(2-CD set) “Grappelli told me that Django and Joseph were gypsies. Django had wounded his left hand when he was very young and could only use three fingers, but when he played it was if he had ten on one hand!” Bill COLEMAN. Includes a 40 page booklet with both French and English notes.

Steffen Schleiermacher's cleverly conceived collection of five possible realizations of "Twenty-five Pages" makes it possible to experience both directly and drastically the immense variety of potential sound results: from the extremity of the first version in which the texts of all "25 pages" are played simultaneously, to it's direct opposite where all the pages are played consecutively by a single player with an aleatoric ordering of the pages and choice of clefs.

Track Listing
1. Abbots Bromley Horn Dance
2. Room's Opening Lines
3. Wassail Carol
4. Father Christmas Verse
5. Boar's Head Carol, The
6. Constant Billy
7. Here We Come a-Wassailing
8. Villagers All!
9. There Was a Pig
10. Monk's March, The
11. Dargason
12. Fra Giovanni
13. Holly and the Ivy, The
14. Fool's Verse
15. Lord of the Dance
16. Brass Fanfare
17. Masters in This Hall
18. Shakespeare Lines
19. Nova! Nova!
20. Nativity
21. Alle Psallite Cum Luya
22. Moon Shines Bright, The
23. St. George's Verse
24. Sword Dance Tunes
25. Shortest Day, The
26. Wren Song, The
27. Apple Tree Wassail
28. 12 Days of Christmas, The
29. Fool's Farewell, The
30. Sussex Mummers' Carol

There are Christians who refuse to celebrate the season because of its pagan origins, grounded in Solstice revels. These origins were made abundantly clear when John Langstaff first staged the Christmas Revels in New York City's Town Hall in 1957. The Revels, then, were a celebration of the rebirth of the New Year, but Langstaff added a twist. He would also enfold Christ -- the "Lord of the Dance" -- into his pageant, arguing that His death and rebirth fit perfectly into ancient pagan ritual. This 1978 version of The Christmas Revels offers but one version of the ever-evolving procession, featuring Langstaff as lead baritone on favorites like "The Boar's Head Carol" and "Lord of the Dance." A large cast, performing choral vocals, spoken parts, and instrumentals, brings an energetic dignity to a mixture of traditional songs, dances, ritual, and poetry. While the spoken portions of the Revels probably work better in a live theater experience, its important to remember that the program is meant as a community celebration. While some people will find this music a bit eccentric, the sort of thing one might hear on public radio on Christmas Eve; The Christmas Revels breaks away from yet another version of "Silent Night" and offers a refreshing way to celebrate the season. Pagans of all stripes will also be glad to have a holiday album to call their own. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Personnel: Julian Cole (viols, rebec, double bass, recorders, percussion); Chris Rua (viols, recorders, shawm, oboe, harp, percussion); Lisle Kulbach (recorders, rebec, psaltery, harp, viols, violin, six-hole pipe); Tom Zajac (recorders, Renaissance flute, hurdy-gurdy, Jew's harp, bagpipe, pipe, tabor, sackbut, percussion), The Young Singers from the Washington Revels, The Handbell Choir of St. Peter's School Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (background vocals).
Recorded at St. Columbia's Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C. in June 1992. Includes liner notes by Susan Cooper.