mp3's versions:
| 1 o come, o come, emmanuel (irish whistle solo) | 7 Snow ! |
| 2 the first noel | 8 silent night (solo piano) |
| 3 silver bells (solo piano) | 9 joy to the world |
| 4 o come, o come, emmanuel | 10 o little town of bethlehem |
| 5 we three kings of orient are | 11 o come, all ye faithful |
| 6 hark! the herald angels sing | 12 the friendly beasts (solo piano) |
CD quality files: (please be very patient, they will load, but may appear to stall or delay streaming on your screen for several minutes)
1 o come, o come, emmanuel (11 mb) |
7 Snow ! (17.8 mb) |
| 2 the first noel (13.3 mb) | 8 silent night (20.5 mb) (solo piano) |
| 3 silver bells (22.9 mb) (solo piano) | 9 joy to the world (9.4 mb) |
| 4 o come, o come, emmanuel (19.2 mb) | 10 o little town of bethlehem (10.1 mb) |
| 5 we three kings of orient are (10.8 mb) | 11 o come, all ye faithful (18.2 mb) |
6 hark! the herald angels sing ( 11 mb) |
12 the friendly beasts (45.1 mb) (solo piano) |
This album was created by Colin O’Neill and Martin Buff, Nephew and Uncle, in partial celebration of Colin’s coming to Seattle, and in part, as a gift to give others for the Holidays,. The project began as Martin’s idea, proposed soon after Colin had arrived. After three weeks of hard work practicing and recording, and what at times to Colin seemed to be almost infinite editing and mixing, this album was complete.
Colin draws his inspiration and playing style from his Irish heritage. He is self-taught, and has been playing for nearly 8 years. He plays a plethora of instruments, including the recorder, high and low Irish whistle, fife, Irish flute, penny whistle, and glass flute. Colin has always favored Celtic influences in the Holiday season. This is why he chose to record his first Christmas album with the Irish high whistle. Colin was responsible for compiling the songs for the album, and he began by choosing all traditional pieces, searching out his favorites.
Martin made his recording studio available for Colin and him, and not only played the piano and recorded the music, but also edited and mixed it as well (with Colin’s helpful ears). It was this challenging part of making the album that took the most time. Ever since his early days as a church organist, Martin has enjoyed improvising on traditional music. One day in the studio, after recording a few songs with Colin, inspiration led him to compose an original piece of music, which became the piano portion of the title song of this album. This solo was then given to Colin to write a melody for. Colin recorded multiple takes of the melody and Martin combined them to create a “whistle chorus.” In naming this piece, they thought the picture of Frango (Martin’s cat of 13 years), prancing in the snow, depicted the feelings of the Holiday season, and thus chose this image for the album cover.
We hope this Christmas album fills you with the peace, joy, and happiness of this special season of Music, Family and Friends !!
Martin is a Seattle pianist, composer, performer, and piano teacher, and his other music can be heard on his website, www.martinbuff.com. His recording studio is located on capitol hill.