OK, folks, it's time for that ubiquitous column on Christmas music. You knew it was coming. And today I'm the one who will be bringing it to you. So sit back while I try to hit all the right buttons.
I'm pretty much a traditionalist, so it won't surprise you that I have an affinity for the old standards we know and love so well.
One of my favorites is "Silent Night," the collaboration of a church pastor and his worship leader on Christmas Eve in Austria in 1818. It seems the organ had broken down, so the two had to come up with something to perform for the service. Joseph Mohr, the priest, showed his church musician, Franz Gruber, a poem he had written, and asked him to compose a melody with accompanying chords for the guitar. Apparently Franz only knew three chords -- not unusual for church worship leaders -- and wrote a simple song that was easily accompanied and learned. The rest is history. And I love nearly every iteration or arrangement of that song.
Another old standard I love is the James Murray arrangement of a song called "Away in a Manger." I don't know much about the history of the song, and it appears no one else does, either. But it, too, has a simple and easily learned melody. (I remember one Christmas when I was very young, my mother taught me the song so I could sing it for my Grandmother when we visited on Christmas Eve. It's one of the most enduring and warmest Christmas memories I have.)
Let's talk about performing groups. Again, ever the "boomer" traditionalist, most of my adult life I have enjoyed the music of a group called Mannheim Steamroller. During its heyday, the troupe had a repertoire that featured songs which ranged from Medieval pieces with period instruments -- harpsichords, recorders, lutes, etc. -- to modern arrangements that are some of the most beautiful I have ever heard. (The Mannheim arrangement of "Silent Night" is epic.) The original cast has moved on, but I still find its music an inspiration getting me in the spirit of the season.
I discovered that the next generation of instrumental music fans threw in its lot with a group called the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I have heard a few of its tunes, and like them to a certain extent, though I don't listen to them as much as I do Mannheim Steamroller. In fact, to me, TSO sounds like Mannheim after five cups of coffee and a Red Bull. Much too intense for my taste.
Let me round out my preferences with a few songs that are currently found in my Christmas playlist on my phone: "Do You Hear What I Hear" by Bing Crosby, "Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano, "In the Bleak Midwinter" by James Taylor, "The Little Drummer Boy" by the Harry Simeone Chorale, and an arrangement of "Angels We Have Heard on High" by some boys from Utah called The Piano Guys.
Oh. Almost forgot one. "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" by Elmo and Patsy, one of the most enduring, influential and powerful ballads in the history of music.
Yes. I'm kidding.
Merry Christmas!
Doug Chastain is a retired teacher and large-vehicle transportation specialist for the Siloam Springs School District. (OK, he drives a bus.) He is also a grass maintenance technician at Camp Siloam. (Yeah, he mows the lawn.) You can contact him at [email protected].