'O Tannenbaum,' Historic Tannenbaum

It is fun to look into the history of Christmas carols. And today, it being the first Sunday of Advent and me struggling with the urge to put up my Christmas tree, I got thinking about "O Tannenbaum."

The tune is a 16th Century Silesian folk song, says Wikipedia. Silesia is where Germany and Poland meet, so naturally great Christmas carols will come from there.

Of course Wikipedia can't wait to tell you that it wasn't really a Christmas carol, that the words were just about a fir tree and its evergreen qualities, that it was about an unhappy love story, blah blah blah. People cannot wait to burst your bubble on stuff like this, you know? For instance they always want to pound it into you that when Mendelssohn wrote the melody to "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" he had nothing about Christmas in mind. That is another story for another day.

This is interesting, About.com says that the Nazis used to promote "O Tannenbaum" as a Christmas song, or shall we say a holiday song, because it did not mention Christ and the Nazis wanted to secularize Christmas. I would like to see sources cited. On the one hand that is believable considering other things I have read about the Nazis and their antipathy toward religion. On the other, doesn't "O Tannenbaum" make you feel pretty warm about Christmas, whether or not it technically mentions Christ? I don't know if it would have helped the Nazis to promote it.

Oh well. Whoever did what, and for whatever reason, "O Tannenbaum" is a dandy song. I love my Christmas tree ...

... and I like how the melody goes back at least to the Renaissance. It is thrilling, the age of some of these Christmas carols.

I have always been partial to the Nat Cole version. And in German. You go, "King" Cole!

The Cathedral Sparrows

The mystery bird got me thinking about the Regensburger Domspatzen which means the Regensburg Cathedral Sparrows. I believe they are the oldest children's choir in the world.



They are singing "For He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over Thee," by the great Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. That is Pope Benedict in the audience. Wow, he is a music person. He is just drinking it up!

Here they are in 1956, the Mozart 200th anniversary year, singing Mozart's "Regina Caeli."

The Regensburger Domspatzen grew more famous a few years ago because Pope Benedict's brother was for years their leader. There are the Brothers Ratzinger in the picture at the top of this post! He retired in 1994 but he was at the helm for a lot of recordings. And it was so funny, this CD of them turned up on my desk before Benedict XVI retired, and it was only when I sat down to write about it and had to get everything straight that I saw, in tiny print, that its director was Georg Ratzinger.

Good job, Georg Ratziner!

Perhaps he is directing them here, in Mozart's "Regina Coeli." This is a piece I love. It is so joyous! I get a kick out when it quotes Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus."

Mid-summer magic

Music with me goes sort of with the calendar. There are certain things I like to listen to on different days.

For instance on New Year's Day and on my birthday I like to play Bach on the piano. It puts me in a sunny frame of mind.

On the first day of summer, which is today, I like to listen to "Die Meistersinger," the chorale that starts it. It is the chorale to St. John because in June 21 is the feast of St. John the Baptist, or Johannestag. 

I would go crazy trying to find that on YouTube so forget it. Instead here is this clip of the unique Glenn Gould working his way with enjoyment through Wagner's Prelude to "Die Meistersinger." I love how he sings along. In this case it adds to it.

There is the Mendelssohn "Midsummer Night's Dream" music, obvious but I have to mention it because I like to listen to it. You know me, I love warhorses. I could do a whole separate Music Critic Web log on warhorses.

It is hard for me to name my favorite part of the Mendelssohn score because I love the whole thing. Mendelssohn at 17, already at the top of his game.

It is wonderful to play the Nocturne at night. Listening to it, you know, I wonder what this kid's parents were thinking. "Holy cow." I mean, there are kids today who are talented as teenagers, but ... not like this.

To have come up with this. Again, obvious, but has to be mentioned. I knew Howard was starting to think about marrying me when he started working this theme into his jazz playing. Then we walked down the aisle to it at St. Gerard's. I know, boring, been done, but some things you just have to do, you know?

One other midsummer matter.

I love how Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" takes place all in one day.

So does "Die Meistersinger."

Both of them filled with all this crazy hazy romantic action and packed into this one long up-and-down day. The longest day of the year.

So there is something else I associate with them and that is "The Marriage of Figaro." Another dreamy creation that takes place all in one day. It is not necessarily Midsummer Day, as far as I know, but it could be.

That last scene in the garden. Warning: Do not listen to this clip in the morning. Your whole day will be shot!

Well, who gets work done today anyway?

It is Mid-Summer Day!