ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 25
I’d like to write more, but I’m afraid I’ve been sucked into the maelstrom.
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Tag: Advent Calendar
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Advent Calendar Day 23 Christmas Chaos & Swedish Music
ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 23
All right, I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this Advent calendar!
All I want to do is write about La Befana, the Christmas witch, and those maddening Icelandic Yule Lads, but now I’ve basically got a little over 24 hours to write my scripts, do my production work and complete my Christmas shopping, which I haven’t even begun (the joy of getting paid by invoice).
I’m actually writing this while I’m on hold, trying to order a gift after somebody’s website failed to process my order. That’s what I get for trying to buy directly from the company, as opposed to Amazon. Now I’m tied in, since I’m not sure if my card went through. No good deed goes unpunished, even at Christmastime.
At least my cat is entertained by “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” as it blares tinnily over my speaker phone. I think I need to cool down with a good, Swedish snowball fight.
Here’s Wilhelm Stenhammar’s “Midvinter”:
And juicy Jussi Bjöerling singing “O Holy Night”:
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Berlioz Birthday Advent Music & Audacity
ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 12
I used to have Hector Berlioz’s hair. I wish I had his audacity.
Today is Berlioz’s birthday (1803-1869). Enjoy one hour and 40 minutes of “L’enfance du Christ.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi8vWzJCqmI
Or, if you prefer, from roughly the same period (the 1850s), at 52 minutes, his monumental “Te Deum”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlHnjXlIFu0
The “Te Deum,” literally “To God,” was originally intended as the climax of a grand symphony in celebration of Napoleon Bonaparte.
PHOTO: Middle-aged and dreaming of days of wilder hair
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Waldteufel’s Waltzes Advent Calendar Day 10
ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 10
Today is the birthday of Emil Waldteufel (1837-1915).
Waldteufel was a graduate of the Paris Conservatory, who became a court pianist to Empress Eugénie. His orchestra played at state balls and, following the dissolution of the Second Empire, Presidential balls.
In 1874, he was heard by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII), who introduced him to the London music scene. His success in London proved a springboard to world fame.
Here are two Waldteufel waltzes for the season. One is very well-known, one not so much so.
Les Patineurs (The Skaters):
Roses de Noël (Christmas Roses):
FUN FACT: Waldteufel’s surname is German for “Forest Devil.”
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Advent Calendar Day 8 John Rutter Christmas Carols
ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 8
It’s so late already, I don’t know if I should even bother posting today.
Here are three laid-back favorites by the modern master of the Christmas carol, John Rutter:
There is a Flower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JsSNLna8GkNativity Carol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zltwY5wLyICandlelight Carol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSZqYn0UtNYGood for late night listening… by candlelight.
PHOTO: Recorded over 20 years ago, and still one of my favorite Christmas albums. (The “Nativity Carol” posted above is a rerecording; I prefer the one on “Christmas Night.”)
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