Musical Christmas Gem 06

6. Il Est Né / Ca Berger is by Anna McGarrigle, Kate McGarrigle & The Chieftains and is on the 1991 Chieftains album The Bells of Dublin.

I've long been a Chieftains fan and actually saw them perform once when I was a student in Aberystwyth. At some point they decided that instrumental music could be a bit boring and so they saw the way forward was to have just about anyone they fancied sing with them. On this their only (?) Christmas album they drag in not only the McGarrigle sisters but the Renaissance Singers of Belfast, Elvis Costello, Burgess Meredith, Marianne Faithfull, Nolwen Monjarret, The Voice Squad, Nanci Griffith, Jackson Browne, Rickie Lee Jones and Suzie Katayama. They also perform with the Northumbrian Pipe of Kathryn Tickell and the accordion of Brendan Begley and on their own. It's mostly carols and Christmas airs but some of it is not necessarily Christmassy. There are 23 tracks altogether, all good fun. The bells of Dublin themselves also feature. I got mine off i-tunes. The Wren in the Furze is another favourite.

The virgin birth

The Pulpit Commentary

“Christianity starts with a miracle. It is a miracle altogether so stupendous and so unique that its reception settles the whole question of the possibility of the miraculous. He who can believe that God shadowed himself to our apprehension in the likeness of a man, he who can recognise in the Babe of Bethlehem, both the Son of God and the Son of Mary, will find that no equal demand is ever afterwards made upon his faculty of faith. Both Testaments begin with a miracle. A world of order and beauty arising out of chaos is a miracle as truly as is the birth of a divinely human Saviour by the Divine overshadowing of Mary.”

(see here)

James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000)

“It is significant that the life of the Lord Jesus is bracketed by two great miracles. At the beginning is the virgin birth; He came into being without benefit of a human father, and so was the Son of God and son of man in a unique way. At the end is the resurrection: He conquers and transcends the greatest of all enemies, death. What clearer way did God have of drawing attention to this one who is unique in human history?”

(see here)

Silent night

I love these dream paintings. This one has it all - moonlight, snow, stars (one shooting), chimney smoke, glowing lights, a Christmas tree, a snowman, a steepled church,, etc, etc.

Seasonal Quiz 02

1. Complete the line - Deck the hall with boughs of holly, Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
A To forget it would be folly
B 'Tis the season to be jolly
C Hear the songsters tuneful volley

2. The song White Christmas was first performed in what 1942 film?
A Holiday Inn
B White Christmas
C Miracle on 34th Street

3. In which country does the poinsettia originate?
A Peru
B Mexico
C Japan

4. Brandy is made from distilling what?
A Cherries
B Whisky
C Wine

5. What was the name of the boy in the TV Film The Snowman?
A James
B Jason
C Julian

6. How many points does a snowflake have?
A Eight
B Five
C Six

7. In 1937 which country became the first to issue special Christmas greetings stamps?
A Switzerland
B Norway
C Austria

8. If offered (a) viscum album, (b) brassica oleracea or (c) vaccinium oxycoccos, which should you not eat?

9. In what year did John Lewis first issue their Christmas advert (it featured Prokofiev'sMorning Serenade from Romeo and Juliet. Presents and products are carefully assembled and positioned to eventually create a shadow image of a woman and a dog in the snow)
A 2010
B 2007
C 1998

10. What was the name of the town which featured in It's a Wonderful Life?
A Brafferton
B Bailey
C Bedford Falls

11. In which pantomime do Robin Hood and Maid Marion appear?
A Mother goose
B Babes in the wood
C Ali Baba and the forty thieves

12. What is new year's eve called in Scotland?
A Newlins twamond
B Gauter clink
C Hogmanay

Ans
BAB
CAC
CA*B
CBC
*it's mistletoe

Musical Christmas Gem 05

5. In the bleak midwinter by Bert Jansch.

This 1974 single is a very pleasant rendition of Christina Rossetti's hymn by the well respected Scots folk guitarist who first came to prominence in the sixties with the group Pentangle (Light flight, etc). Also see here

I discovered this version of the hymn on tape 2 of the cassette version of The Best Christmas Album in the World ... Ever!

Death of Greg Lake December 2016

The death of Keith Emerson in March is followed now by the death of Greg Lake and just when his most famous song is being played everywhere. I love this arrangement of what is after all a partly anti-Christmas song and so in rather a strange place in some ways. I love Ian Andersn and his flute. Greg Lake once said "when you can buy anything you want and do anything you want, you soon discover that you don't actually want any of it".

Musical Christmas Gem 04

4. I believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake on an Emerson Lake and Palmer EP.

This Greg Lake single first came out in 1975. Each Christmas that I heard it I was drawn to it. Then one Christmas I saw the 1995 EP with this and other tracks in a big record store. I didn't buy it at the time (I show restraint sometimes) but sent for it from Amazon another Christmas. It has 5 tracks - 2 versions of IBIFC, a version of Prokofiev's Troika (by Keith Emerson and the tune that provides the musical theme for IBIFC), Humbug (B-side of IBIFC single - delightful, jazzy, near-instrumental) and Nutrocker - encore from the ELP album of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (based on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker so a Christmas number too).

The second version of IBIFC is a stripped down ELP version of the masterful Greg Lake single. This latter track has everything going for it as a Christmas single. First you get a beautiful 12-string guitar, a pleasant voice singing a pleasant tune. Then there's a distant choir, sleigh bells, some sort of bell/horn synthesiser to give atmosphere. Next, as we approach the final minute, timpani start, a large choir, an orchestra, military drums - all moving to a dramatic and powerful close. These are what hit you at first. Then you realise that the words (by one Pete Sinfield) are totally cynical. Poor old Pete has seen through the whole sham. No snow - only rain; no Father Christmas and (for him) no Jesus either. He tries to rescue it by wishing everyone a hopeful Christmas and a brave new year. This is highly post-modern - a song that makes you feel all "Christmassy" but that points out that the whole thing is a sham. I do believe in "the Israelite" but moaning about Christmas and enjoying it at the same time is great fun.