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A longer work today, by one of my favorite composers ever. In fact, I used to consider him my singular favorite composer of all time, and my esteem for his music has not lessened one bit. If I no longer claim him as my definite favorite, it’s because Sergei Rachmaninoff has managed to carve out an equal claim to my heart. That’s how it goes, really, and one need not love anything less in order to love something else more. It doesn’t work that way. Anyhow, we’re talking about Hector Berlioz. This work probably isn’t exactly a Christmas work, as itDown the rabbit hole….

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I’ll have more to say about the Las Vegas band The Killers in a few weeks when I write my annual Yearly Summation post. For now, I’ll just note that while I’ve enjoyed The Killers for years, this was a year in which I did a lot more active listening to them. And yet, for all that, I had no idea they recorded a Christmas single (in 2006) until I spotted it in a “Rock and Roll Christmas” playlist on YouTube Music (my streaming service of choice). The song, “A Great Big Sled”, is basically a paean to the ideaDown the rabbit hole….

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Today, several musical takes on sleigh rides! First, Mozart: Next, here’s Leroy Anderson’s classic, played by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra: Finally, here’s the Leroy Anderson again…but this time with the Three Tenors. Remember when that was a thing? You couldn’t get through a PBS pledge drive without those guys. Yeah, I don’t know about that last one either, but they gave it a shot, didn’t they? Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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NOTE: If you’re wondering why this is running so late in the day, it’s because I forgot to change the ‘PM’ to ‘AM’ when I scheduled the post, and I’m now leaving it that way because…well, no reason, since changing the time and publishing would take less time and effort than typing all of this out…but maybe it’s just so I can ramble a bit longer in a post for which I don’t have much to say other than presenting the artists. So…here are the artists. May I present Johnny and June Carter Cash: Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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Growing up, there were musical artists who always turned up on teevee commercials hawking an album of their greatest hits for just $19.95! Call the 1-800 number, and allow 6 weeks for delivery. One of these artists was a guy named Zamfir, who played a strange instrument that looked like a series of single-pitch flutes flipped on end. Well, this instrument is a real one, called the Pan flute, and it turns out that Zamfir himself is a respected master of this particular instrument. Who knew! Certainly not me at the time. There was a sense back then that aDown the rabbit hole….

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It took a while: we recorded one of our latest initial snowfalls, if not the latest initial snowfall, ever. It didn’t actually snow until November 30, and then last weekend we had our first trademark lake-effect storm of the year. This one didn’t clobber us too badly where we live, which is kind of a change from recent years; we got maybe two feet plus some change. That sounds like a lot, but it fell over two days and really, given some of our recent experiences, two feet is pretty much toward the “inconvenience” end of the scale. (Areas to the south,Down the rabbit hole….

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A repost, because I have nothing new to add about this wonderful piece! Today, a suite from an opera by Rimsky-Korsakov! The opera is called Christmas Eve, and its plot involves a scheme by the Devil to steal the moon. Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas have suffered an unusual curse: they are well-loved and highly regarded by those who know them, but because they’re in Russian, a language that most singers don’t learn (and because singing operas in translation is out of fashion), they remain shrouded in obscurity, only known if at all through orchestral suites and excerpts like this. David Dubal writes, in TheDown the rabbit hole….

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It’s amazing how much more bittersweet each Christmas gets as we get older, isn’t it? Like this: as part of this feature, for a number of years I’ve devoted a day to finding new versions of my mother’s favorite Christmas carol, “Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella”. I continue doing this, even though she’ll never hear them. But…maybe there’s some magic in the universe and she can hear them. That would be nice, wouldn’t it? Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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I love the vocal group Voces8. Here they are with two selections, one serious and one less-so. When He is King we will give him the King’s gifts,Myrrh for its sweetness, and gold for a crown,“Beautiful robes”, said the young girl to JosephFair with her first-born on Bethlehem Down. Bethlehem Down is full of the starlightWinds for the spices, and stars for the gold,Mary for sleep, and for lullaby musicSongs of a shepherd by Bethlehem fold. When He is King they will clothe Him in grave-sheets,Myrrh for embalming, and wood for a crown,He that lies now in the white armsDown the rabbit hole….