One Silent Night

Kurt Bestor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 30, 1997)
• Original Release Date: October 30, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bonneville / Bwe
• ASIN: B00000586W
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,800 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Pianist Kurt Bestor's One Silent Night is perhaps as lovely and elegant as holiday recordings get. That's lofty praise, but this is a splendid, endearing package. Better known for more elaborate, orchestrated Christmas productions, Bestor probes straight to the emotional core of the season with his affecting solo piano treatment of 11 traditional carols. His arrangements employ subtle harmonic shifts that can evoke comparisons to Liz Story at her finest, infusing his interpretations with a peaceful eloquence that is utterly free of schmaltz and sentimental clichés. Other than a botched fingering about two minutes into "Oh Tannenbaum," Bestor performs with grace, intelligence, and quiet power, at times making your heart skip with his phrasing on pieces such as "Ding, Dong Merrily on High" and "Sussex Carole," a small jewel that opens "Olde English Suite." One Silent Night merits an audience beyond Bestor's traditional Mormon fan base. --Terry Wood

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Save This For Christmas Eve, June 26, 2000

By 

R. W. Rasband (Heber City, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Silent Night (Audio CD)

Bestor isn't just another New Age dork, but a tremendously talented musician, as this piano-only album shows. He reworks some beloved old carols into poignant new forms that make you feel you are hearing them for the first time and yet they distill the very essence of Christmas. I always play this on Christmas Eve; it's the perect way to get the holiday spirit.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kurt on solo piano is wonderfully relaxing, November 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: One Silent Night (Audio CD)

This is my favorite of Kurt's four Christmas CDs. It sounds as if he is in my front room playing for me personally. Highly recommended listening!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I gave one to 16 people on my list, January 4, 2010

By 

Mary M. Broad (Cedarburg, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Silent Night (Audio CD)

I recently saw Kurt Bestor perform for the first time. He and two other musicians put on a beautiful all Christmas concert in Cedarburg, Wisconsin and I was definitely impressed. I play piano myself and compose my own music and occasionally play professionally. Kurt is enormously talented. During intermission I bought 10 of his One Silent Night CD's to give as Christmas gifts to my family. I went home after the concert and played one of the CD's. When I heard the first low notes of Oh Tannenbaum it stopped me in my tracks and I cried. A piece of music hasn't hit me so deeply in a long time. I live close to the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center where Kurt had performed and went back and bought 8 more CD's. I wish I had bought more! I've listened to the CD hundreds of times now (it's post-Christmas and I'm still listening) and I continue to be moved almost to tears especially on that one track. I kept 2 of the CD's for myself so that I can have one in my home and one in the car. One Silent Night made my Christmas and is helping me through the beginning of 2010. I may be listening to it until next Christmas! It's totally therapeutic! Thank you, Kurt!