Sounds for the season
Music | Noteworthy new Christmas releases
by Arsenio Orteza
Posted 12/10/20, 12:56 pm
Bleak Midwinter by Barnaby Bright: Of all of the Christmas songs on the verge of being recorded too many times, “In the Bleak Midwinter”—lyrics by Christina Rossetti, music by either Gustav Holst or Harold Darke—is surely the most durable, holding up under both high-art and folk-art conditions. Nathan and Becky Bliss, aka Barnaby Bright, have opted for the latter (and for Holst’s tune), giving the carol an eerie yet reverent sheen that falls within the parameters of their Bandcamp tags (“Americana,” “indie folk”).