Ludovico Einaudi. I’ve heard his name come up often over the last year or so, but for some reason I never listened to his music. That is until someone suggested I find something of his to play on the piano, and I was amazed. Einaudi creates his own unique, colorful world through his music, and […]
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New Years means new beginnings, new goals, and a new perspective on life. But, it’s also a time of remembering and reminiscing, and that’s why we sing the traditional song “Auld Lang Syne” every New Year’s Eve. The lyrics reminisce on the year about to end, celebrating times gone by. However. While we know the […]
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cozy nights by the fire. family. happiness, peace, and redemption. the first snowfall. good food. smiles. worship to God. the excitement of Christmas Eve night. self reflection. opening presents. hot chocolate (bonus points for whipped cream). laughter til your side aches. matching pajamas and twinkling lights. decorating the Christmas tree. wrapping paper. home alone (the […]
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French Origins It’s winter, 1847. In a small French town, Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure – wine commissioner and poet instead of church-goer – pens a poem for Christmas Mass, as requested by the local priest. Using the Bible as his guide, Cappeau imagined what it would be like to witness Jesus on the night of […]
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Before “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” was translated into English, this special Christmas hymn – originally in Latin – was born out of O Antiphons: a set of monastic chants sung the week before Christmas as early as the 9th century. O Antiphons The O Antiphons are a set of chants used at Vespers (sunset/evening prayer) during […]
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Picture this: it’s blistering hot, the middle of summer (1945). What do you do to stay cool? You think cool thoughts, of course. That’s what songwriters Bob Wells and Mel Tormé did, and that’s how The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) was born. Tormé said of the event: “I saw a spiral pad on […]
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One of the most recognizable Christmas tunes of all time is Carol of the Bells. However, the signature four-note melody, appropriately bell-like in sound and movement, has some surprising origins. Believe it or not, Carol of the Bells was not originally a Christmas song at all. Based on folk music, Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych wrote the original […]
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“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is one of the oldest existing Christmas carols. Yep, you read that correctly. Dated back to the 1500s and earlier, this English carol has actually gone through a lot of change and misinterpretation over the years. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” was written as a reaction to 15th century church music. […]
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One of the most beautiful and recognizable Christmas songs is “What Child is This?”. Believe it or not, the tune – an English folk song called “Greensleeves” – first appeared in the year 1580 (of course back then it was called “A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves”). Originally the lyrics were about […]
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It’s almost December! I hope you are all enjoying this season of love, family, and twinkling lights. 🙂 I personally love the cold weather – especially the snow and the music! And because Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” is a winter classic, that got me thinking. Has he written any other music inspired by winter? The answer is yes! So in […]
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