Wednesday, December 22, 2021

My favourite Christmas music

 


I can’t believe Christmas Eve is this Friday but it is and it will be a wonderful time.. I am going to showcase a few songs I love...I love a lot of them but I wanted to show some I have not talked about before, or at least may have mentioned it only once.

1. O BAMBINO SUNG BY Harry Simone Chorale-1965

I have always loved this song especially this composition done by this  famous Chorale who even appeared on The Ed Sullivan show.. it’s an Italian song, written by Pietro Yon, in 1917. I just always loved listening to this since I was a little kid.

2. A LA NANITA NANA ARRANGED BY NORMAN LUBOFF-1963

I could not find this particular song in this arrangement except from the full album. Yup, I grew up with this and I loved how this lady sings it but couldn’t find out who the singer is. If you can find out, I’d love it. You can listen to the whole album which is a treat but this song is about 33:47 minutes in.  It’s a Spanish Carol by Jose Ramon Gomis in 1904 that many Spanish people now play it as a folk song but I always think of it as a Christmas song.

3. STILL, STILL, STILL SUNG BY IVAN REBROFF 1970


By now you know I love this Mad German who thinks himself more Russian. He has an amazing 5 octave range not 4 which, I think, I mentioned last week. He has such control over his voice not like many, in North America, who scream it.  This carol is Austrian , near Salzburg, from 1865.

4. WALKING IN THE AIR FROM ANDRE RIEU-2014 ALBUM


You know I had to pick something from my mom's boyfriend..as she called him. This song is one of my hubby's favorites and mine too. It actually comes from an animated film from 1982 called " The Snowman" and was written by Howard Blake. I now want to see this special. 

Any favourites you have?

8 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    I read your reply to my comment on last Thursday's post and was happy to know that you've been chipper and feeling well enough to get out and do more Christmas shopping. I hope this day finds you in good health and in good spirits, dear friend.

    All of these musical offerings are new to my ears and I appreciate the introduction, beginning with "O Bambino." I watched Ed Sullivan every week for years and probably saw the Harry Simeone Chorale when they appeared on the show. I read that Harry Simeone is credited with popularizing one of the best known and most loved Christmas songs, "The Little Drummer Boy."

    i clicked at the designated spot and thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish folk carol sung by the unknown female vocalist. I got goose bumps listening to the deep, rich vocal styling of Ivan on "Still, Still, Still." His voice sounds like a cello playing. "Walking In The Air" is absolutely enchanting. With all the mediocrity and outright ugliness we encounter in our daily lives, this song and this performance are sheer beauty, drawing us out of our misery and into the light if only for a blessed few minutes.

    Thank you very much for this welcome interlude, dear friend BB. Enjoy your day and I'll see you tamale in the balcony "At The Movies!"

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  2. Thank you for making me actually like Christmas music - I could get lost in the last one, it's so beautiful.

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  3. I like that this is NOT the traditional canned Christmas music I'm hearing everywhere. Great choices of some I've never heard of

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  4. Paola Hermosin also did a lovely version of "A La Nanita Nana": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgUpCy2Y-GY

    These are great! Merry Christmas!

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  5. Someday I will tell the stories of my aversion to Christmas music. I'm glad you have a list of favorites.

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  6. Thanks for sharing holiday cheer.
    Hope yours are wondrous.

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  7. Hi Birgit - I love Walking in the Air, and our Carols from one of our Cathedrals ... so atmospheric. Have a peaceful quiet time - cheers Hilary

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  8. Haven’t come across that version of Walking in the Air before. Gorgeous film based on Raymond Briggs’ book, The Snowman. Love his work.

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