Paul Cardall Records Stunning New 'Christmas' Collection
Paul Cardall has crafted a stunning new Holiday collection, titled 'Christmas', his first Christmas album in 13 years.
“I believe this is the first Christmas album in the classical crossover genre capturing all of the emotions people experience during the season,” Cardall says. The listener will find 10 piano-centered classics accompanied by a classic Christmas soundtrack in the spirit of John Williams. The album runs the gamut of emotions. It is serene, relaxing, peaceful and inspiring while at the same time being evocative, thrilling, powerful, and breathtaking. One thing this music will not do is leave the listener the way they found it!
Known for his expansive musical gift that encompasses multiple genres, including classical crossover, contemporary Christian and new age, the Salt Lake City native has earned four No. 1 albums on the Billboard charts, amassed more than two billion lifetime digital streams and earns over 25 million streams monthly. Currently residing in Nashville, Cardall tapped Michael W. Smith’s longtime musical director Jim Daneker to produce his latest offering and recorded the set at Nashville’s legendary Ocean Way studio. “This is the first time in 20 years I’ve worked with a producer,” Cardall notes. “I’ve always been a fan of Michael’s music and the chance to work with Jim was that moment of taking your career to the next level. We connected as friends, artists, and we share the same tastes in music.”
In addition to Cardall’s stunning instrumental interpretations of such timeless classics as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Joy to the World” and “Away in a Manger,” there are also three vocal collaborations with a diverse roster of talent in 12-time Grammy winner CeCe Winans, award winning singer/songwriter Audrey Assad and Australia’s Broadway star Patrice Tipoki. “I’ve been waiting and working to get an opportunity to give to my audience something extraordinary and CeCe performing ‘O Holy Night’ is unbelievable,” enthuses Cardall. “CeCe is the best gift I can give my fans this Christmas and for years to come.”
Cardall is also thrilled to have collaborated with Assad and Tipoki. “Audrey has a voice of an angel. I’m humbled and honored to have her on board doing one of my favorite songs,” he says of Assad’s ethereal interpretation of “In the Bleak Midwinter.” Tipoki delivers “Son of God.” “Patrice has massive vocal range having toured word-wide in a handful of Broadway productions. She’s been everyone from Elphaba in ‘Wicked’ to Fontine in ‘Les Miserables.’ She is also one of the most humble, kind, and appreciative artists I’ve worked with. We previously collaborated on “Son of God” for my album A New Creation and felt it was important to put my original song on the Christmas album because it’s inspired by Mary, the mother of the Christ child. This new version has more effects to give it greater depth.”
In addition to “Son of God,” the album also includes Cardall’s hauntingly beautiful original “Christmas Past.” “Before I ever began this journey I knew that I wanted to create something I would enjoy listening to year after year,” Cardall says of the album. “I want my grandchildren and their children to listen and feel the same spirit I felt making the album. I want my music to be alive long after I’m dead. Music lives on and we feel things we couldn’t have felt without it.”
Creating a memorable Christmas collection was a personal mission for Cardall. “The heart of all my music is the whole reason we celebrate Christmas,” he shares. “The holiday brings people together-strangers, family. We all long to be with each other. This album speaks volumes of those emotions. With all our differences we come together, have a meal, make a toast, and celebrate joy, gratitude, the Christ child, all of it. This is the purpose and mission of all my music.”
