Monday Review: Christmas Music

Among traditional activities in which we engage to celebrate the holidays, I enjoy listening to the music of the winter season. I don't usually play Christmas music until after Hanukkah (save on the years when the holidays overlap). That way, the carols won't get old before Christmas. As you well know, people start playing Christmas music as early as the day after Halloween in the stores to get us all in mind of spending money on each other. I close my ears or talk on the phone in those places... I like the usual carols, and I don't want to wear them out to the point where I'm rolling my eyes at every familiar note.

Tonight, Anya and I ventured out into the cold to attend the Virginia Choral Society concert at Trinity Lutheran Church in Newport News (the church in which I was raised). I don't attend their performances every year, but I like to try and see some live performance in December. A friend of ours was singing in the choir, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity to hear some old favorite songs.

It's a decent choir. Only with the cooperation and dedication of a large group of people can you achieve this sort of sound that makes your bones rattle and your skin prick with emotion. The first half of the concert featured predominantly lovely, sacred pieces. They sang an arrangement of The First Noel combined with Pachabel's Canon that was quite beautiful. I've always been mystified by people who can hear such different tunes separately and know that, with some tweaking, the melodies will harmonize. It was a striking sound, a moving carol.

This carol also asks of the choir to sing very high very softly... and this choir is good at that. Aside from one or two sort of badly chosen songs, my only complaint about this choir would be their loud high notes... they need to stick to the soft stuff. Their emotive power greatly exceeds their clarity at higher volumes.

They sang a very strange song about Mary... "rockin' her baby..." which was really just odd. The composer obviously refused to make up his mind as to whether or not he wanted a powerful choir piece or a soulful jazz number. However, not all the secular carols were corny or badly written. One song, Merry Christmas to Me, actually made me laugh out loud. The lyrics are written from the point of view of a modern child making a Christmas list... wanting things like a pinball machine and a cellular phone... not wanting things like pajamas or socks. At one part of the song, the entire choir sings through kazoos. It was amusing.

The second half of the program featured mostly these sorts of silly Christmas songs... so I was disappointed that they chose to end the program with a slow, boring song. While the sound they made by surrounding the audience and belting out their final notes was fantastic, it didn't make up for the whole humdrum tune.

Overall, it was a good concert and I'm not disappointed that this was what I saw for my annual live Christmas performance.

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Speaking of Christmas music, we all have our favorite albums... the ones we play every year while wrapping gifts or cleaning up for a family dinner. Below I'm listing my own current favorites at this moment... and I'd like to know what albums the rest of you are enjoying.

5. James Taylor, James Taylor at Christmas
James Taylor wrote one of my all-time favorite songs, Close Your Eyes. Naturally, I was excited to receive his Christmas album some years ago. He has his own sound but he keeps his arrangements simple which just contributes to the lasting brilliance of the songs as well as his obvious talent.

4. Billy Gilman, Classic Christmas
I, in no way whatever, pollute my surroundings with country music. However, I adore little Billy. Billy Gilman's Christmas album was recorded when he was 12 years old... and he's very, very impressive for a young boy. He has so much character and just bursts with... well, it's a "joyful noise," for lack of a better phrase. You can tell he smiles when he works. His carols are very classic and stay pretty far from the twanging nightmare of country music. He sings a duet with Charlotte Church (Sleigh Bells) and blows her out of the water with his personality.

3. Sarah McLachlan, Wintersong
I'm not a huge fan of Sarah McLachlan... in fact, her Christmas album is the only one that she has made that I own. But, this album is truly a thing of beauty. Her rendition of First Noel is haunting, her secular carols thoughtful and moving, and her lullabye tone makes for a calm, quiet Christmas evening with hot cocoa and a full day of good memories. It's just a great album.

2. Loreena McKennitt, A Midwinter Night's Dream
Admittedly, this lady could sing numbers from the phone book and I'd probably still want to listen... but, like McLachlan, this is just a gorgeous collection of Christmas songs. McKennitt's voice also lends itself to the emotive power that makes the magic of winter carols. Her song choices tend toward old tunes that transport you to an old Celtic fairy world. She includes selections like The Holly and the Ivy and The Seven Rejoices of Mary. If you're interested in that more old fashioned sound, this collection provides it.

1. Tori Amos, Midwinter Graces
This album just came out this year... and this may seem like Tori is finally selling out, but this is not your typical Christmas album. That's probably why I like it so much... the tunes are familiar, but it's still Tori being her fabulous, weird self. She mixes and matches her old tunes with more contemporary ones... leaning far enough into a genre to which I think her voice and attitude are perfectly suited. In a song called Pink and Glitter, she performs with a 1940s jazz siren sound. It's a great song that keeps you in the mood for the holidays without cramming the figgy pudding down your throat.

May all your holiday sounds be pleasing songs...