A “Christmas” piece I look forward listening to every year is “Karolju” by American composer Christopher Rouse (1949-2019).
It really has very little to do with authentic Christmas, when you get right down to it. Rather, Rouse deliberately attempts to emulate the spirit of Old World midwinter celebrations. The music is multicultural, alluding to a number of classical music favorites, such as “Carmina Burana,” “The Nutcracker,” and “Greensleeves” (which I know is a folk tune, but I’m going with “classical” because of the Vaughan Williams association).
The texts themselves are equally eclectic, as the composer assembles words and phrases related to Christmas in various languages, though he concedes that if they were translated into English they wouldn’t come out making a lot of coherent sense. Rather, again, it is the spirit of the words and their sounds that inspired.
Even the name “Karolju” is nonsense. Rouse wanted “carol” in the title, but he changed the “c” to a “k” and added the “ju” at the end, just to give it an Old European flavor.
The different sections are related to Latin, Swedish, French, Spanish, Russian, Czech, German, and Italian.
The work was commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1989 and dedicated to Rouse’s daughter, who was about to celebrate her first Christmas. It certainly does make a festive noise!
On this first day of winter, I hope you’ll enjoy “Karolju” by Christopher Rouse.
-
Midwinter “Karolju” Makes a Festive Noise
by
-
A Touch of Warmth at Midwinter
by
9 responses
Christina Rossetti’s poem, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” was originally published as “A Christmas Carol” in the January 1872 issue of Scribner’s Monthly. In 1875, it was collected in the book “Goblin Market, The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems.”
The evocative text has been set to music several times, but two settings in particular stand out. Gustav Holst’s is also sometimes identified as the hymn tune “Cranham.” It was included in “The English Hymnal” in 1906. The simplicity and directness of the music was tailored by the composer for congregational use. Harold Darke’s setting, from three years later, is an anthem intended for trained choirs.
In either form, Rossetti’s poem has indeed become more widely known, as the inspiration for some actual, beloved Christmas carols.
Winter arrives in the Northern Hemisphere at 10:03 a.m. EST.——-
Gustav Holst
Harold Darke
——-IMAGE: “Adoration of the Shepherds” (1622), Gerard van Honthorst
-
English Nativity Plays on “The Lost Chord”
by
7 responses
With Christmas only days away, there’s still much to be done. Even so, this week on “The Lost Chord,” we pause to remember the story of the first Christmas, with music by a couple of English composers inspired by the Nativity.
Alongside Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Hubert Parry was one of the key figures of the so-called “English Musical Renaissance.” He influenced a whole generation of much better-known composers, including Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. We’ll hear his “Ode on the Nativity,” given its first performance on the same concert, at the Hereford Three Choirs Festival in 1912, as Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Christmas Carols.”
Vaughan Williams, the great-nephew of Charles Darwin, and an atheist in his youth, later softened into a kind of “cheerful agnosticism.” He dearly loved the King James Bible, and he especially enjoyed Christmas. Of course, he wrote much music on the subject. In fact, his very last composition was “The First Nowell.” He worked diligently at the piece, inspired by medieval pageants, during his final month, but died suddenly before its completion.
However, even at 85 years-old, RVW retained a remarkable concentration. He managed to pound out the whole thing in short score in only a few weeks. Furthermore, he had fully orchestrated the first two-thirds. The finishing touches were applied by his assistant, Roy Douglas – he of “Les Sylphides” fame.
If you like the “Fantasia on Christmas Carols,” I think you’ll really enjoy this. It’s pastoral music for a pastoral scene. Join me for “A Play in a Manger,” on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!
——–
Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST
Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!
https://kwax.uoregon.edu
-
Carols Are Served on “Sweetness and Light”
by
5 responses
I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but the madness is already underway here. If you celebrate Christmas, it’s likely your adrenaline is already up, as we prepare for a last-minute dash to the stores, a little surreptitious gift-wrapping, some early baking, or perhaps already receiving family.
This week on “Sweetness and Light,” we’ll stick to the basics, with an hour of music inspired by familiar Christmas carols and traditional Christmas songs.
In the former category, we’ll hear works by Philip Lane, Benjamin Britten, and Rick Sowash (his “Variations on The Boar’s Head Carol”). Then we’ll enjoy selections from a favorite Christmas album of mine, “Old Christmas Return’d,” from 1992, featuring early music performances by the York Waits. Some of these Christmas melodies have been around for an awfully long time!
In between, we’ll hear an original carol by John Rutter – now SIR John Rutter, who turned 80 in September – unbelievably, composed all the way back in 1972. I remember when it was a fairly new piece!
None of us are getting any younger. Recollect the holidays of your misspent youth with an hour of traditional carols for Christmas, on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EST/8:00 PST, now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!
Stream it wherever you are at the link:
https://kwax.uoregon.edu/
-
A Cookie Platter of Christmas Television Specials on “Picture Perfect”
by
9 responses
This week on “Picture Perfect,” slip into your jammies for an hour of music from classic Christmas television specials.
“The Snowman” (1982), based on the picture book by Raymond Briggs, is about a boy whose snowman comes to life and whisks him away on a journey to the North Pole. The show became enormously popular in the UK and through occasional showings on U.S. television. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. Like the book, the film is wordless, using animation and music to tell its story, with the exception of an enchanting interlude, known as “Walking in the Air,” which employs a boy treble. “Walking in the Air” is easily the best-known music by Howard Blake.
The television film “The Homecoming” (1971) stars Patricia Neal and Richard Thomas in a heart-warming story about a rural family Christmas in 1933. Written by Earl Hamner, the film’s success spawned the television series “The Waltons.” Jerry Goldsmith wrote the music. He would return to work on “The Waltons” – though as of “The Homecoming,” he had yet to write the show’s indelible theme.
An adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (1954) was the subject of a special episode of the anthology series “Shower of Stars.” Fredric March plays Ebenezer Scrooge, and Basil Rathbone is Jacob Marley’s ghost. But it is Ray Middleton, who appears as both Scrooge’s nephew and the Spirit of Christmas Present, who is given arguably the show’s most memorable tune, “A Very Merry Christmas.” The teleplay and lyrics are by Maxwell Anderson, and the music is by Bernard Herrmann!
Finally, Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer, with “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965). We’ll hear the Vince Guaraldi Trio perform selections from this most beloved of Christmas classics.
For once, the snow will have nothing to do with your reception. We’ll think inside the box on “Picture Perfect,” music from classic Christmas television specials, now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!
——–
Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST
Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!
Tag Cloud
Aaron Copland (93) Beethoven (95) Composer (114) Film Music (125) Film Score (143) Film Scores (255) Halloween (94) John Williams (189) KWAX (229) Leonard Bernstein (101) Marlboro Music Festival (125) Movie Music (140) Opera (202) Philadelphia Orchestra (89) Picture Perfect (174) Princeton Symphony Orchestra (106) Radio (87) Ralph Vaughan Williams (85) Ross Amico (244) Roy's Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner (290) The Classical Network (101) The Lost Chord (268) Vaughan Williams (103) WPRB (396) WWFM (881)
One response