Lambertville Historical Society To Release 7th Annual Christmas Album

Local artists have collaborated once again to produce the 7th annual “Season’s Greetings from Lambertville” music CD, with sales benefitting the Lambertville Historical Society.

This year’s album has the most tracks ever, totaling 21 songs, which include traditional carols and holiday standards, as well as eight originals.

Thomas Florek, who has performed a selection for every one of the seasonal albums, performs as “Santa P and the Elves” with Joe Bezek, Doug Gentile and a recruited horde of “eccentric people from town” for the jazzy opening track, “Another Puppet for Love.”

Justin Nawn and Bronwyn Bird over at the Birdhouse Center for the Arts have performed on the annual release for five years while augmenting and diversifying their arrangements over this time. This year, they enlisted private youth and adult students along with their NJNO (Not Just Nyckelharpa Orchestra) and performed a medley of a traditional Swedish tune, “Båtsman Däck” along with a Swedish holiday classic, “Nu är det jul igen.” The Nyckelharpa is featured, an instrument derived from the hurdy-gurdy (of Donovan fame).

One of the tracks also includes the the Lambertville Public School Girls Chorus and Friends with teacher Timothy Angst singing tenor in Italian.

LHS Trustee Michael Menche has organized the annual fundraiser each year, and has planned a trio of live concerts to further promote the CD:

• Sunday, Dec. 2, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 66 Wilson St., in Lambertville
• Wednesday, Dec. 12, from 8 to 10:15 p.m. at Havana, 105 S. Main St., New Hope
• Wednesday, Dec. 19, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Birdhouse Center for the Arts, 7 N. Main St., Lambertville

The concerts are open to the public and a $5 donation is suggested.

Additionally, there are two radio shows featuring the album. PA NJ Radio is playing tracks starting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27.  Two of the contributing artists, Barry Peterson and Angst, will discuss their songs and more on air. On Thursday Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m, WDVR (89.7 FM) will play songs, and talk with contributing artists Mary Barry Freedman and Gary Cohen.

The CD can be purchased online and streamed at www.lambertvillehistoricalsociety.org. The album is $10 for Lambertville Historical Society members and $15 for non-members. It will be on sale Dec. 1 at Lambertville venues, including Buck’s on Bridge, Blue Raccoon, City Market, JB Kline Music, Lambertville Trading Company and Tirpoks Cleaners.

“The community readily gets behind the concept of supporting the historical integrity of our river city,” wrote Nawn. “It is evident that many local musicians love to channel the holiday spirit in their recordings, and it takes a lot of work to independently curate the tracks that are added to the CD each year.”