New music for the holiday season (Pt 9) - Winter Poems

Our next couple of “12 Faves of Christmas” selections will deal with folks who are primarily know as song writers & record producers for other artists and who have dipped their toe into the musical pool by creating their own holiday music collection for this season…

After writing chart-topping hits for global artists including “Wrecking Ball” for Miley Cyrus, “A New Day Has Come” for Celine Dion and “Earned It” for The Weeknd, Stephan Moccio decided to return to his roots in classical composition, and to the instrument he knows best, the piano. The result is this wonderful collection called Winter Poems.

The record includes solo piano arrangements of eleven familiar Christmas carols and three original piano solos compositions. It begins with Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here,” the theme from the beloved TV special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Here it is slow, wistful and dreamy. “The Little Drummer Boy” is another contemporary Christmas classic, and Moccio keeps it simple and innocent. “Walking In the Air” is a stand-out track - Composed by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film, “The Snowman,” the haunting melody is allowed to shine with minimal accompaniment - magical! “Frost” is one of the original pieces and captures a sparkling chill. Moccio’s felted piano sound really works on the delicate arrangement of “What Child Is This?” and gives it the feeling of a quiet lullaby. “Wistful” is another original and could be about the innocence of a child dreaming of Santa’s arrival or it could be about an adult missing someone dear or thinking of Christmases past - beautiful and very tender.

Full of brand-new peaceful, melodic piano versions of timeless favorites, as well as some seasonal new original pieces, the record reflects the mood of a Christmas like none other.

Winter Poems is a great addition to anyone’s Christmas music collection. The arrangements bring out the best of the familiar songs and the originals add their own kind of sparkle. Enjoy!

Here's a taste from the record: