Welcome to Christmas Classics Ltd., publisher and producer of exquisitely illustrated Christmas music collections, and Ron Clancy’s daily blog.

Only recently Ron was encouraged by several well-intentioned media folks to talk about the untold story of how he came to create exquisite Christmas music collections. But this is like asking a gourmand to dine on a swamp toad. His initial reluctance, however, soon melted away in recognition of the fact that 2010 is the 10th anniversary of the publication of his first title Best-Loved Christmas Carols.

That joyous event, seemingly a long time, was the unfolding of a mystical dream. The question was what medium Ron should use to tell his story. And then it came to him: write a blog, something which he had never done before. And blog it will be!

The daily blog will describe the twists and turns that lead to his becoming a publisher, a career that came by default since no publishing company or other enterprise expressed any interest in his Christmas music concepts. Deflated and sitting alone in his office in December 1999, he despaired about having nothing to show for ten years of exhaustive research about the origins of Christmas music. The more he sat, the more he realized that he had to do something, and that if I didn’t his dream would go to seed and years of obsessive efforts would wither in vain. Ron decided then and there to go it alone, and within days the paperwork to begin Christmas Classics Ltd. was officially filed with the state of New Jersey.

The adventure to self-publish will be told in episodic detail about what the corporate titans of direct marketing, Reader’s Digest and Time-Life Music, considered an “overly ambitious” or “tilting at the wind” effort to create ne plus ultra Christmas music collections. The daily blog will also feature a SPECIAL PERSON OF THE DAY – composer, lyricist, translator, clergyman, or other distinguished person who has contributed to the Christmas music repertoire.

Ron’s creative contributions to the repertoire are four highly illustrated compilations of favorite traditional carols, holiday songs, and classical pieces, each unique in its own way, but in sum providing an informative, and indeed novel, perspective on the history of Christmas music from the early years of Christianity to the 20th century.

What always energized Ron to go where others dared not tread was one simple objective: showcase in magnificent sight and sound the entire spectrum of Christmas music. Although some of that music still receives scant notice in our overly secularized commercial world, here is where he was determined to make a difference.

In the end his Christmas music collections may open the window, even if it is just a crack, to the beauty of liturgical and classical works that honor the seminal event of the Western World – the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thus, timeless Gregorian chant, sacred motets, instrumental pieces, such as Baroque Christmas concerti, all part of Sacred Christmas Music, share the stage with popular holiday fare for ballet, opera, and our much-loved traditional carols and songs.

The years of rearch and then publication of his findings, including two editions licensed by Sterling Publishing, have earned Ron the humble distinction as one of the leading experts on the history of Christmas music.

That was never his intention. What he wanted was simply to share his love for Christmas music by presenting it in a beautiful format that would ultimately astonish and amaze and become a cherished family heirloom. In so doing, Ron had hoped to enrich the legacy of Christmas music by raising it above the mundane.

Whether he has succeeded is not for us to say, but you may wish to learn about this episodic adventure by following his daily blog. Along the way you will also learn about the unique contributions of the Special Person of the Day.

All the best and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Classics Ltd.
www.christmasclassics.com