Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Let the music begin!
Christmas is exactly one month from today. It will be another quiet holiday for us. We will be home with ourselves on the day of this anniversary of a humble baby’s birth. I know by now that this date was arbitrarily chosen, and that we do not know exactly when Jesus was introduced to this world. It could have actually been July 14 for all I know. But there is something holy about celebrating the occasion in cold weather, when the world is at its’ darkest point, and lights shine everywhere in the darkness.
As a teenager I remember Christmas time in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sao Paulo is south of the equator, so seasons are reversed there. Aside: even the way water goes down a drain is reversed in the southern hemisphere. So, Christmas comes in the middle of Summer time and it is hot. We would likely have rented an apartment in Guaruja, on the beach. Swim attire was the name of the game at Christmas. That never felt exactly right to me, but it may have been closer to the actual circumstance of Jesus’s birth. Except for the swim attire.
One thing that never changes for me, regardless of what hemisphere I’m in, is the compelling beauty of Christmas music. My parents were both music lovers, so Christmas music prevailed for a few days before the holiday. We had a small collection of 33 rpm records that were dusted off each year. Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, The Andrews Sisters, Louis Armstrong – they all came to visit our airwaves. Apparently the 1950’s are a treasure trove of Christmas music compositions. That’s how I remember it, anyway.
In my adult life I have accumulated a huge collection of music for this Season. The performers include some of the old timers, but there are so many artists to choose from anymore. Right now, Celtic Woman is playing, right after Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli and solo pianist George Winston. I even have two hauntingly beautiful recordings by R. Carlos Nakai playing quiet Seasonal music on his flute. Christmas music adapts itself to huge gatherings like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. To electronic groups like Mannheim Steamroller. To single performers like Anne Murray.
I think if you live long enough as a musician you are required to produce a Christmas album. So I have music from Julie Andrews, James Taylor, and Linda Ronstadt. Their familiar voices set to my favorite music make my heart happy. However, there are some unexpected sources of this music. One of my favorite albums is by Chicago – they jazz up some of the old standby’s with some fun percussion runs. New Age musicians like David Lanz and Jim Brickman have produced some gorgeous collections. I even have a collection sung by the California Raisins! A most annoying and seldom played collection by the Chipmunks sits unabashedly in my iPod.
I can’t say I have a favorite collection. I love all of the music that I have accumulated over the years. Someday my children may have the opportunity to inherit my digital treasure trove. Thanks to technology they won’t have to fight over it.
Jan has just mentioned that I need to explore some more contemporary musicians and Christmas music performers. I might. But I might just stay stuck in the 1950’s. She may be right, though. There is probably plenty of room for some new performances in my computer. I’ve come a long way from a humble beginning of three or four records from my childhood.