Hello! It's been a while since my lastest post.
I've been very busy lately, so I couldn't keep up with writing new articles for the blog. Sorry about that!
Today, I would like to talk about the music we can listen during Christmas time. "Carols" are called "villancicos" (in Spanish), "Nöels" (in French), "Weihnachtslied" (in German).
Being aware of the bunch of lists on YouTube or Spotify, what I intend here is to provide you with songs that are among the top 10 in popularity but the clips will be "special" (either because they feature an animation, or a modern performance, or any other kind of surprise).
There will be a first group of Spanish villancicos, then a second group where international Christmassy tunes are lumped together, and in a last group I will list symphonic repertoire that is used to be heard during these days (in the malls, stores, streets, schools, business, offices...).
Among Spanish carols (I think it is a pitty that we sing them less and less) I am specially fond of "Campana sobre campana", "Dime niño, ¿de quién eres?", "Arre borriquito", "Los peces en el río", "La marimorena", "Ay, del chiquirritín", "Hacia Belén va una burra", "Ya vienen los Reyes"... If you haven't heard them: here is a link to a video in YouTube where you can listen up to 30 of them!
Among the internacional carols, I will name a few of them:
- Jingle Bells stands as Top 1 of this list. It was composed by an unkwnown musician called J. Pierpoint (1822-1893) during mid-XIX century. The original tune shows a melody slightly different to the one that we know (at what point the melody changed, amd turned into the one that we sing nowadays? who knows!). Minions are always fun to watch, and this instrumental is a classical performance.
- Silent Night was composed F. X. Gruber (1787-1863) Spanish lyrics start with "Noche de Paz" and Germans use the words Stille Nacht. Austrian J. F. Mohr (1792-1848) was the one that created the text. Puppets show in this video (voice of Jonas Kaufmann). Canterbury Cathedral's girls choir is singing in this video and Winchester Cathedral's boys choir is singing in this other one. Original instrumentation encompasses two voices and a guitar as an accompaniment.
- Joy to the world was written by I. Watts (1674-1748), and it is also one of the most famous English carols in the world. However, we can't say for sure who composed the melody. Some say it was G. F. Haendel (1685-1758) who created it.
This video features North-American music group Pentatonix (PTX) and these others feature an animated version made by Listener Kids, and another one made by Disney. Additionally, I like this lively flashmob, from second 45.
- Adeste Fideles (which English lyrics have O come, all ye faithful as a title), is an old hymn (it is more than 200 years old!). Again, we don't know who invented it, but it is very popular in France, UK, Portugal, Spain... Sometimes, it is said that Juan IV de Portugal (1604-1656) wrote it, some others say it was John Reading (c.165-1764) or J. F. Wade (1711-1786), instead. I enjoy this video of The Five Strings and this other that shows the "Christmas Truce" during First World War, when soldiers from both sides stop fighting to celebrate that 1914's Christmas Eve. I find it very moving.
- The little drummer boy, (known in Spanish as "El pequeño tamborilero") was composed in 1941 by North-American pianist and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis (1892-1980). Madrid Young Orchestra JORCAM played this beautiful piece in a Christmas Concert in 2010.
The composition is a mixture of the carol with other musical traits from Ravel's famous Bolero. This other link leads you to a performance of Coro Laus Deo. Besides, in 1968 an animación with stop-motion was made and I think it is a nice work to highlight here.
- O holy night was composed in1874 by A. C. Adams (1803-1856), with lyrics of P. Cappeau (1808-1877). Originally, it was in French (Minuit, chrétiens) but most of the recordings you will find are in English: Pavarotti y Plácido Domingo in 1999, Mariah Carey, a capella, HomeTown, for orchestra, just for an organ...
Now, for the youngest at home, we like to watch:
- Jingle Bells Rock (in this Disney short-film cartoon), feels like a tribute to the old original Jingle Bells;
- Rudolph the red nosed reindeer (music composed in 1939 by John Davis Marks "Johnny Marks", who composed Rockin' around the Christmas tree too, among other Christmas standards), is based in a story;
- Santa Claus is coming to town (composed in 1932), there are several recordings you can find easily: Frank Sinatra, Michel Bublé, or this pretty clip with an charming animated Fred Astaire);
- Frosty the Snowman (this song was written in 1950, and it was very successful). There was, even, a TV special show that you can watch here;
- and some others like We wish you a merry Christmas (here with a Spanish music band: Pica-pica), the German O Tannenbaum, or the cumulative song The 12 days of Christmas (animated video).
In the last place, I am going to talk very briefly about some compositions that belong to the "classical" repertoire, but usually we can hear them often during Christmas time:
- Cantata BWV 147 of J. S. Bach (1685-1750), titled "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben". Here belongs the choral "Jesus, bleibet meine Freunde" (known in English as "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring") , its melody is used to musicalize important events in our lives (not only Christmas, but also in weddings and other celebrations). Short-named as "Cantata 147"
here I let you watch and listen to a very special "performance", using a giant wooden xylophon, built in a Japanese forest: beutiful!
- Likewise, The Nutcracker of Russian musician P. I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) is very popular during Christmas time. Remember Disney's Fantasia (1940)? And here, I suggest you to watch this flashmob or this ballet dance.
- The Blue Danube and Radetzky March, both composed by J. Strauss (1825-1899), are musts in the Christmassy repertoire. Normally they will be performed during the famous New Year's Concert, in Viena. Another flashmob (of the march) and here the MGM animated cartoon with Danube's music. Also, this link to Vienna Boy's Choir, where they sing Trisch-Trasch Polka (after 14 years without performing together in such an important date).
I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I will keep posting these days, since I still have a lot of music that I would like to share with all of you. So, please, stay in touch.
I wish you the best for this days.
And let the music be our fellow traveler in this life.
Cheers!
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