It's December!

The countdown to Christmas officially begins.  Let's kick off with a bit of Handel's "Messiah" and the London Symphony Orchestra, shall we?

And His name shall be called Wonderful.

A Better Christmas Post, I Hope: Handel's "Messiah" in Japan

Not, you understand, that I willingly confess to having an actual conscience or anything like that, but I'm beginning to think that inflicting an obnoxiously pink, cute Hello Kitty on you on Christmas Day, dear unsuspecting gentle reader, is a deed of such surpassing depravity that not even Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch himself would condone it!

Let's try again. I give you a glorious bit of East-Meets-West plus Christmas choral music as the Bach Collegium Japan under the direction of Masaaki Suzuki performs "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" from Handel's immortal "Messiah." Consider it too the culmination of my (rather desultory) Advent music countdown.

Merry Christmas!

Advent Soundtrack: Track 14: "Ave Maria"

Here is your daily dose of holiday music, with today's song performed by the late, great Luciano Pavarotti.

Nerd Journal: Snow-Blogging

1 snowflake = a lovely bit of nature's art.
A gazillion snowflakes = nature's attempt to kill you.

You may have noticed that I've been blogging a lot today. It's because I am snowbound at home. As you may have heard on the news, a massive snowstorm is pounding the entire East Coast of the U.S., and it is a very nasty bit of weather even by East Coast standards.

At last report, 1 million people have no electricity because the snow and ice have knocked out power lines. I am lucky; I have my power still on (and I'm using it to watch the Weather Channel obsessively). Those poor people -- no power for heat in this kind of weather!

I'm peeking through my blinds (they're CLOSED in an attempt to keep the cold out), and the snowflakes are falling fast in swirling clouds from a pearly-gray sky. I feel as though I'm living in a snowglobe. The inches of snow are piling up!

The scene is all very pretty in a wintry sort of way, but it's only "pretty" because I am safe and warm indoors and I don't have to be out in the snow and wind. No cars are on the roads except for the tireless snowplows trying to keep those roads clear (thank you, snowplow driver-guys!), and this is really dangerous weather for traveling anywhere.

Schools and businesses are closed, and the governors of New Hampshire and Massachuetts have declared states of emergency for their states. Ai-ya!

Brrrrrrrr! Oh, I hate winter! Today's holiday song is NOT "Let It Snow."

Advent Soundtrack: Track 12

A previous post about Christmas pudding inspires the choice for today's song, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Why? The song wants a figgy pudding, of course!

Oh, OK, here's an actual recipe for figgy pudding.

Advent Soundtrack: Track 10 (+ Lovely Beverage Recipe!)

Come now and sing "The Wassail Song" -- or make a lovely batch of wassail itself to share with some thirsty friends.

Advent Soundtrack: Track 9 (+ Quirky Asia Files!)

Today's song is "Angels We Have Heard On High" -- and I'll bet that you've never heard it performed quite like this. Link via Neatorama. And YES, the fellow is playing BROCCOLI as a musical instrument.

Advent Soundtrack: Tracks 6-8

Time to decorate!

"O Christmas Tree"

"Jingle Bells"

"Deck The Halls"

Advent Soundtrack: Track 5 -- "O Holy Night"

It's a lovely song performed here by the lovely ladies of the group Celtic Woman. Enjoy:

Advent Soundtrack: Track 4 -- "White Christmas"

Track 4 on the Advent Soundtrack is "White Christmas." And who else should sing it for you but the immortal Bing Crosby? Enjoy, gentle reader.

Advent Soundtrack: Track 3 -- "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

In terms of repetitive entertainment, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is peerless. AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!

Besides, it's so easy to play with the song. Take a look at this comedic (and a cappella) version!

Advent Soundtrack: Tracks 1 and 2

Hey, how about this for a little holiday fun on the blog? I'll post a favorite Christmas carol every day until we finally reach Christmas Day!

I just had the idea this afternoon, so this first musical installment has two carols.

1. "Once in Royal David's City."
It's a beautiful song, and when it's done well by a lone choirboy at the beginning who is then joined by a full choir, it is absolutely sublime. Trivia for you: it is always the first song in the annual Christmas service featuring the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. Given that, I think I'll kick off the Advent Soundtrack with a little video:



2. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."
Aside from being a lovely song, it also makes an amusing cameo appearance in Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol"! The version I give you is by Loreena McKennitt, who performs it in her usual medieval-ish, New Age-ish, world music-ish sort of way with the occasionally odd but always interesting use of musical instruments.