Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Saint Nicholas

Krampus is Mainstream I Want My Demon Back

Somewhere, I imagine, there’s a wizened, Middle European crone rolling her rheumy eyes whenever I post about Krampus. I remember Krampus WHEN…! Much as I now shake my head at all those whippersnappers who’ve since appropriated the Alpine demon. I was appropriating Krampus before it was cool, introducing a glass devil’s head ornament to the family Christmas tree some 30 years ago. Now Krampus has become a veritable industry, with dolls, mugs, sweaters, and at least one major motion picture. This year I stumbled across a Krampus BADvent calendar and I had to kick myself (with cloven hoof), since the “treats” behind each door were basically ripped from the subject matter of all my dark Christmas posts over the past nine years, about Black Peter, Mari Lywd, the Yule Lads, and Befana the Christmas witch. The Man ruined rock ‘n’ roll, and now he’s coming for Krampus!

In case you’re not up on your Krampus lore, on December 5, the eve of Saint Nicholas’ Day, it is customary for an egregiously-horned, whiplash-tongued demon to emerge from his mountain lair, festooned in chains and cow bells, to accompany the Patron Saint of Children on his rounds. To all the good boys and girls, Saint Nick bestows small gifts; the bad are handed over to Krampus.

Garden-variety naughtiness earns the sting of a switch; but the especially ill-behaved are clapped in irons, taken for a short ride in a wicker basket, and then drowned in a stream or immolated by hellfire. With mounting anxiety a thousand times worse than the anticipation of a bad report card, a wee sinner pulls the sweat-soaked blankets over his head and begins to pray vociferously for a stocking full of coal.

It used to be that there were one or two books of vintage postcards, and those out of print and difficult to get a hold of. Now Krampus has become something of a shadow industry. Hardly surprising, as bad behavior has become pretty much mainstream.

There’s even a sizeable feature in today’s Washington Post. I want my subversive Christmas demon back!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2023/12/05/krampus-scary-santa-christmas/

December 5, 2023
Saint Nicholas: From Saint to Santa in Music

Over the centuries, the character of Saint Nicholas has undergone a remarkable transformation from austere-but-generous religious figure, to gift-giving, jolly old elf. This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll have music reflective of both.

The historical and legendary Nicholas, fourth century Bishop of Myra, is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, travelers, brewers, prisoners, prostitutes, Russia, and of course children. THAT Nicholas is celebrated for his secret acts of charity, even if he could be rather short-tempered and a bit severe. Nicholas is said to have punched a few heretics, on occasion.

One famous episode tells of Nicholas saving three daughters of a poor man from a life of prostitution by tossing bags of gold down their chimney, thereby providing them with proper dowries. The episode is reflected in the familiar pawnbrokers’ symbol of three gold spheres suspended from a bar (and also the practice of hanging stockings by the chimney with care).

Composer Joseph-Guy Ropartz, a native of Brittany, and a pupil of Jules Massenet and César Franck, focuses on another famous, albeit grisly Nicholas legend. “Le Miracle de Saint Nicolas,” composed in 1905 on a text by René Avril, relates the slaughter of three boys by an unscrupulous butcher, who chops them up and pickles them in brine, with the goal of passing them off as ham. Nicholas restores the youths, and the butcher repents. The same story would be set some 40 years later by Benjamin Britten, as part of his cantata, “Saint Nicholas.”

Clement Moore’s poem, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” exemplified, and in many ways codified, the modern perception of St. Nicholas as Santa Claus. The work inspired, among other things, a symphony by William Henry Fry.

Fry was born in Philadelphia in 1813. A pioneering figure in American music, he was the first native-born composer to write on a large scale. He composed orchestral works and the first opera by an American to be performed publicly in his lifetime (“Leonora,” in 1845). He was an outspoken advocate of American music – that is, music composed by Americans – at a time when German imports ruled the roost. It would be decades before American music would gain a toehold in the concert halls, which makes Fry an even more remarkable figure.

Fry studied music with a former bandleader in Napoleon Bonaparte’s army, who went on to become the head of Philadelphia’s Musical Fund Society. Fry himself would become the society’s secretary.

He was also a journalist, a writer on music, and the first music critic to write for a major American newspaper. He was a foreign correspondent for the Philadelphia Public Ledger and acted as music critic for the New York Herald Tribune.

Fry composed seven symphonies, all of them of a descriptive nature. His “Santa Claus Symphony,” of 1853, is more of a precursor to the Straussian tone poem, a detailed blow-by-blow of incidents conveyed in Moore’s verse.

I hope you’ll join me, on this St. Nicholas Day, for two faces of St. Nick. That’s “Dr. Nicholas and Mr. Claus,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

PHOTOS: After resurrecting dismembered children from the dead, Saint Nicholas kicks back with a Coke and a smile

December 6, 2020
Saint Nicholas The Problematic Origins of Santa

December 6. After all the press I gave Krampus yesterday, it wouldn’t be right to ignore his keeper, Saint Nicholas, on his special day.

Krampus, of course, is the demon who beats wicked children and hurls them into hellfire. Saint Nicholas, on the other hand, rewards the good. He is justly celebrated for his miracles and outstanding generosity. Let us all hoist an eggnog to the jolly old elf! Yay!

Except that – what’s that you say? – the historic Nicholas was not so jolly?

While it would be impossible to deny Saint Nicholas as having done a lot of good in the world, his personality could be a bit, shall we say, problematic. In fact, his modesty could be so extreme as to sometimes verge on the sociopathic. Among other things, he suffered fools grudgingly and became cantankerous if thanked.

Nicholas is one of those rare all-purpose saints, who seems to watch over everyone – sailors, merchants, archers, prostitutes, women seeking husbands, repentant thieves, wrongly condemned prisoners, travelers, pawnbrokers, students, and of course children. Is it any wonder he’s grouchy?

The historic Nicholas served as Bishop of Myra (part of modern day Turkey) in the 4th century. When his parents died, he gave away his inheritance to the poor.

To avoid uncomfortable scenes, he developed a reputation for secret gift-giving. In one famous incident, he rescued three daughters of an unfortunate man who could not afford a proper dowry. In that time and place, it would have made them unmarriageable, and with no opportunity for honest employment, they would have had no alternative but to enter into a life of prostitution.

Nicholas learned of their plight and under the cloak of darkness passed their house three times, each time tossing a purse of gold through a window. Some traditions say he dropped the purses down the chimney; others claim he left coins in stockings left out to dry. When the elated father tried to thank him, Nicholas responded gruffly that it is God he should thank. O-kayyyyy, Nicholas.

On another occasion, during a sea voyage, Nicholas’ ears were assailed by a cacophony of oaths and blasphemies lustily exchanged by the crew. When he tried to get them to mind their language, the sailors laughed and mocked him, and took to swearing with renewed vigor. Nicholas responded by praying for stormy seas, until the sailors dropped to their knees in repentance, effectively scared straight.

He was also wholly intolerant of pagans and heretics. He sent Arius, the father of Arianism, sprawling with a box on the ears, for his assertion that Jesus Christ is subordinate to the entity of God.

The creepiest Nicholas tale concerns the murder of three boys by a butcher during a time of famine. The butcher placed their remains in a barrel to cure, hoping to pass them off as ham(!). Not surprisingly, this didn’t go down well with Nicholas, who resurrected the three children. The episode is recreated most eerily by Benjamin Britten in his cantata, “Saint Nicholas.”

While he’s not a “Bad Santa,” exactly, he’s also not the jolly old elf Clement Moore, Thomas Nast and Coca-Cola would have us believe. He’s just your garden-variety, high-maintenance saint. To me, somehow, this makes him all the more lovable.

But, as was advised in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” when the legend becomes fact, print the legend. In the Clement Moore/Thomas Nast vein, here’s the “Santa Claus Symphony,” really an ambitious symphonic poem, by the Philadelphia composer William Henry Fry (1813-1864):

If Saint Nick were on Facebook, I am sure I would be flamed so bad right now I’d be wishing for a ride in Krampus’ wicker basket.

December 6, 2018
Krampus is Coming Controversial Christmas Devil

Here comes Krampus – and along with him, my most controversial post of the year. I always lose one or two followers over Krampusnacht. Apparently it’s hard for some folks to reconcile Christmas with an Alpine devil. But when it comes to the holidays, the Central European psyche holds nothing in reserve.

In the grand tradition of spare the rod, spoil the child (Proverbs 13:24), in Krampus the Old World really pulls out all the stops. On December 5, the eve of Saint Nicholas’ Day, it is the custom for an egregiously-horned, whiplash-tongued demon to emerge from his mountain lair, festooned in chains and cow bells, to accompany the Patron Saint of Children on his rounds. Saint Nick bestows small gifts to all the good boys and girls; the bad are handed over to Krampus.

Garden-variety naughtiness may earn the sting of a switch; but the especially ill-behaved are clapped in chains, taken for a short ride in a wicker basket, and then drowned in a stream or immolated by hellfire. With mounting anxiety a thousand times worse than the anticipation of a bad report card, a wee sinner pulls the sweat-soaked blankets over his head and begins to pray vociferously for a stocking full of coal.

It is with mixed emotions that I watch Saint Nick’s dark helper creep ever closer to the mainstream. It used to be that there were one or two books of vintage postcards, and they were out of print and difficult to get a hold of. Now Krampus has become something of a shadow industry. He’s even been the subject of a major motion picture, for crying out loud. I never thought I would see it, but The Man is trying to appropriate Krampus, just like he did rock ‘n’ roll. But you can’t keep a good demon down. As long as there are people fed up with Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving, there will always be plenty of fuel for a reactionary Black Christmas. And no amount of tinsel is going to change that.

If there is any classical music written for Krampus, I have yet to hear it. Therefore, as a kind of place holder on this Krampusnacht, I will offer a suite by Finnish composer Einar Englund for a film inspired by another bizarre legend, that of “The White Reindeer.” Don’t go into it expecting any Rankin-Bass Rudolph. This is Lapland, after all, the land of shape-shifting, vampiric livestock. This Rudolph sports teeth like The Abominable.

It’s also the birthday today of pianist Krystian Zimerman. He’ll be the soloist in Franz Liszt’s “Totentanz” (“Dance of Death”). Then, if time allows, we’ll have a diabolical sleigh-ride courtesy of Bernard Herrmann.

Oh yes! We’ll also mark the birthdays of Francesco Geminiani, Vítězslav Novák, Osvaldo Golijov, and José Carreras, with a little more Hanukkah music tossed into the mix, from 4 to 6 p.m. EST. Then stick around for “Music from Marlboro. We’ll embrace the saints at 6 – more about that in an upcoming post – on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

This year’s Parade of Spirits, Liberty Lands, formerly known as Krampuslauf, spills into the streets of Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood on December 9. The event will benefit Delaware Valley homeless shelters.

Go ahead and unfollow me, if you must. You can stop your ears, but you can’t stop Krampus.

December 5, 2018
Krampus is Coming Controversial Christmas

Here comes Krampus – and along with him, my most controversial post of the year. I always lose one or two followers over Krampusnacht. Apparently it’s hard for some folks to reconcile Christmas with an Alpine devil. But when it comes to the holidays, the Central European psyche holds nothing in reserve.

In the grand tradition of spare the rod, spoil the child (Proverbs 13:24), in Krampus the Old World really pulls out all the stops. On December 5, the eve of Saint Nicholas’ Day, it is the custom for an egregiously-horned, whiplash-tongued demon to emerge from his mountain lair, festooned in chains and cow bells, to accompany the Patron Saint of Children on his rounds. Saint Nick bestows small gifts to all the good boys and girls; the bad are handed over to Krampus.

Garden-variety naughtiness may earn the sting of a switch; but the especially ill-behaved are clapped in chains, taken for a short ride in a wicker basket, and then drowned in a stream or immolated by hellfire. With mounting anxiety a thousand times worse than the anticipation of a bad report card, a wee sinner pulls the sweat-soaked blankets over his head and begins to pray vociferously for a stocking full of coal.

It is with mixed emotions that I watch Saint Nick’s dark helper creep ever closer to the mainstream. It used to be that there were one or two books of vintage postcards, and they were out of print and difficult to get a hold of. Now Krampus has become something of a shadow industry. He’s even been the subject of a major motion picture, for crying out loud. I never thought I would see it, but The Man is trying to appropriate Krampus, just like he did rock ‘n’ roll. But you can’t keep a good demon down. As long as there are people fed up with Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving, there will always be plenty of fuel for a reactionary Black Christmas. And no amount of tinsel is going to change that.

If there is any classical music written for Krampus, I have yet to hear it. Therefore, as a kind of place holder on this Krampusnacht, I will offer a suite by Finnish composer Einar Englund for a film inspired by another bizarre legend, that of “The White Reindeer.” Don’t go into it expecting any Rankin-Bass Rudolph. This is Lapland, after all, the land of shape-shifting, vampiric livestock. This Rudolph sports teeth like The Abominable.

It’s also the birthday today of pianist Krystian Zimerman. He’ll be the soloist in Franz Liszt’s “Totentanz” (“Dance of Death”). Then, if time allows, we’ll have a diabolical sleigh-ride courtesy of Bernard Herrmann.

Oh yes! We’ll also mark the birthdays of Francesco Geminiani, Vítězslav Novák, Osvaldo Golijov, and José Carreras, with a little more Hanukkah music tossed into the mix, from 4 to 6 p.m. EST. Then stick around for “Music from Marlboro.” We’ll embrace the saints at 6 – more about that in an upcoming post – on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

This year’s Parade of Spirits, Liberty Lands, formerly known as Krampuslauf, spills into the streets of Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood on December 9. The event will benefit Delaware Valley homeless shelters.

Go ahead and unfollow me, if you must. You can stop your ears, but you can’t stop Krampus.

December 5, 2018

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