“Tis the night before Christmas and all through the world people gather to share stories, poems and music of this wondrous night”. Thus the narrator of A Child’s Christmas in Bethlehem draws us into a magical recording that includes carols spanning seven centuries and five languages as well as poems and stories that take us from Bethlehem in the Holy Land where we are present at the birth of Jesus as seen through a child’s eyes, to diverse Christmas traditions of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the present day.

Under the direction of Greg Funfgeld The Bach Choir of Bethlehem is joined by The Bel Canto Children’s Chorus, and accompanied by organ, piano, violins, guitar, handbells and percussion. The voices of adults and children; poets from Robert Herrick, William Blake and Langston Hughes to 10 year old Carla Victoria Lugo; storytellers from Jostein Gaarder to Zaida Padilla; and composers from Johann Sebastian Bach to John Rutter and Bob Chilcott combine to create pure delight for the ears and the heart.

This is a recording for families to treasure in the belief that it is never too early or too late to instill the love of great music and literature and lift our spirits with this beautiful meditation on the meaning of Christmas.