting the spirit of Christmas, the changes of solstice, the promise of spring, and the connections of conversation.

The players who made this are in fact friends, though they don’t often get the chance to play together. There’s Philip Aaberg on piano, Mike Marshall on mandolin, Darol Anger on fiddle, Todd Phillips on bass, Alison Brown on banjo, and Tim O’Brien on vocal and mandolin. Doesn’t matter if you know these musicians’ work, really. They are all A list players, creators and innovators in acoustic music, and here, while doing that, they are also friends together sharing holiday music. Tracks include Greensleeves, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Gypsy Winter, On a Quiet Night, and Go Tell It on the Mountain.

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