Winter is a continuation of Gerald Krampl's 2019 Advent and Christmas project and is a collection of ten traditional winter songs and Christmas carols and one original piece, arranged for solo piano. Like his Advent & Christmas double album, the arrangements are not overly-complicated or flashy and the overall mood of the album is quiet and reflective, focusing on the melody of each piece. The Christmas carols are all very familiar to me, but the "wintersongs" are not, so it's a very nice combination of seasonal songs that can be enjoyed throughout the winter months.

Gerald Krampl is a classically-trained pianist/composer from Vienna, Austria who started his music career in the 1970s with a variety of ProgRock bands. He started exploring the areas of New Age and Healing Music in 2006, returning to his roots to work as a solo artist, composing and arranging neo-classical chamber and solo piano music.

Winter begins with "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," one of the most popular of the traditional carols. Gerald begins with a flowing intro before the melody comes in. The gentle broken chord pattern in the left hand accompaniment and the original interlude between the verses highlight the beauty of Mendelssohn's melody. "Oh, Bitter Winter" is a new piece for me, and I really like it. It was first published in a German songbook from 1582 as "Ach bittrer Winter" and describes the desperation and hardships the people of the Middle Ages faced during winter as well as their longing for nature's rebirth in spring - poignant and heartfelt. "Good King Wenceslas" begins with an interesting intro that doesn't reveal the song until the melody enters. There is a rather dark interlude in the middle of the piece that contrasts well with the cheerful melody of the song. "O Thou Joyful/ O Sanctissima" is a new piece for me and is a celebratory hymn that goes back several centuries. "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" is one of my favorite carols - at least in part because it adapts well to so many styles of music. Gerald's arrangement brings out the bittersweet melody with a simple accompaniment that is often in deep bass of the piano. I really like the interlude in this one, too. It seems like "In the Bleak Midwinter" has become a very popular Christmas piano solo over the past several years and Gerald's arrangement is beautiful, again bringing out the heartfelt quality of the melody. "Away In a Manger" has about forty melodies that go with the lyrics, and Gerald uses the melody from "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton" for his version along with a tender interlude of his own. "On The Mountain There Blows The Wind" is another new piece for me and feels very much like a folksong that tells a story - this time without words. "In The Morning Still (1st Variation" is the original piece and is very peaceful and calm. "What Child Is This?/Greensleeves" is another favorite of mine, and Gerald lets the melody sing with a graceful left hand broken chord pattern to support it - my favorite track on the album.

Winter would be a lovely addition to anyone's collection of Christmas/winter music and is available from Amazon, Apple Music/iTunes, Bandcamp (CDs are available there!), Spotify and other streaming platforms. Check it out!