"When the clock struck eleven, this domestic ball broke up. Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig took their stations, one on either side of the door, and, shaking hands with every person individually as he or she went out, wished him or her a Merry Christmas. When everybody had retired but the two 'prentices, they did the same to them; and thus the cheerful voices died away, and the lads were left to their beds; which were under a counter in the back-shop.
During the whole of this time Scrooge had acted like a man out of his wits. His heart and soul were in the scene, and with his former self. He corroborated everything, and underwent the strangest agitation. It was not until now, when the bright faces of his former self and Dick were turned from them, that he remembered the Ghost, and became conscious that it was full looking full upon him, while the light upon its head burnt very clear.
'A small matter,' said the Ghost, 'to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.'
'Small!' echoed Scrooge.
The Spirit signed to him to listen to the two apprentices, who were pouring out their hearts in praise of Fezziwig: and when he had done so, said:
'Why! Is it not? He has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money: three or four, perhaps. Is that so much that he deserves this praise?'
'It isn't that,' said Scrooge, heated by the remark, and speaking unconsciously like his former, not his latter self. 'It isn't that, Spirit. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count 'em up: what then? The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.'
He felt the Spirit's glance, and stopped.
'What is the matter?' asked the Ghost.
'Nothing particular,' said Scrooge.
'Something, I think?' the Ghost insisted.
'No,' said Scrooge, 'no. I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now. That's all.'"
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
There is no War on Christmas. No one says Merry Christmas more than me, and I'm a Muslim. And if there is a War on Christmas, it is being waged by the very people making the false accusation: Trump, the GOP, the alt-Christians. They are the hypocrites defaming Christmas by their greed and callous disregard for the poorer and more needy members of our world. Christmas is not about a plastic baby in a manger scene in someone's yard or the image of a suffering figure hanging from a cross in a church. Christmas is a series of small kindnesses repeated willingly, happily and endlessly.
Merry Christmas to you my dear friends. You are in my heart.
As we know the excellent Gary Beatrice is taking a little break from the Discography, but we Lovers of All Things Beatrice cannot take a break from him. So here's his Christmas selection from last year, which we can all agree is excellent:
Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples, Born in Bethlehem
I love Christmas but I generally don't listen to a ton of Christmas music. Typically I don't pull out our collection until the week before the holiday.
For the past decade or so I've strongly preferred the old Christmas classics from the pre-rock era, especially if it's broadcast on an AM radio (searching for a truer sound). Chief among this is Sinatra's I'll Be Home For Christmas. The sentiment always got to me, presumably a young man serving his country, missing his sweetheart at holiday time. He will be home, but then the crushing reality "if only in my dreams".
But I'm not completely immune to Christmas music performed in a modern style. Perhaps because The Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples are both artists who perform spiritual music year round, I find their Christmas music especially compelling. "Born In Bethlehem " rocks the house down, and would be the highlight of a Blind Boys live performance even in mid July.
Editor's note: I also have to admit to my shame that I didn't catch his "searching for a truer sound" reference last year. Even more so than usual, I hold my intellectual manhood cheap.
Johann Sebastian Bach, Partita no. 2 (Lara St. John)
OK, so this is not really a Christmas song, obviously, but for some reason it seems to fit the season (at least here in suddenly snowy and dark Vermont). This is Bach's Partita no. 2, which is one of a series of works that he wrote for solo violin. This also would be a great choice for the proposed thematic week of works that are simply too obvious to be promoted. Every great violinist in the world, and some much better than Lara St. John, has recorded this classic work, but maybe because I was first introduced to the work through her recording it has remained my favorite. I think it is just heartbreakingly beautiful and elegiac and transcendent, and, truthfully, isn't this what defines the Christmas season?
During the whole of this time Scrooge had acted like a man out of his wits. His heart and soul were in the scene, and with his former self. He corroborated everything, and underwent the strangest agitation. It was not until now, when the bright faces of his former self and Dick were turned from them, that he remembered the Ghost, and became conscious that it was full looking full upon him, while the light upon its head burnt very clear.
'A small matter,' said the Ghost, 'to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.'
'Small!' echoed Scrooge.
The Spirit signed to him to listen to the two apprentices, who were pouring out their hearts in praise of Fezziwig: and when he had done so, said:
'Why! Is it not? He has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money: three or four, perhaps. Is that so much that he deserves this praise?'
'It isn't that,' said Scrooge, heated by the remark, and speaking unconsciously like his former, not his latter self. 'It isn't that, Spirit. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count 'em up: what then? The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.'
He felt the Spirit's glance, and stopped.
'What is the matter?' asked the Ghost.
'Nothing particular,' said Scrooge.
'Something, I think?' the Ghost insisted.
'No,' said Scrooge, 'no. I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk just now. That's all.'"
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
There is no War on Christmas. No one says Merry Christmas more than me, and I'm a Muslim. And if there is a War on Christmas, it is being waged by the very people making the false accusation: Trump, the GOP, the alt-Christians. They are the hypocrites defaming Christmas by their greed and callous disregard for the poorer and more needy members of our world. Christmas is not about a plastic baby in a manger scene in someone's yard or the image of a suffering figure hanging from a cross in a church. Christmas is a series of small kindnesses repeated willingly, happily and endlessly.
Merry Christmas to you my dear friends. You are in my heart.
Gary Beatrice
As we know the excellent Gary Beatrice is taking a little break from the Discography, but we Lovers of All Things Beatrice cannot take a break from him. So here's his Christmas selection from last year, which we can all agree is excellent:
Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples, Born in Bethlehem
I love Christmas but I generally don't listen to a ton of Christmas music. Typically I don't pull out our collection until the week before the holiday.
For the past decade or so I've strongly preferred the old Christmas classics from the pre-rock era, especially if it's broadcast on an AM radio (searching for a truer sound). Chief among this is Sinatra's I'll Be Home For Christmas. The sentiment always got to me, presumably a young man serving his country, missing his sweetheart at holiday time. He will be home, but then the crushing reality "if only in my dreams".
But I'm not completely immune to Christmas music performed in a modern style. Perhaps because The Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples are both artists who perform spiritual music year round, I find their Christmas music especially compelling. "Born In Bethlehem " rocks the house down, and would be the highlight of a Blind Boys live performance even in mid July.
Editor's note: I also have to admit to my shame that I didn't catch his "searching for a truer sound" reference last year. Even more so than usual, I hold my intellectual manhood cheap.
Dave Wallace
The Temptations - Little Drummer Boy
For my last Christmas song of 2017,
it occurs to me that I haven't selected any Motown (which you know I love)
lately, so, for Christmas weekend, I give you one of my favorite versions
of The Little Drummer Boy, done by the Temptations.
Alice Neiley
"O
mio babbino caro" -- Puccini/Renee Fleming
Well, last night I had the privilege of hearing the National
Orchestra of Canada (NACO) play Handel's Messiah, Karen at the helm with The
Trumpet Shall Sound, AND some amazing vocalists. The soprano absolutely
floated, a rich, fluid sound that made my jaw actually drop. Her name was
Jessica Rivera, and sadly, she's not on Youtube. However, she strongly reminded
me of Renee Fleming, so in the spirit of musical transcendence, I give you her
version of Puccini's 'O Mio Babbino Caro'.
It's
essentially a song of pleading (Lauretta to her father -- he doesn't approve of
her love interest), of desperation and beauty, of the contrast between a
magical voice and the dark tension of instrumental chords, and of course, of
love.
Enjoy.
Be transported :).
Phillip Seiler
This is the season of giving, at least for those of us with a
conscience and a heart who still believe we owe something to our fellow earth
travelers. So in that spirit I offer three holiday songs from Carbon Leaf for
you to enjoy. Carbon Leaf is about as country as my tastes normally go
(although I have grown to appreciate the genre more as discography has
progressed over the last year and half.) They are a good case study in the
evolution of pop from country from traditional celtic folk as they dabble in all
these genres with their songs with a good deal of success at each. They put out
a Christmas album of original tunes a few years back from which I grabbed two
songs. The third is just a fun bit of cover for those of us of a certain age.
Carbon
Leaf
Carbon
Leaf is at their best when they are mining the veins of nostalgia we all
experience from time to time. It's dangerous territory, of course, and leads to
nonsense like Making Christmas Great Again!!! when really no such greatness
exists. We just have filtered out the mundane and awful bits of our past to
preserve an idealized vision of that past. Still, sometimes, it is nice to
wander back into those old hallways. Christmas Child is all about that heady
anticipation as the days tick by to Christmas morning. Red Punch, Green Punch
is a love letter to the parties we kids got dragged to, in our best Sunday clothes,
knowing we would have nothing to do but sit around on old couches and try not
to get yelled at for spilling the snacks. But we all had our unique bowl of
treats (brach's holiday mints and peanuts) that seemed to exist only at these
parties. Finally, Barbeque is just a fun little cover from Jim Henson's Emmet
Otter's Jug Band Christmas.
Happy
holidays all, whichever you choose to celebrate...or not. We are still free to
make this choice, I think.
Kathy Seiler
Loreena
McKennit – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
This is my absolute favorite take on this song, which I never
really liked very much until I heard this version. The Middle Eastern vibe is
so perfect for a Christmas song, considering where Jesus was actually from –
why don’t all Christmas songs sound like this? Happy Christmas, friends. May
your holiday be filled with love and joy.
Dave Kelley
"Fairytale of New York" The
Pogues
Like much of the Pogues' music I find this to be
heartbreaking, poignant, and profane. I cannot see the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir ever doing a version of this, but I love it. The Merriest of
Christmases to all.
Gary Scudder
OK, so this is not really a Christmas song, obviously, but for some reason it seems to fit the season (at least here in suddenly snowy and dark Vermont). This is Bach's Partita no. 2, which is one of a series of works that he wrote for solo violin. This also would be a great choice for the proposed thematic week of works that are simply too obvious to be promoted. Every great violinist in the world, and some much better than Lara St. John, has recorded this classic work, but maybe because I was first introduced to the work through her recording it has remained my favorite. I think it is just heartbreakingly beautiful and elegiac and transcendent, and, truthfully, isn't this what defines the Christmas season?
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