We grew up listening to this wonderful album at Christmastime. It must be one of my earliest memories of our childhood Christmases. My father was second generation Italian; his parents emigrated from Italy in the early 1900s and settled in New York City. I'm not sure how they found their way to Tarrytown, but that's where they settled and raised their family (my father and his four siblings). My father married a woman of non-Italian heritage (English/Irish/Scottish), but she learned how to make the Italian dishes my father loved, from his mother--my grandmother. So at Christmas they would make struffoli (if you haven't had this pastry, I recommend it highly). My father worked in Manhattan near Herald Square when we were children, so he would stop in Macy's on his way home and buy a panettone (an Italian Christmas cake) as well as different types of Italian hard candy.
So it's no surprise that I love the cover of this album--a Christmas table with different foods, but what I especially remember is the big Christmas cake--most likely a panettone.
I'm listening to the album as I write this post. Christmas is still two weeks away, but I wish you all a Buon Natale from the bottom of my heart.
Here is the track list for those who are interested:
0:00 È Nato Gesù (Jesus Was Born)
2:48 Buon Natale
5:07 Pastorale
8:35 Presepe
11:26 Notte Sacra
14:03 Bianco Natale
17:30 La Ninna Nanna A Gesù
20:39 La Stella Di Betlemme
24:09 Alla Luce D'Una Stella
28:20 Campane Di Natale
32:15 Cantico D'Amore
36:00 Dolce Risveglio
