an advent of carols

[adventcarols]

Dec. 25

Happy Christmas, everyone!

I leave you with a medley - I tend to shy away from medleys in general because they can so easily go wrong, but I’ll make an exception for Gustav Holst (you may know him as the composer of The Planets). He arranged ‘Christmas Day’ in 1910; it is performed here by the American Boy’s Choir.

Until another year! xox

[adventcarols]

Dec. 24

‘Walking in the Air’ is the centerpiece of The Snowman, a cartoon produced by the BBC in 1982, which was based on a children’s picture book written by Raymond Briggs. It has become a classic of British holiday culture. For many years, there was confusion over who had actually performed the song; eventually it was proved that it was sung by a choirboy from St. Paul’s Cathedral, Peter Auty, who was 13 years old at the time. It was later re-released as a single where it was sung by Aled Jones. The music and song for the cartoon were composed by Howard Blake. 

[adventcarols]

Dec. 23

‘The Seven Joys of Mary,’ or sometimes ‘Joys Seven,’ is a traditional English carol that has been arranged and sung in many different versions; it’s not strictly a Christmas text, but has come to be seen as a carol. This is arranged by Stephen Cleobury, and performed by King’s College Choir.

[adventcarols]

Dec. 22

‘The Huron Carol’ is one of the most unusual, and the most beautiful, carols around. It was written in 1642 in Huron/Wendat, an indigenous Canadian language, by Jean de Brébeuf, a French Jesuit missionary who was working to convert the Huron to Christianity. The piece is an example of syncretism - the conscious mixing of cultures, a tactic which many missionaries used around the world in order to accommodate native practices and languages into Christian worship. It is performed here in Huron, French, and English by Heather Dale.

HURON/WENDAT: Ehstehn yayau deh tsaun we yisus ahattonnia O na wateh wado:kwi nonnwa 'ndasqua entai ehnau sherskwa trivota nonnwa 'ndi yaun rashata Iesus Ahattonnia, Ahattonnia, Iesus Ahattonnia.

Ayoki onki hm-ashe eran yayeh raunnaun yauntaun kanntatya hm-deh 'ndyaun sehnsatoa ronnyaun Waria hnawakweh tond Yosehf sataunn haronnyaun Iesus Ahattonnia, Ahattonnia, Iesus Ahattonnia....

[adventcarols]

Dec. 21

A modern American classic - ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ was written in 1957 by Joseph Carleton Beale and James Ross Boothe. This is the original recording, where it was sung by Bobby Helms, a rockabilly singer for whom it may have been his biggest hit. 

[adventcarols]

Dec. 20

Continuing with another animated classic - this is ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch’ from the 1964 cartoon adapting Dr. Seuss’s book. The lyrics were written by Dr. Seuss himself (i.e. Thedor Geisel), the music was written by Albert Hague, and it was sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. Boris Karloff provided the voice of the Grinch in the rest of the show.

[adventcarols]

Dec. 19

I think we can all share in Jack Skellington’s curious happiness when confronted by a Christmas scene! ‘What’s This?’ is a much-beloved song written and sung by Danny Elfman, from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

[adventcarols]

Dec. 18

Another contemporary commission by King’s College Choir - Arvo Pärt is an Estonian composer who rose to prominence in the 1990s with his spare, soaring religiously-inflected music, which includes pieces like Fratres and Tabula Rasa. ‘Bogoróditse Dyévo’ was originally written by Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1915, and this adaptation by Pärt debuted in 1990.

CHURCH SLAVONIC: Богородице Дево, радуйся, благодатная Марие, Господь с тобою. Благословена ты в женах, и благословен плод чрева твоего, яко Спаса родила еси душ наших.

ENGLISH: Rejoice, virgin mother of God, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have borne the Savior of our souls.

[adventcarols]

Dec. 17

A bit(!) of a change of pace - Brian Setzer and his Orchestra tend to dish up energetic, fun twists on the classics. In this case, he’s created a classic all of his own - ‘Santa’s Got a Hot Rod.’ 

[adventcarols]

Dec. 16

‘Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day’ is a traditional English carol first written down/compiled in the nineteenth century. It has been arranged many times; this gorgeous version was put together by John Gardner, and is performed by the King’s College Choir with organ.

[adventcarols]

Dec. 15

Okay, okay - I know it’s technically Mariah Carey’s song, but THIS is the best version of ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You.’ End of discussion. :-)

[adventcarols]

Dec. 14

Thomas Adès is a contemporary British pianist and composer who has made a name for himself writing wildly harmonic and beautiful tone poems and operas (including The Tempest and Powder Her Face). This, his ‘Fayrfax Carol,’ was commissioned by the King’s College Choir and first performed in 1997. The original Fayrfax Carol is an anonymous text from the 15th century.

[adventcarols]

Dec. 13

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (first broadcast in 1964) has many famous songs, but I’ve always had a soft spot for this - Burl Ives singing ‘Silver and Gold.’ 

[adventcarols]

Dec. 12

The German carol ‘Es ist ein Ros entsprungen’ is most often translated as ‘Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming.’ It first appeared in print in German in the 16th century, and has been modified over the years to add more verses, as well as to have separate Catholic and Protestant versions. It is sung here by The King’s Singers. 

GERMAN: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, aus einer Wurzel zart, wie uns die Alten sungen, von Jesse war die Art Und hat ein Blümlein bracht mitten im kalten Winter, wohl zu der halben Nacht.

ENGLISH: A rose has sprung up, from a tender root. As the old ones sang to us, Its lineage was from Jesse. And it has brought forth a floweret In the middle of the cold winter Well at half the night.

[adventcarols]

Dec. 11

‘Feliz Navidad’ was written in 1970 by Puetro Rican singer José Feliciano, who performs it live here. Fun fact: did you know there’s actually a word for songs which use words from multiple languages? Bilingual songs are ‘macaronic.’ Where that comes from I cannot guess....

[adventcarols]

Dec. 10

‘Angels from the Realms of Glory’ is a nineteenth-century carol with a distinctive chorus that was written by Scottish poet James Montgomery and published in 1818. This arrangement is by Reginald Jacques, and performed by the King’s College Choir.

[adventcarols]

Dec. 9

An American classic - Bing Crosby sings ‘White Christmas,’ from 1954.