ksedinger (Page 38)

Another year gone by without seeing The Nutcracker live. What in God’s name am I waiting for? Well, I don’t know. This Christmas season has been unusually chaotic and hard to plan. For me the problem was twofold, I think. First, there was the fact that Thanksgiving was as late as it can possibly be, so that once it was over, there was already less than four weeks to Christmas. That’s way too short a time to pack in everything. Second…well, this is the second Christmas since Mom died and…well, I’ll write about Dad some other time. Suffice it to say thatDown the rabbit hole….

As a lover of film music for just about all my life, here are some film music selections from Christmas movies! First, from 1984’s A Christmas Carol, the one starring George C. Scott: Next, a suite from the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol, the one starring Alastair Sim as Scrooge. Which I have never actually seen, even though the wide-spread consensus is that Sim’s Scrooge is definitive to the point of being iconic. I don’t know about that, but the music is certainly damned good, and it should be: it’s written by Richard Addinsell, that fine English composer who is best knownDown the rabbit hole….

Earlier in the month I featured a Christmas song by The Killers, a band I’ve been delving much more deeply into this year (more to come on that in my end-of-year summation post). So now I’m thinking, “What about some of my other favorite bands and acts?” So, a tour of Christmas sounds of other bands and artists that I like! (I am limiting this to living performers.) Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors: Shannon Dooks: Dolly Parton: Kelly Clarkson: Heart: Blackmore’s Night: The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra: Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

Here’s another annual feature on this site, because it’s as perfect a rendition of a song as I can remember. No cover has ever come close–well, maybe Bing Crosby, but that’s about it. Certainly not the more famous Frank Sinatra version in which he foisted that awful “Hang a shining star on the highest bough” lyric on the world, because he wanted it to be more cheerful. This is not a song about cheerfulness in general. It is a song about finding what cheer you can, what joy you can, however momentary, in the midst of whatever else is goingDown the rabbit hole….

I was pretty thoughtful and introspective and a little sad yesterday, so here is a selection of comedic Christmas bits I feature most years. These don’t get old! Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

We’re about a week out from Christmas. For those who have been around my site for a while, this is when I generally start revisiting old favorites, maybe with new versions or videos, or maybe not. This song is required for me this time of year. I know that some people find it cheesy or corny, and some others don’t think it’s particularly a Christmas song other than the fact that its events are said to happen on Christmas Eve, but for me this song is absolutely a part of Christmas–or rather, the emotions it captures are deeply wound up withDown the rabbit hole….

Every year, at some point while gathering pieces for this feature, I go to Google and type in “[nationality] Christmas music”, which usually turn up something interesting. This year I searched “Russian Christmas Music”, and I found a piece actually titled Russian Christmas Music. It’s a work for wind band (or wind ensemble, or concert band, whatever) by Alfred Reed. The piece is apparently crafted to reflect the sound of liturgical choral music of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and thus is highly lyrical with a singing quality throughout. Four distinct sections are heard: “Carol of the Little Russian Children”, “Antiphonal Chant”,Down the rabbit hole….

Had I realized that Dick Van Dyke was going to turn 99 the other day, I would have timed this better. Alas! I truly hope I can revisit this properly next year when we’ll be celebrating his centenary. The man is truly a treasure. Here are two clips: one from The Dick Van Dyke Show from years ago (I have no idea what the context here is, other than it’s a Christmas episode because Santa is there–or rather, a guy playing Santa is there–but you can watch the entire episode here!) and a more recent number pairing Mr. Van Dyke with JaneDown the rabbit hole….

Leonard Bernstein, from The Joy of Music: BACH! A colossal syllable, one which makes composers tremble, brings performers to their knees, beatifies, the Bach-lover, and apparently bores the daylights out of everyone else. How can this be? How can vibrant, thrilling music like that bore anyone? Still, it’s true; many of you find Bach dull. No–don’t deny it; there’s nothing to be ashamed of, because the boredom comes only from the fact that it’s not very easy music to know, and you must know it to love it. (…) And knowing Bach doesn’t mean knowing that he died in Leipzig inDown the rabbit hole….