Upaya/Tommy Boy $24.99
rating: ***

"Care of the Soul" author Thomas Moore offers a heartening look at Christmas in this two-CD set. Moore and producer Johnny Cunningham handpicked their favorite Celtic musicians for "Soul," and the result is a unique treatment of some holiday standbys.

Delivered on bodhran and flute by Seamus Egan, "We Three Kings" suggests a long, magical journey. "In Excelsis Deo," by contrast, is a down-home jig with fiddles and banjo. Jerry O'Sullivan's uillean pipes bring a delightful flavor to several tracks.

The vocal pieces are a mixed bunch. "Jesus Christ, The Apple Tree" is a lovely choral work featuring Susan McKeown and Mikki Matheson, and Mary Fahl's haunting rendition of "Lully, Lullay" is breathtaking. Country singer Kathy Mattea adds her rich alto to "Christ Child's Lullaby." But Liam Tiernan's voice, which appears on six tunes including "Silent Night" and "The Holly and the Ivy," is so cloyingly sonorous it's difficult to endure. That he's mixed way above his accompaniments only makes matters worse.

Moore's second disc is a spoken-word piece which ties the package together nicely. Here, he explains the origins of Christmas symbols like the star, the tree, Santa Claus and the Virgin birth. His lecture is illuminatory and touching, meant to remind us of the fun, joy and mystery inherent in this season -- an aspect often lost in the holiday shuffle.

-- Beth Winegarner

This article was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle.