Christmas News from Maggie's Music

Nollaig Shona - "Christmas Greetings!" in Irish Gaelic

Enjoy your Holiday season with 8 Holiday CDS and 1 DVD from Maggie's Music ( see complete descriptions below):

 1)Ancient Noels, Maggie Sansone & Ensemble Galilei ; 2) A Scottish Christmas CD, Bonnie Rideout, Maggie Sansone Al Petteway; 3) Sounds of the Season,Maggie Sansone; 4) Sounds of the Season II, Maggie Sansone; 5) A Winter's Night,Ensemble Galilei; 6) Merrily Greet the Time, Sue Richards & Maggie Sansone;. 7)Winter Tidings, Al Petteway & Amy White; 8) NEW 07:An Early American Quilt- music for all seasons, Hesperus Early Music Ensemble. DVD: A Scotish Christmas live concert, DVD ,Bonnie Rideout and others

 Go to the artist's pages to find more information, tour schedules & to order these recordings.

  CHRISTMAS CONCERTS- -go to artist' page for more information.. keep watching - concerts added very often! 

Scottish Christmas DVD The world's first Scottish Christmas DVD is now out!  And its on video (VHS) too! During last year's tour in Clinton Township, Michigan at the prestigious Macomb center for the Performing Arts, the show was taped for video release by BMG Special Products. The DVD includes bonus material such as special featurettes and interviews by the various performers.

REVIEW- Bonnie Rideout-A Scottish Christmas-BMG/Maggie's Music 75517 45864-9 (2002), DVD.The stage show that grew from Bonnie Rideout's CD A Scottish Christmas was captured on film in 2000, and released on DVD. It's a joyful celebration of the Christmas season, complete with every conceivable emblem of Scottish pride: comely dancers tripping Highland flings, a pipe band's rousing hum, Robert Burns, tartan kilts and (of course) a wide selection of fiery fiddle tunes. With top-notch set design and high standards of both video and audio, this disc is as nice to look at as it is to hear, and it gives us a lovely taste of what was clearly a magical evening.-With her fiddle, Rideout leads an all-star ensemble of American-based Scottish and Irish musicians through jigs, reels, Highland flings, and Christmas carols. Her sure tone and strong bowing liven up everything from Shetland tune "Da Day Dawn" to "Deck the Halls," with many tunes between. She's a deft master of ceremonies as well as a powerful fiddler, and between medleys her obvious enjoyment of the proceedings is infectious. Probably the most accomplished of Rideout's collaborators is the late Tony Cuffe. Cuffe plays guitar and harmonica, and his driving rhythm playing on the jigs and reels is surpassed only by his keen melodic take on such classics as "Green sleeves." In addition, Cuffe performs all the lead vocals, including some songs he was already known for ("Sae Will We Yet,") and others I'd never heard him sing 'til now ("Here We Come a-Wassailing.") The closing credits are enlivened by Cuffe's favorite party trick: He plays a tune on the harmonica while putting a dancing doll through its paces; in other hands this could seem silly, but here it's executed with perfection. The other players are equally impressive. Piper Jerry O'Sullivan proves himself to be amazingly versatile, playing Highland pipes and Scottish smallpipes, in addition to uilleann pipes and tin whistle. Hammered-dulcimer player and percussionist Maggie Sansone leads tunes with authority and plays sympathetic backup, and percussionist Paddy League adds the right touch of rhythm. Several members of the City of Washington Pipe Band play, together and solo, and high-stepping dancers complete the show. By the time Cuffe and Rideout lead the audience in a rousing chorus of "Auld Lang Syne," your hankering for a Scottish Solstice should be satisfied. - Steve Winick (Philadelphia PA) Dirty Linen Folk/World Magazine.

 View the Track Listing and bios of the performers
    that can be seen on the DVD and VHS! 

      Read more about the Scottish Christmas DVD/Video.