Favorite Christmas Music

Because of the fact that we all start hearing Christmas music just after Halloween the last couple of years, I have a tendency to shy away from anything even resembling a Fa La La La La until the week before Christmas. Then I listen to my favorites non-stop for a week. It's just so much more special to only hear it for that one week. I hate the fact that I'm burned out on hearing Bing Crosby's White Christmas, but I am. So here's my list of favorite CD's/tapes that provide hours of enjoyment while last-minute errand-running, wrapping, cooking, or passing out on the couch from holiday exhaustion.

The Brothers Four Christmas Album
Ok-yes it's folk music and very A Mighty Wind-ish, but I grew up hearing this record every Christmas at my grandparents. When I found it online a few years ago, I snatched it up and now listen with nostalgic enjoyment. It takes me back to being a little kid - my brother and I pinching packages under the tree, the smell of our traditional German Christmas dinner of potatoes and chopped bacon wafting through their house, my grandmother panicking because she forgot to put tags on about half the gifts. I still have their Christmas tree with the homemade ornaments my grandfather made - which completes my sensory journey back in time. It makes me remember how blessed I was growing up, and how blessed I still am today.

Alternative Rock Christmas Compilation
This was a CD put together by my friend Brian. He gave it to me about 5 Christmases ago, and it's become one I can't live without. Many gems on here, including the Hoodoo Gurus surfer-music version of Little Drummer Boy and Happy Christmas (War is Over) by the Alarm . But my favorite is The First Noel by Crash Test Dummies, which I think is one of the most beautiful arrangements of a Christmas carol that I have heard. I don't see Brian much anymore, but I very much appreciate this gift he gave me years ago, and wish him well every time I listen.

A Charlie Brown Christmas - The Vince Guaradi Trio
I originally bought this one for the nostalgic factor, but the mellow jazz that accompanies the best cartoon special of the Christmas season just can't be beat. I've played it in the background at my own home and at work Christmas parties, and someone always comments on how cool it is.

There's a tie for my favorite:
-IT'S CHRISTMAS MAN! - BRAVE COMBO
-CHRISTMAS AT CARNEGIE HALL FEATURING KATHLEEN BATTLE, FREDERICA VON STADE and THE WYNTON MARSALIS SEPTET
There probably couldn't be two more varied Christmas albums on the planet than these two.

The first is from our treasured local (Denton) nuclear-polka band. They also dabble in Ska, Salsa, Blues, Cha-Cha-Cha, and anything else you can think of. And they do it all very well. They offer Little Drummer Boy in Ska (very cool), It's Santa's Polka - their original composition (very fun), and even a version of Ave Maria (very beautiful). I have this as a bootleg tape, and every Christmas I tell myself I need to order the CD. It's so different from ANYTHING you'll hear on the radio or in the malls. It always brings a smile to my face.

The Carnegie Hall recording was from a KERA special that aired on Christmas Eve about 10 years ago. This one is so personal for me. Not only was it the first time I remember hearing jazz and liking it, but it actually had alot to do with deciding that I was absolutely miserable at that time of my life and needed to make some drastic changes. I was spending another Christmas trying to be cheery, stuck in a marriage with someone who just wanted to drink his way through the holidays and who didn't like to be around family. As I watched this visually beautiful special around midnight, with The American Boychoir, full orchestra and adult chorus, I started to want something more out of my life - something with more joy and less misery. The music lifted me up to heights I had forgotten existed in life. My two favorite songs are the septet performing We Three Kings, and the two featured sopranos performing Gesu Bambino. It still lifts me up, and proves that music can be a very powerful force in your life.

Every year I try to purchase a new holiday music CD. This year it was music from The Nutcracker. I encourage everyone to break out of the Jingle Bell Rock rut and find something that warms your heart and brightens your outlook this Christmas season.

A little dose of culture never hurt anyone

We decided to get a subscription to the Ft. Worth opera when we got the brochure in the mail and saw how affordable it was. The deal was clinched when we read that we get a discount with our KERA card. We get to attend three operas. Our seats are the the first row of the upper balcony, a little to the side. I have always wanted to go to an opera, but was a little nervous that I would get bored and maybe even fall asleep. To make things worse, our first opera occurred at the end of our move-in week. We spent all day that Friday moving the last bits of stuff from the old house, which turned out to take four trips in two cars, and moving furniture around, and unpacking yet more boxes of kitchen stuff (were they multiplying?). We were tired and punchy, and sitting at Bass Hall for three or so hours was really the last thing I wanted to do. I begged Jav to just let us go out to dinner somewhere and back home for some relaxation and/or sleep. But he kept coaxing. We somehow managed to find our dress-up clothes, and ended up looking smashing when we walked out the door, me in a blue velvet dress with a turquoise shawl, and he in a purple shirt with gray and purple striped tie. All cool colors. We sat down to watch Verdi's La Traviatta. Here's the rather lengthy story.

Well, it was amazing. The lead playing Violetta had the smoothest most beautiful voice. The sets were amazing, the dancing was perfect and the music itself was so enjoyable. There's an intermission between each Act, so the action never really drags. And everyone is dressed up in their opera finery. I felt like I'd gone back in time, to the days my grandparents would get dressed to the nines to go anywhere - dinner, a movie. It was such a special and romantic event.

It's wonderful to know that for a small amount of money, we are not only getting a wonderful evening, but we are contributing to the advancement of culture in our little Fort Worth community. I can't wait until the next one in January!