For several decades my Saturday evenings have been dedicated to listening to “Saturday Night Swing Session”, on WQLN, Erie. The current host, Phil Atteberry, and I have developed an enjoyable friendship, via email.
I enjoyed his Christmas program immensely and began to wonder what I would select if I had the opportunity to host a one hour show of my own. The results of my pondering is this week’s column.
My wife always opened the Christmas season by listening to “The Messiah” on a set of scratchy records by Sir Malcom Sargent and the Huddlesfield Chorale that she had when we were married. When CDs became popular I bought her the best “Messiah” available – Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony. The first time she heard them she advised me that they weren’t nearly as good as hers.
I never was able to get a new set of her original ones. Recently I found her version on YouTube and indeed it was far superior to mine. Consequently I will begin my program with the Prophecy (Isaiah IX.6) from Sargent’s “Messiah”, the familiar “Wonderful, Counselor, etc.”.
As a change of pace, I will excerpt from another of Nan’s personal favorites. She had an excellent collection of Sinatra albums, including “A Jolly Christmas”. From it I will select “A Christmas Waltz”, a song Frank introduced in 1957.
Another favorite record of hers was by the University of Redlands Choir. It was the first time I heard “Away in a Manger” sung to an alternative melody. I still have her original LP, badly worn but barely playable. I also recall trying to get a replacement of that record for her, at a time when such things were nearly impossible.
My favorite Christmas album is RCA Victor VIC-1682, “A Golden Age Christmas”, subtitled “Great Voices of the Golden Age”. It was issued in 1972, a compendium of the great RCA 78s of the teens and twenties. It is impressive to hear Caruso, John McCormack, and Madam Schumann-Heinke and realize they recorded by singing into an inverted horn.
My first selection from it will be Enrico Caruso and “Cantique de Noel” (“O Holy Night”). It was originally recorded in 1916 and is a magnificent demonstration of his virtuosity. One doubts that the bar he set for tenors will ever again be approached, let alone exceeded.
For another change of pace, let’s toss in Fibber McGee and Molly’s version of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Their radio program was one that we never missed hearing when Joe and I were kids. One Christmas during World War II, they introduced a vocal version of the famous poem, with music by Ken Darby. It became a Christmas ritual for us to tune in for this show.
Back to “Golden Age”, this time Ernestine Schumann-Heinke and the all-time classic carol “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night” for you illiterates). This was recorded in 1906 and is another never-to-be-exceeded standard. My father said he appreciated the miracle of radio for the first time when he heard Madame Schumann-Heinke sing “Stille Nacht” live one Christmas Eve in the 1920s.
Two years ago we had an extended family Christmas gathering in a resort hotel on Maui. That isn’t the actual Christmas Island, but it’s a great substitute. I have chosen Leon Redbone’ rendition of “Christmas Island” in recognition of that memorable event.
The finale of my ”Golden Age” triple-play is John McCormack singing “Adeste Fidelis” impeccably in 1915. It is difficult to imagine anyone with more perfect diction than the great Irish tenor.
An interesting fallout from the pandemic has been the popularity of contemporary musical groups via YouTube. I am enamored with the Petersons, a mostly family sextet playing and singing in a bluegrass format. I will choose them to perform “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. Ironically “If only in my dreams” is appropriate for me this year as I am spending Christmas in the hospital with some mysterious infection.
Back to more serious stuff, how about something from James Galway’s “Christmas Carol” album? He’s a family favorite; we saw him with the Pittsburgh Symphony years ago. I will select “Sheep May Safely Graze”. Wouldn’t want to leave “Der Alte Bach” out of a Christmas program!
Seventy years ago my wife and her two sisters recorded “Jingle Bells” using a home recording system Betty’s husband, Jack Shaffer, had. We are lucky to still have a playable copy of our favorite version of this song, featuring Anna Mary’s saucy rendition of the verse.
Another current YouTube favorite group of mine is “Home Free”, a country-tinged male a capella quintet with apparently no limits whatever in their versatility. I will include one from their 2020 Christmas special, ”Do You Hear What I Hear?”
In the late 1930s the highlight of the Christmas season in Bridgeville was the annual community songfest. Choirs from each of the churches paraded to Washington Grade School singing appropriate carols. After the crowd there had exhausted its playlist, Dr. Dante Pigossi would appear on the third floor balcony and belt out “Ave Maria”. How I wish I had a record of that!
No question about my including “White Christmas”. I distinctly remember enjoying the film “Holiday Inn” when it came out in 1942 and being thrilled with Bing Crosby’s reprise of “White Christmas” when he was reunited with Marjorie Reynolds in Hollywood at the end of the movie. I was not surprised when it became our national anthem during World War II. A fitting way to end this program.
Happy New Year to one and to all!