Every year at about this time, I get a big case of the “bah humbugs.” Too many deadlines, too few hours (of sunlight!) in the day, too many impossible expectations to meet. Too many memories prompted by the season, the weather, and especially the music.
New here? Longtimer? Feel free to pull up a chair, settle in, hang out. As with an “open house” in real life, the pretext for the gathering matters less than providing the setting for a conversation.
I can only imagine how exhausting and oppressive the relentless ubiquity of ChristmasTM becomes for folks who do not observe the holiday. As a Christian with deep ambivalence toward the institution and its doctrines, I find most of the traditional observances in general circulation tedious and shallow. Lately, after my mother’s death, after COVID disruptions, after the real necessity to reconsider what “celebration” means for me now, I find myself more compelled than ever to reimagine the season and my relationship to it.
Music occupies a central place in my heart and spirit, and as a singer and a spectator I have savored uncountable performances of pieces associated with this holiday season. For me it is critical to consider which music I want to bring forward, and why. Fortunately, many brilliant and creative minds have already applied themselves to the project of reinventing the music typically associated with Christmas. Here I will share a couple of my recent discoveries in the hope that you find them stimulating and rewarding—and also in the hope that you will share your favorites, too.
Welcome once again to Thursday Morning [not this week!] Open House, a hangout we hope to post on a regular basis. We want to offer a pressure-free platform for all users, newbies or longtimers, to come discuss site features and site norms. Think of it as a cross between “Ask Me Anything” and a “How do I?” with the best part, as always, arising from the conversation we have in the comments. Polls will feature prominently and will always include some version of pie.
Top of my must-hear/watch list since I first encountered it last year: “Messiah/Complex,” a visually and aurally beautiful reimagining of Handel’s Messiah produced in 2020 by the Against the Grain (AtG) Theatre in partnership with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
AtG is making the video available again to stream on demand from now through Jan. 8, 2023. (Register here for free or pay what you wish.)
YouTube Video
It’s not only the massive works that benefit from a different take, of course. Yesterday I heard a stunning rendition of “O Holy Night” by a Canadian singer I’d never heard before, Ben Caplan. What a performance. Have a listen:
YouTube Video
This poll has a decided bias toward the classical and jazz portions of the musical spectrum, but please feel free to disregard those limits in the comments. As you celebrate the turning of the seasons and the returning of the light, are you listening to music that colors way outside the lines? Please share your favorite pieces and/or performances with us. Bonus points for taking the time to explain what you like about them.
New here? Longtimer? Feel free to pull up a chair, settle in, hang out. As with an “open house” in real life, the pretext for the gathering matters less than providing the setting for a conversation.
I can only imagine how exhausting and oppressive the relentless ubiquity of ChristmasTM becomes for folks who do not observe the holiday. As a Christian with deep ambivalence toward the institution and its doctrines, I find most of the traditional observances in general circulation tedious and shallow. Lately, after my mother’s death, after COVID disruptions, after the real necessity to reconsider what “celebration” means for me now, I find myself more compelled than ever to reimagine the season and my relationship to it.
Music occupies a central place in my heart and spirit, and as a singer and a spectator I have savored uncountable performances of pieces associated with this holiday season. For me it is critical to consider which music I want to bring forward, and why. Fortunately, many brilliant and creative minds have already applied themselves to the project of reinventing the music typically associated with Christmas. Here I will share a couple of my recent discoveries in the hope that you find them stimulating and rewarding—and also in the hope that you will share your favorites, too.
Welcome once again to Thursday Morning [not this week!] Open House, a hangout we hope to post on a regular basis. We want to offer a pressure-free platform for all users, newbies or longtimers, to come discuss site features and site norms. Think of it as a cross between “Ask Me Anything” and a “How do I?” with the best part, as always, arising from the conversation we have in the comments. Polls will feature prominently and will always include some version of pie.
Top of my must-hear/watch list since I first encountered it last year: “Messiah/Complex,” a visually and aurally beautiful reimagining of Handel’s Messiah produced in 2020 by the Against the Grain (AtG) Theatre in partnership with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
AtG is making the video available again to stream on demand from now through Jan. 8, 2023. (Register here for free or pay what you wish.)
YouTube Video
It’s not only the massive works that benefit from a different take, of course. Yesterday I heard a stunning rendition of “O Holy Night” by a Canadian singer I’d never heard before, Ben Caplan. What a performance. Have a listen:
YouTube Video
This poll has a decided bias toward the classical and jazz portions of the musical spectrum, but please feel free to disregard those limits in the comments. As you celebrate the turning of the seasons and the returning of the light, are you listening to music that colors way outside the lines? Please share your favorite pieces and/or performances with us. Bonus points for taking the time to explain what you like about them.