Track Listing

1. In the Spring with Plow and Harrow - Quincy Choral Society
2. Come Ye Thankful People, Come - Quincy Choral Society
3. Heap High the Farmer's Wintry Hoard - Quincy Choral Society
4. For the Beauty of the Earth - Quincy Choral Society
5. Over the River and Through the Woods - QCS Kids and Friends
6. Now Thank We All Our God - Quincy Choral Society
7. He Gives the Grain - Jeff Cruikshank
8. We Gather Together - Quincy Choral Society
9. All Good Gifts - Laurie Macintosh
10. Baseball Turkeys - QCS Kids and Friends
11. Give Thanks - Quincy Choral Society
12. Amazing Grace - aka Pelican Groove
13. Ode to Joy - Quincy Choral Society

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2989 in Music
• Released on: 2003-08-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
The creators of the Thanksgiving CD are a group of regular people in the greater Boston area who feel Thanksgiving is a truly great American holiday that should be celebrated with MUSIC! It is a holiday for all Americans, regardless of religion or background.

This CD celebrates the thankfulness we all share, not just in November, but throughout the year.

Artists include the Quincy Choral Society, QCS Kids and Friends, a.k.a. Pelican Groove, and Jeff Cruikshank.

Fundraising The creators of the Thanksgiving CD feel that sharing with others is a good way to show our thanks for the bounty we enjoy in this country.

Therefore, the Thanksgiving CD is offered as a fundraiser for organizations.

It’s a simple strategy:

Buy the CDs at a discount and resell them at a profit! A Fundraising Toolkit makes fundraising as easy as possible.

About the Artist
QUINCY CHORAL SOCIETY

The Quincy Choral Society is based in historic Quincy, Massachusetts. QCS has performed in the Boston area for 25 years, as well as in Europe in Austria, the Czech Republic, England, France, Scotland and Wales. They have performed in Chartres Cathedral, The Hallows by the Tower (of London), at the Fringe Festival in Edinborough, and in the Church of St. Nicholas in Prague. They just returned from their July 2005 tour of Northern Italy where they performed at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice.

Under the talented direction of John Nichols, the Quincy Choral Society has grown to more than 80 members in the last 10 years. QCS musicians are from all walks of life: business people, doctors, lawyers, teachers, homemakers, students and retirees. Members live between Boston and Cape Cod, and share the common love of singing together.

QCS has performed a wide variety of music, including:

*Major classical choral masterpieces, such as: Bach's Mass in B Minor; Beethoven's Missa Solemnis; Brahms' A German Requiem; Handel's Messiah; Haydn's Creation; Mendelssohn's Elijah; Mozart's Requiem; Schubert's Mass in A Flat and Vivaldi's Gloria.

*Major works by contemporary composers, such as: Britten's Ceremony of Carols; Bush's Christmas Cantata; Copland's In the Beginning and Rutter's Magnificat and Requiem.

*Spirituals, such as: My Lord, What a Mornin'; Ezekial Saw de Wheel; Ain't Got Time to Die; Somebody's Knockin' at Your Door and Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho.

*Showtune medleys, such as: Gershwin's Porgy and Bess; Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel; Schonberg's Les Miserables and Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera.

*Seasonal songs, patriotic songs, and much more!

AKA PELICAN GROOVE

Guest performers a.k.a. Pelican Groove have performed a cappella in the Boston area since the mid-90s. Twice they tied for 1st Runner-Up in the Boston Regional Harmony Sweepstakes.

Over their history, they've performed at hundreds of events, clubs, parties, community concerts and made live appearances on television and radio. They've sung on the hallowed grass of Fenway Park (Go Red Sox!), the cobblestones of Fanueil Hall Marketplace and the marble proscenium of Boston's Hatch Shell/Esplanade.

a.k.a. Pelican Groove's CD "Plunge" showcases their diverse repertoire of classic R&B, doo-wop, 70's soul, 90's alternative, pop originals and more. a.k.a. Pelican Groove's specialty is introducing audiences to the sound of high-tech, groove-based a cappella ...a sound audiences love!

JEFF CRUIKSHANK

Guest performer Jeff Cruikshank took his first and only guitar lesson at the age of 11. He subsequently taught himself folk guitar, slowly during each school year then at breakneck speed over the summers in order to keep up with his cousins' band. He plays, writes music and lyrics, and performs locally in the Boston area.

Jeff is a writer by profession and has published over 30 books that he's authored himself, co-authored, written under contract and written under pen names. His latest mystery, written under his own name, is titled "Murder at the B-School" and was released last October.

Customer Reviews

May We Be Truly Thankful
"Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" is the experience of a church music service without actually going to church. There are very few CDs out there that are specifically dedicated to Thanksgiving, but this one is a good outing.

The Quincy Choral Society presents a program that might be performed in your local church on Thanksgiving Eve. It is a good mix of traditional hymns, carols and popular songs. The program suggests an autumn setting complete with rustic backdrops and a plentiful harvest.

The CD sums up the program with the following message: "We in America live in an extraordinary time of bounty. Never before in history have so many people had so much: nutritious food, ample clothing, spacious housing, good health. For all this we should be thankful every day. Let us consciously reject destructive influences in our society, and instead embrace a thankful attitude for the good fortune we enjoy in our country -- not just at Thanksgiving in November, but every day throughout the year."

When listening to this CD, my mind wanders back to my early childhood and memories of church concerts at Thanksgiving: memories of friends and family gathered around the supper table; memories of the wonderful smells and aromas from the kitchen as my mother prepared Thanksgiving dinner; thoughts of the coming Christmas season; my feeble attempts, in grade school, at making a paper turkey from a drawing of my hand (!); and of all the things we have to be thankful for.

The description indicates Ludwig Van Beethoven as the author. He did write the music for "Ode to Joy" which is included in this CD, but there are many composers and authors represented in this program, both classical and contemporary.

The performers include: The Quincy Choral Society, Johanna Nichols (flute), Marilyn Whipple (piano and organ), QCS Kids & Friends, Jeff Cruikshank (guitar and vocals), Laurie Macintosh (vocals), and AKA Pelican Groove (a capella vocals). The performances were recorded at various churches and schools in Quincy and Milton, MA.

Thanksgiving is certainly a time to reflect on the bounty and richness of life, and this CD will certainly bring out those memories. If you enjoy choral music, you will count your blessings and be thankful you purchased this CD of Thanksgiving hymns and carols. Highly recommended.

Good Memories!
As long as I can remember, two of my favorite Thanksgiving songs have been "Come Ye Thankful People Come" and "We Gather Together."
I'm glad that I found them both on this CD. The singers are not the Mormon Tabernacle Choir--nor do they pretend to be. Nonetheless, the humility and sincerity of the voices shine through, and I am enjoying once again these songs from my early school days.

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
This CD contains all of the music from the Thanksgiving programs I enjoyed so much as a young person growing up in the fifties and sixties. The music and vocals are lovely and diverse and especially well suited to each song, whether it be a young child or adult solo, or a full chorus for the vocals. All of the childhood songs are here, as well as the classic "grateful praise" songs of the Christian church.

If you are looking for the full Thanksgiving musical experience, or even thanksgiving and praise songs to fill your heart for God every day of the year, then I heartily recommend this collection to you.