Good Cheer
A program of Christmas music
Merry Christmas, everyone. I don’t have gold, frankincense, or myrrh for you. I don’t have a poem or even a column. But I do have a podcast—a podcast of Christmas music. This is the latest episode of Music for a While, my podcast at The New Criterion.
The episode in question—the Christmas episode—is here. For TNC’s site, I wrote a little post, which I will reproduce right now (slightly varied):
My latest podcast is a Christmas podcast—music “of the season” and “for the season.” (I did not mean to sound like the Gettysburg Address.)
In my introduction, I say, “Chronological order is not the only order—the only order in the world. But it’s not a bad order.” Right? I start in the 16th century, with “Gaudete, Christus est natus.” I stay in the 16th century with “Ding Dong Merrily on High.”
Hey, is “Ding Dong” as old as that? The tune is (though the words were written in the 20th century).
William Walton composed his “What Cheer?” in 1961. But that carol hearkens back to an earlier form, and its words date to, indeed, the 16th century.
The words come from Richard Hill’s Commonplace Book, which is found at Balliol College, Oxford. Those words begin:
What cheer? Good cheer!
Be merry and glad this good New Year!
“Lift up your hearts and be glad
In Christ’s birth,” the angel bade,
Say each to other, if any be sad:
“What cheer!”
My post resumes,
I have some Bach, naturally—a chorus from his Christmas Oratorio. I’ve got traditional carols such as “I Saw Three Ships.” There is a German art song, by Reger. There’s jazz, courtesy of George Shearing and Bill Evans. There are spirituals.
There’s Marian Anderson, too. Singing a spiritual? No, “Jingle Bells.” Can you believe it? (Neither could I, when I discovered that track.)
For two millennia, Christmas has occasioned an outpouring of art, and the repertoire of Christmas music is almost inexhaustible. I am offering a sampling. Hope you enjoy, and merry, merry Christmas.
Again, that podcast is here. Have I said lately that I appreciate my readers, beaucoup? Well, I do. (I did not intend for that to rhyme—but I’ll take it.)
Merry Christmas, Mr. Nordlinger. You bring cheer with all that you do (even your solid reporting and opining on the not-so-cheery stuff).
Here are three of my favorites. 1. Kathleen Battle singing Rise up, Shepherd https://youtu.be/NsxZdsTCSrQ?si=B2rfC27SfTkHRIQ6. 2. All Sons of Adam, https://youtu.be/uMa1u-ZPe-8?si=Z6M91h1YEnMrb8LR, and 3. Balulalow (not the Britten version, the old Scottish version from the 15th or 16th century on this album) https://youtube.com/watch?v=v4WfC-jl9qU&feature=shared.