AU Music Faculty Share Their Favorite Holiday Music
We asked 澳门皇冠体育-官网 Music Program faculty to share their favorite holiday songs for our last feature of the year. Whatever you are listening to this season, Happy Holidays!听
Joshua Bayer, jazz, and director of the AU Jazz Orchestra
鈥淲hy 鈥楽leigh Ride?鈥 Who doesn't like a sleigh ride?鈥听
Matthew Brown, conducting, and director of the AU Symphony Orchestra, AU Symphonic Band, and Singer Songwriters' Hub
鈥淢y favorite holiday song is a tie between 鈥楾he Christmas Song,鈥 (aka 鈥楥hestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire鈥) written by Robert Wells and Mel Torme in 1945, and 鈥楬ave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,鈥 written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. To me the lyrics, the melody, and the harmonies of each song combine to perfectly capture the joy and melancholy, the excitement and nostalgia, the thankfulness and longing of the holiday season. Every December, I look forward to revisiting the soulful and iconic renditions by Nat King Cole (鈥楥hestnuts鈥) and Judy Garland (鈥楬ave Yourself...鈥) as well as numerous other versions from over the decades, while being at home with family staying warm and trying to hold on to all the holiday memories we can while they last.
Casey Cook, voice, and director of the AU Chorus听
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 the David Willcocks arrangement of 鈥極 Come, All Ye Faithful.鈥 It鈥檚 just a Christmas carol, and it鈥檚 not a particularly fantastic piece of music, but it鈥檚 become a tradition in many choral concerts I鈥檝e been a part of over my lifetime. There鈥檚 a particular chord in the final verse on the words 鈥榃ord of the Father鈥 that has become a bit of a meme. For many people, Christmas doesn鈥檛 really begin until they鈥檝e sung that chord. It鈥檚 so pervasive, you can even buy a with just that chord on it.鈥
Larry Ferguson, percussion听
鈥淚t's tough to say, but my favorite holiday album is Charlie Brown Xmas. I listen to it first thing each year when it's holiday time. If I had to pick a tune I would say 鈥楥hristmas Time is Here.鈥"
Jennifer Hamady, voice听
鈥淔rom the first time I heard the song 鈥極 Holy Night鈥 as a child, it has been my favorite. The gorgeous instrumental arpeggiation, the vocal line that journeys from reverent to resolute, from a whisper to a wail 鈥 regardless of the rendition, the song always brings me to tears. It moves something within me that encapsulates the spirit of the holiday 鈥 the peace and possibility of the season, and of life itself.鈥澨
Barbara Hollinshead, voice
鈥淎 slightly off the beaten path Christmas song鈥攁n oldie, but goodie! 鈥楥ount Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,鈥 from the movie White Christmas (1954).
I volunteer singing at the Sibley Hospital鈥檚 Hospice, and several patients have really enjoyed it.鈥
Ann Kang, piano and director of the AU Music Program and Chamber Music
鈥淚 had a job as a church musician for many years while I was a student.听The culmination of Christmas Eve mass was always 鈥極 Holy Night,鈥 sung beautifully by the soprano soloist. I always looked forward to that! Of course, it鈥檚 not Christmas without Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker or Mariah Carey's 鈥楢ll I Want For Christmas Is You!鈥 It鈥檚 whatever music you listen to that enhances the feeling of warmth and content during the season with family and friends.鈥
JP Merz, music theory and composition听
鈥溾橶e Wish You鈥 by Pobbles is my favorite holiday song right now for its clever subversion of a classic Christmas tune and for taking the sparkly, magical sounds/timbres of traditional holiday music to a hyperpop-inspired extreme. It was also very divisive among the students, which always makes for a good discussion!鈥
Sterling Scroggins, voice
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 asked to sing a solo at Christmas time, my favorite is 鈥楽weet Little Jesus Boy鈥 by Robert Mac Gimsey. Its melodic range fits my voice well and it is easily sung a cappella. I like its message, linking the story of Jesus and his birth to those marginalized by our society. 鈥楲ong time ago, you were born; born in a manger low 鈥 Sweet little Jesus boy. The world treats you meanly, Lord Treats me meanly too, But that鈥檚 how things are down here...鈥
I also like the contemplative 鈥楢 Christmas Carol鈥 by Charles Ives. Ives鈥檚 lyrics (for example, 鈥楲ittle Child of Bethlehem! Do we hear Thee in our hearts?鈥) are set in a simple strophic manner with a quirky syncopated accompaniment. Ives鈥檚 compositional style was uniquely his.鈥
Nancy Snider, cello and Director of Applied Music
鈥溾赌Es ist ein Ros entsprungen鈥 is a Christmas carol and Marian hymn of German origin. It is most commonly translated into English as 鈥楲o, how a rose e'er blooming鈥 and is also called 鈥楢 Spotless Rose鈥 and 鈥楤ehold a Rose of Judah.鈥 The rose in the German text is a symbolic reference to the Virgin Mary. I love it for its simple beauty.
Bill Wielgus, oboe
鈥淲ithout a doubt my favorite holiday song is the 鈥楽leigh Ride鈥 by Leroy Anderson. In my 27 years of playing holiday concerts as an oboist with the National Symphony Orchestra, that was the one selection that I would never tire of. Anderson has been described as the 鈥楴orman Rockwell of American classical music,' and it's easy to see why, with his expert craftsmanship, ebullient good spirit, and gentle whimsy. The orchestration alone is a masterpiece! Sleigh bells were never jinglier, the cello countermelody beneath the sprightly tune is divine, and ooh鈥攚ait for that whip crack! And if we sit patiently savoring this irresistible melody, we are rewarded with that jazzy peroration near the end, enhanced with shivery woodwind trills that I always delighted in practicing. Yes, there is a version with lyrics, but I'll take the original any day and I'm so glad Professor Matthew Brown introduces a new generation of students to its pleasures every year by always programming 鈥楽leigh Ride鈥 for the AU Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert.鈥