Francesca Battistelli was born on May 18, 1985 in New York
City. Both of her parents were involved
in musical theater. She put out the
independent album JUST A BREATH in 2004.
She later signed with Fervent Records and released MY PAPER HEART in
2008. It debuted at No 1 on iTunes and
included the hits ‘I’m Letting Go’ and ‘Free to be Me’. She followed this with 2011’s HUNDRED MORE
YEARS which featured ‘This is the Stuff’ and ‘Motion of Mercy’. On October 16, 2012 she released CHRISTMAS
(Fervent/Curb) produced by Ian Eskelin.
The album opens with a snappy jazz version of ‘The Christmas
Song’ which is highly popular and sentimental: “Chestnuts roasting on an open
fire/Jack Frost nipping at your nose/Yuletide carols being sung by a choir/And
folks dressed up like Eskimos/Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe/Will
help to make the season bright/Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow/Will find it
hard to sleep tonight/They know that Santa’s on his way”. Violins, viola, cello, trumpet, and tenor sax
are some of the instruments used.
Battistelli and Ben Glover penned the good adult contemporary song
‘Heaven Everywhere’. It speaks of
transforming power: “It’s the smile on a man who has finally found hope/It’s
the tears of a mother whose child has come home/It’s the joy that we feel and
the love that we share/There’s a little bit of heaven everywhere (2X)/It’s
funny how it takes a holiday/To show us how the world could truly change/If we
all took the time to really care/There’d be a little more of heaven
everywhere”.
Another original, ‘Christmas Is’, was written by Francesca,
Ian Eskelin, and Tony Wood. This peppy
pop song uses trumpet, trumphet, and piccolo trumphet, among other
instruments. It has very down to earth
lyrics which I appreciate: “Christmas is music and family in town/Christmas is
Snoopy and Charlie Brown/It’s anticipating that snow’s gonna fall and/Praying
for someplace to park at the mall/It’s Mom going crazy ‘cause the turkey got
burned/It’s saying thanks for some gift you’ll return/Christmas is caroling
kids at your door/It’s paper and ribbon all over the floor”. ‘What Child is This? (First Noel Prelude)’
reveres the Christ child: “This, this is Christ the King/Whom shepherds guard
and angels sing/Haste, haste to bring Him laud/The babe, the Son of Mary/So
bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh/Come peasant king to own Him/The King of
Kings salvation brings/Let loving hearts enthrone Him”.
‘Marshmallow World’ dates back to 1949 and is credited to
Peter DeRose and Carl Sigman. Bing
Crosby recorded it in 1950 and did well with it. Francesca’s cover is fun and carefree and has
lots of musical energy! Here are some of
the lyrics: “It’s a marshmallow world in the winter/When the snow comes to
cover the ground/It’s the time for play, it’s a whipped cream day/I wait for it
the whole year round.../It’s a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts/Take a walk
with your favorite girl/It’s a sugar date, what if spring is late/In winter
it’s a marshmallow world”. ‘O Come, O
Come Emmanuel’ is here given a quiet, traditional treatment. Mike Payne plays guitar and Tim Lauer plays
keyboards. The song cries out for a
Savior: “O come, Thou rod of Jesse, free/Thine own from Satan’s tyranny/From
depths of hell Thy people save/And give them victory over the grave/Rejoice,
Rejoice/Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel”.
‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ was written by
Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin. Tony Lucido
plays bass on Francesca’s upbeat pop cover of it. It paints a picture of utopia: “Have yourself
a merry little Christmas/Let your heart be light/From now on/Our troubles will
be out of sight/Have yourself a merry little Christmas/Make the Yule-tide
gay/From now on our troubles will be miles away/Here we are as in olden
days/Happy golden days of yore/Faithful friends who are dear to us/Gather near
to us once more...” ‘You’re Here’ is a
nice adult contemporary ballad written by Francesca and Ben Glover. It comes from the perspective of Mary, Jesus’
mother: “Hold on now, gotta take a deep breath/I don’t know what to say when I
look in Your eyes/You made the world before I was born/But here I am holding
You in my arms tonight/Noel, Noel, Jesus, our Emmanuel.../I don’t know how long
I’m gonna have You for/But I’ll be watching when You change the world/But look
at Your hands, they’re still so small/Someday You’re gonna stretch them out and
save us all”.
On ‘Joy to the World’ Ben Phillips plays drums, Mike Payne
plays guitar, and Tim Lauer is responsible for keyboards and melodica. The words are, well, full of joy: “Joy to the
world, the Lord is come/Let earth receive her King/Let every heart prepare Him
room/And heaven and nature sing (2X)/And heaven and heaven and nature
sing”. ‘Christmas Dreams’ is a creation
of Francesca, Ian Eskelin, and Tony Wood.
It is appropriately sleepy musically given the song’s title. It tells how Christmas can genuinely fill
both children and adults with anticipation and excitement: “I smile as I kiss
them ‘cause under that tree are/Surprises that they’re not expecting to see,
we’re just/Hours away from their giggles and screams the/Answers to all of
their Christmas dreams.../The thought comes to mind that I may be the one/Who’s
most excited by what’s yet to come/As I crawl into bed, I laugh ‘cause it seems
guess you’re/Never too old for Christmas dreams”. ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain’ is given a slow
R&B treatment. The message reminds
me of the Great Commission given us by Jesus.
On CHRISTMAS Francesca Battistelli delivers a very strong
vocal performance. She breathes new life
into several classics and gives us four splendid new holiday songs that should
become favorites in the years to come.
Jesus Christ is central to this album’s message. I’m rating CHRISTMAS 90%. In 2013 a two-disc version of the album was
released. Disc Two is a DVD entitled
CHRISTMAS LIVE IN NASHVILLE. This
concert was recorded at the Pepsi Studio Gallery on the grounds of the historic
Fontanel Mansion in Nashville, TN. The
concert includes all of the songs from the CD plus one called ‘December 25’
written by Francesca and Jason Walker.
Francesca is backed by a string section and horn ensemble. During the concert she smiles and has good
rapport with the audience. She shares
some of her Christmas traditions and remembrances. The only way the concert could have been improved
is if she took the microphone off of its stand once in a while and moved around
the stage more. For more info visit: www.francescamusic.com and www.wordlabelgroup.com.