Carols

[ceebeegee]

Last night Chris (Goatboy) worked late and, being in my neighborhood, called me up and asked me if I wanted to grab something to eat. We went to Galaxy and I maued a rare blue cheeseburger. We were commenting on the various Xmas songs we were hearing; I'm gradually starting to like that cheesy-ass song "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Normally I loathe generic Xmas songs but I like the bridge, especially the part that says "we'll tell scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago." I liked the thpookiness of it--we were saying that there wasn't much mention of ghosts with Christmas except for, as Chris pointed out, A Christmas Carol (one of my favorite books EVER, as Doug knows. I'm dying to play Marley, so I can cry "MANKIND was my business! The common welfare...was my business! Charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence were my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop...in the comprehensive ocean of my business"). Chris said that Satan never seemed to get much mention in religious songs--I quoted "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," a Lutheran hymn that is also in the Episcopal hymnal. The Prince of Darkness grim/We need not fear from him/His rage we can endure/For lo, his doom is sure/One little word shall fell him. This hymn is also referenced in a Simpsons episode--somebody rings the Flanders's doorbell and the chimes rattle off the opening phrase. I also mentioned "This Little Babe," one of the pieces in Benjamin Britton's neo-medieval song cycle A Ceremony of Carols. This is an awesome work, written for women's voices, that I sang several times as a child in my church choir for Christmas, and at both Mount Holyoke and Sweet Briar. The pieces are so ethereal and haunting and transporting. Leve we all this werdly mirth/And follow we this joy...ful...birth...Transeamus. "This Little Babe" has a much faster tempo than the others--it's essentially a call to arms, with the Christ Child as the head of the Army of God. This little babe so few days old/is come to rifle Satan's fold...With tears he fights and wins the field/His naked breast stands for a shield...His camp is pitch-ed in a stall/His bulwark but a broken wall. With each successive verse, the chorus splits into more groups and staggers their entrances, so by the third verse you have this wonderful echoing effect--Hiscamphiscamphiscamp is pitch-ed in a stall/His bulwark but a brokenbrokenbroken wall. It sounds really, really cool. It's just a great piece in a whole song cycle of them. When we got back to my apartment, I played it for Chris and he was all "That...is...awesome." Yay! Love turning people on to art music.

Comments

[planga.livejournal.com]

No, it was Christmas songs I said don't get much Satan talk. That's why 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' is one of my faves.

As far as regular hymns go - hell yeah, Satan rocks, hardcore.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Well, depends on the denomination. Baptist hymns are full of fire and brimstone; some of them are actually a lot of fun. "In the Garden" always sounds like a drinking song to me (ironic, since Baptists usually don't drink). Aaand heeee WALKS with me and he TALKS with me.... Anglican hymns are a bit more prim.