It is unlikely that the Magi sang “We Three Kings”, or that Mary comforted her child with “Away In A Manger”. Rather, it is through post-Incarnation litanies and liturgy, sacred texts and even secular traditions that we have the music of Christmas we know today. However, to consider that holy, historical night as one without music, without a mother’s lullaby, pastoral hymns, or songs of rejoicing, would be equally mistaken. This collection of original arrangements for the piano contemplates the music of that first Christmas. I attempted to capture the human and angelic, the divine and ordinary, while employing music made familiar over the last several centuries. It is inspired in part by the classical repertoire and music from the Polish and Celtic traditions; but more deeply by the humanity of those days under the Bethlehem sky: the wonder, the journey, the cold, the humility, the joy. These arrangements are creatively assembled to be expressive, pianistic, and reflective of the meaning behind each piece of music. Sometimes subtly masked, others more readily recognized, the themes are all presented in Mark's careful and artful playing.