Posted in Christmas on Oct 31st, 2007
Song history of Away In A Manger - First published in an 1885 Lutheran Sunday School, “Away in a Manger” has two major melodies for the song, neither of them with certain authorship. The first two verses of “Away in a Manger” were originally published in a Lutheran Sunday school book in 1885. Two years […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 30th, 2007
Song History - We Three Kings of Orient Are is a Christmas carol (technically an Epiphany carol) written in 1857 by Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the words and the music for We Three Kings of Orient Are as part of a Christmas. We Three Kings of Orient Are first appeared in his Carols, […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 28th, 2007
Song History - “O Holy Night” (”Cantique de Noël“) is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem “Minuit, chrétiens” by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877). Cappeau was a resident of Roquemaure, located a few miles north of the historic city of Avignon. He was a commissionaire of wines, and an occasional […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 27th, 2007
Joy to the World Song History - ”Joy to the World” is one of the best-known and best-loved of Christmas carols. Joy to the World contains a message of joy and love replacing sin and sorrow. Though the triumphant words “Joy to the World” exemplify the Christmas feeling, this familiar text is actually a translation based […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 25th, 2007
Song History - Carol of the Bells (also known as the “Ukrainian Bell Carol”) was adapted from “Shchedryk” by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, which was first performed in December 1916 by students at Kiev University. Carol of the Bells was a part of the Ukrainian National Chorus reportoire during its 1,000-plus concert tour around Europe and […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 23rd, 2007
Angels We Have Heard On High - Song History
Angels We Have Heard On High is a Christmas carol based on a traditional French carol known as Les Anges dans nos Campagnes. Its most common English version was translated in 1862 by James Chadwick and is most commonly sung to the hymn tune “Gloria”, as arranged […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 22nd, 2007
We Wish You A Merry Christmas Song History - In the days of Olde England (16th century ), groups of traveling singers would entertain for food or pay. These groups were called “waits” and were extremely popular at Christmastime. We Wish You A Merry Christmas is one of those tunes that was sung by the […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 19th, 2007
Song History “What Child is This?“ - The tune of “Greensleeves“, which is the underlying melody for What Child is This , is a product of the sixteenth century. Greensleeves is an example of folk music in the truest sense of the phrase. Webster defines folk music as the “traditional and typically anonymous music that is […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 18th, 2007
For Silent Night, Darren Curtis Skanson mixes Christmas music with classical guitar and New Age synthesizers for an incredibly unique rendition of the timeless classic.
This digital song download of Silent Night on classical guitar is in standard tuning with Synthesizer Choir, Strings, Bells, and Percussion
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“Check out the choir that accompanies Silent Night. Although it is
Posted in Christmas on Oct 17th, 2007
The First Noel is a traditional English carol from the 16th or 17th century. The First Noel is also known as Carol For The Epiphany. This combination of tune and lyrics first appeared in the early 1800s. The melody os The First Noel is unusual among English folk melodies in that it consists of essentially […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 12th, 2007
O Little Town Of Bethlehem Song History - Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal priest, was inspired upon a visit to the town of Bethlehem in 1865 where he attended a 5 hour church service at the Church of the Nativity. On Christmas Eve, while returning to Jerusalem from Bethleham, he stopped in an open field to watch the dusk […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 11th, 2007
Song History - Joy To The World is one of the best-known and best-loved of Christmas carols and is now universally sung as one of the most joyous songs of Christmas. Joy To The World contains a message of joy and love replacing sin and sorrow. The history of the popular “Joy To The World” is […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 10th, 2007
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Song History - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen was first published in England in 1833, when it appeared in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys. The author is unknown. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen first played in the United States in […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 8th, 2007
Away In A Manger is one of the sweetest of the traditional Christmas carols. I used my Steel 12 String Acoustic Guitar
with Drop “D” tuning and a standard tuned “E-Bowed” Electric Guitar for this recording of Away In A Manger to make my electric guitar sound like a flute!
An E-Bow is a hand-held electronic bow for guitar. […]
Posted in New Age, Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar on Oct 7th, 2007
Robert Persig wrote a book called “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” that was very important in my artistic development. My song Chasing The Ultimate, Lateral to me means striving for perfection thru inspiration and simulation and never, ever giving up on the chase. This is a philosiphy that I took directly from Zen and the Art […]
Posted in Classical Guitar on Oct 7th, 2007
“Classical Gas is one of those selections you hear once and never forget. We had such a great time rearranging and recording this classical guitar piece. Classical Gas is also a song that inspired me to play classical guitar. Mason, you should have done a few more like this!” - Darren Curtis Skanson
Classical Gas 2000 […]
Posted in Classical Guitar on Oct 5th, 2007
“The Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig von Beethoven (Sonata No.14 in C#-, Op.27 No.2) is and will be one of my favorite compositions of all time. This classical guitar arrangement is also o ne of my most loved pieces to perform. Although Ludwig von Beethoven is known for his more bombastic style, as in the 5th […]
Posted in Christmas on Oct 3rd, 2007
A Light Classical Christmas & Angels, Guitars & Joy ”Christmas music always on classical guitar brings a warmness and peace to my heart. In general, Christmas songs have holiday themes directly taken from Christmas or have themes
addressing the holiday and the winter season. Currently my recorded works of classical guitar focus on the group of Christmas music known […]
Posted in Twelve (12) String Guitar on Oct 3rd, 2007
Autumn uses acoustic 12 string guitar with violin lead by Ryan Avery of Chances End and cello accompaniment. Autumn was recorded August 2004, but was originally recorded for Catharsis Infinity (Watson&Company - 2003). on Autumn, Darren uses a 1973 Martin D Series 12 string guitar in standard tuning.
Autumn is my favorite pure song on this record and […]
