A Christmas Tapestry

By Joseph M. Martin

Excellent gift for pianist who has high regard for musician/composer Joseph Martin. His wonderful style and skill is depicted throughout the book.

The compositions by Mr. Martin are so beautiful and unexpected. I would say this is now in my top two Christmas books. His writing is very challenging and difficult but the payoff is worth every second of practice. In this book I especially love Bleak MidWinter, Still Still Still, and...

Joy to the World.

I gave this book 4 stars because there were some arrangements I didn't like. My favorites in this collection are: In the Bleak Midwinter, Ukranian Bell Carol, 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime, and I Saw Three Ships. I also like (but do not love) Away in a Manger...

, The Holly and the Ivy, and Still, Still, Still. Several of the arrangements included parts of well-known classical pieces. Away in a Manger was one of them, but the others I did not like as well. These pieces are, to me, more one-trick pieces than anything else and do not express the full value of the carols. That said, I thought this collection was worth the price for 4 great pieces and 3 good ones. Most of the difficulty in these pieces is with the ornaments and cadenzas, some rhythms, and key signatures. I would rate this a 7/8 on the 10-scale. The pieces are generally very handy once you work out some fingering.

A Christmas Tapestry is beautifully written and easily executed. It was a wonderful addition to my Christmas collection and I used this book whenever I had to play for Offertory or other parts of my church service that required music. Worth every penny!!

I love this book. Yes it is hard, but the passages fall under the fingers nicely and can be worked up with a little effort. Plus this is my favorite arrangement of "Away in a Manger"! If you're not a confident pianist, then this one is not for you...

, but for an established player these are great Christmas arrangements! :)