"Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson

A Christmas Festival Leroy Anderson Decca Catalog #DL78925

Sleigh Ride

Music by Leroy Anderson, 1948

Words by Mitchell Parrish 1950

William Studwell, The Christmas Carol Reader
Mitchell Parish (1900-1993) appears to have possessed a rare talent. The lyricist from Shreveport, Louisiana, had a certain knack for associating the songs of an especially high caliber and fame. He provided the words for no less than four American Popular classics — “Stardust” (music 1927, words 1929) with Hoagy Carmichael, “Deep Purple” ( music 1934, words 1939) with Peter De Rose, “Moonlight Serenade” (1930) with Glenn Miller, and “Sleigh Ride” with Leroy Anderson. Some other familiar songs, including the 1965 Christmas piece, “The White World of Winter,” written with composer Hoagy Carmichael, were also products of his collaborative talents.
His creative mate on “Sleigh Ride” was not exactly a one-song phenomenon either. Anderson (1908-1975), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was one of the most gifted semi-classical composers ever to grace the United States. He was appreciated as a popular and a classical composer, with groups like the Boston Pops Orchestra dedicating programs to him. “Sleigh Ride,” composed in 1948, was one of his best efforts. Initially it was solely an instrumental work, and it still is frequently performed that way, but in 1950 Parish performed his habitual act of lyricizing with winners. As a song with word,s “Sleigh Ride” is in the top rank of popular Christmas carols with mood and theme similar to “Jingle Bells,” but with definite artistic superiority over the earlier song. As an orchestral work, it is a very fine contribution to the music of the season. In style and imagery, it is a lot lie another and even better instrumental composition, “Troika,” from Sergei Prokofiev’s 1934 masterpiece, Lieutenant Kije, which exhilaratingly depicts a ride in a three-horse open sleigh..

William L. Simon, ed., Reader’s Digest Merry Christmas Songbook (1981)Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” has the brisk charm of a winter scene in some Currier and Ives print, the horse-drawn sleigh moving gaily over the snow to the sound of sleigh bells and the occasional crack of a whip. It has become a Christmastime classic, although Anderson claimed he composed it in the midst of a sweltering August heat wave in 1948. (Mitchell Parish added lyrics to Anderson ‘s tune two years later.) The song was first performed by Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops Orchestra, for whom Anderson was an arranger, and was such a success with its clip-clops and bells and horse whinnies that it had to be repeated immediately for the audience. “Sleigh Ride” like most Anderson compositions-“The Typewriter” and “The Syncopated Clock” among them-is us American as apple pie, as popular as hot dogs.

November 18, 1998

NIU PROF NAMES

“SLEIGH RIDE” CAROL OF THE YEAR FOR 1998

DEKALB — “Sleigh Ride,” one of the most popular holiday songs of the last half century, was brought to life through the collaboration of a lyricist from the deep South and a lifetime New Englander, who may never have met.

A holiday staple on radio since the early 1950s “Sleigh Ride”, with it’s bouncy up-beat tune and catchy lyrics, has been selected as this year’s Christmas Carol of the Year by Northern Illinois University Professor William Studwell, the nation’s leading expert on Christmas music. This marks the 13th year that Studwell has continued his tradition of picking a top song.

“It’s a first-rate song, I give it a solid A,” Studwell said. “It’s crisp, distinctive, and it carries you along. You could probably guess what it was about without ever hearing the title,” he said, explaining why he chose to honor the song on its 50th anniversary. The song is one of several from that era that have earned distinction in Studwell’s eyes, the others being “Carol of the Bells,” (1936); “White Christmas,” (1942); and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” (1949).

“Sleigh Ride”

was written as an instrumental piece in 1948 by LeRoy Anderson, whom Studwell regards as one of the top semi-classical composers ever produced by the United States. His hits include staples of the 1950s such as “The Syncopated Clock,” “Blue Tango,” and “Fiddle Faddle,” all of which can still be heard occasionally today. He often worked as an arranger for the Boston Pops and that orchestra devoted several shows to his work.

Within a year of its writing “Sleigh Ride” had already been recorded several times and was already becoming quite popular.

The tune caught the ear of Mitchell Parish in 1950. A native of Shreveport, LA, Parish at one time worked as the staff lyricist for a music publisher and had a knack for matching just the right lyric with a catchy tune. In 1929 he penned the lyrics for the Hoagy Carmichael classic “Stardust” the music for which was written in 1927; in 1939 he wrote the words for “Deep Purple,” which was a 1934 composition by Peter DeRose; and, also in 1939, he teamed with Glen Miller to write “Moonlight Serenade.”

The marriage of the music and lyrics quickly pushed the song to new heights of popularity, with stars like Perry Como and Bing Crosby adding it to their holiday repertoires.

“Sleigh Ride”

is still often performed as an instrumental, but either version is excellent, Studwell believes. “As a song with words, “Sleigh Ride” is in the top rank of popular Christmas carols, with mood and theme similar to “Jingle Bells” but with definite musical superiority.”

Horse drawn sleighs being drawn across the snow has been a popular musical theme for centuries. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a sleigh ride piece in 1791, following in the footsteps of his father, Leopold, who wrote one in 1755. Perhaps the best ever, however, Studwell believes, is “Troika” from Sergei Prokofiev’s 1934 masterpiece, “Lieutenant Kije.” Studwell himself even borrowed the theme for an original composition that will soon be published as part of a collection of his carols, “The End of the Year: Twelve Original Holiday Songs,” (Lyre of Orpheus Press, Kingsville, TX).

It is not surprising that Studwell decided to try his hand at writi ng some holiday songs. He has spent years researching the topic and has written four books on the topic already in print, “Christmas Carols: A Reference Guide” (1985); “The Christmas Card Songbook” (1990); “The Christmas Carol Reader,” (1995); and “Publishing Glad Tidings: Essays on Christmas Music,” (1998). He was also selected to edit the text of “The Millenia Collection: Glorious Christmas Music, Songs and Carols,” a ten-title multi-media package of text, sound and graphics tentatively due to be released next year by Christmas Classics, Ltd.

His study of carols began in 1972 when he created a pamphlet on “Oh Holy Night“ as a gift for a family member. As he has delved into the topic he has come to believe that carols are probably the most influential body of songs in the Western world.

“Carols are international in influence and affect virtually all classes and groups in society,” Studwell wrote in “Publishing Glad Tidings.” “Furthermore, the relatively small number of important or widely known carols (a few dozen at most) makes the very sizeable cultural impact of the carol even more notable.”

Studwell, who is the principal cataloguer at NIU’s Founders Memorial Library is also a recognized expert on other such “underappreciated” forms of music as college fight songs, state songs, patriotic songs, and circus music. He has also written on ballet, opera, and popular music.

Additional history about the origin of this song came to light in December, 2010. ASCAP announced that “Sleigh Ride” was the most-played song on the radio for the second year in a row. The news release about the most played holiday songs in 2010 had this quotation concerning it’s origin:

Commenting on the news, Mrs. Eleanor Anderson, widow of Leroy Anderson and President of Woodbury Music Company, publisher of many of Mr. Anderson’s compositions, said: “Leroy conceived of ‘Sleigh Ride’ one hot July day in 1946. He was digging trenches in an attempt to locate an abandoned pipe that might bring water to a dried-up well that served our small Connecticut cottage. He didn’t find the pipe, but he came in saying he had the idea for a new composition. He thought he would begin it with rhythmic sleigh bells. So, he didn’t find the pipe, but he found ‘Sleigh Ride’ instead. None of us could have guessed that it could just ride on and on, and become the most-played holiday song in 2010.”

In its 2007 update of most-played holiday songs, “Sleigh Ride” ranked first. The news release observed “”Sleigh Ride” is the only holiday song on the list written originally as an instrumental piece for a symphony orchestra. The Boston Pops Orchestra gave the first performance in a concert conducted by Arthur Fiedler at Symphony Hall in Boston, May 4, 1948. Mills Music published it that same year. The Boston Pops Orchestra recorded it in June of 1949. Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1949.”
“Sleigh Ride” has consistently ranked in the top ten holiday song listings released by ASCAP. In 2009, ASCAP released its most-played holiday songs of the decade. “Sleigh Ride” ranked at number 3 in that listing, behind (1) “Winter Wonderland” and (2) “The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).
In 2008, ASCAP released its list of its most-played holiday songs for the preceeding five years. “Sleigh Ride” ranked fourth in that listing. behind “Winter Wonderland,” “The Christmas Song,” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”
It should be noted that this listing is only of songs licensed by ASCAP, one of three music licensing companies in the United States. The other two are BMI and SESAC. While it is an indication of popularity, it is not a listing, for example, of overall song popularity. In such surveys, “Silent Night” frequently tops the list.
The complete 2010 news story from ASCAP is reproduced below.

* * * * *

“Sleigh Ride” Tops ASCAP’s List of Most-Played Holiday Songs in 2010
“Just Hear Those Sleigh Bells Jingling…” 174,758 Times!

New York, NY, December 22, 2010: With just three days left until Christmas, ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) today released its final listing of 2010’s most-played holiday songs, based on performance data tracked by airplay monitoring service, Mediaguide, from over 2,500 radio stations nationwide.

From 10/1/10 to 12/19/10, “Sleigh Ride” has aired 174,758 times, making it the most-played holiday song on radio for the second year in a row. “Sleigh Ride” was played 118,918 times during the same time period last year.

Commenting on the news, Mrs. Eleanor Anderson, widow of Leroy Anderson and President of Woodbury Music Company, publisher of many of Mr. Anderson’s compositions, said: “Leroy conceived of ‘Sleigh Ride’ one hot July day in 1946. He was digging trenches in an attempt to locate an abandoned pipe that might bring water to a dried-up well that served our small Connecticut cottage. He didn’t find the pipe, but he came in saying he had the idea for a new composition. He thought he would begin it with rhythmic sleigh bells. So, he didn’t find the pipe, but he found ‘Sleigh Ride’ instead. None of us could have guessed that it could just ride on and on, and become the most-played holiday song in 2010.”

The top 10 most-played ASCAP holiday songs are:

1. “Sleigh Ride” – played 174,758 times
Written by Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish
Most popular artist version performed by Leroy Anderson

2. “Winter Wonderland” – played 156,441 times
Written by Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith
Most popular artist version performed by Eurythmics

3. “Jingle Bell Rock” – played 135,200 times
Written by Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe
Most popular artist version performed by Bobby Helms

4.”It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” – played 124,883 times
Writte n by Edward Pola, George Wyle
Most popular artist version performed by Andy Williams

5. “White Christmas” – played 113,290 times
Written by Irving Berlin
Most popular artist version performed by Bing Crosby

6. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – played 108,964 times
Written by Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin
Most popular artist version performed by The Carpenters

7. “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” – played 101,433 times
Written by Meredith Willson
Most popular artist version performed by Bing Crosby

8. “Frosty the Snowman” – played 88,546 times
Written by Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins
Most popular artist version performed by Jimmy Durante

9. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – played 87,736 times
Written by: Johnny Marks
Most popular artist version performed by Brenda Lee

10. “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting…) ” – played 84,049 times
Written by Mel Tormé, Robert Wells
Most popular artist version performed by Nat King Cole

Note: The list represents an aggregation of all different artist versions of each cited holiday song played on radio from 10/1/10 through 12/19/10. Each song includes songwriter credits, and cites the most popular artist version currently being played on radio.

Now What Was That Line??
Just in case you can’t recall all the lyrics of this wonderfully festive song, here they are:

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
ring ting tingling too…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.
Outside the snow is falling
and friends are calling “yoo hoo”…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.
Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up,
let’s go… Let’s look at the show…
We’re riding in a wonderland of snow.
Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up,
it’s grand… Just holding your hand…
We’re gliding along with a song
of a wintry fairy land.
Our cheeks are nice and rosy
and comfy cozy are we…
We’re snuggled up together
like two birds of a feather would be…
Let’s take that road before us
and sing a chorus or two…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.
There’s a birthday party
at the home of Farmer Gray…
It’ll be the perfect ending a of perfect day.
We’ll be singing the songs
we love to sing without a single stop…
At the fireplace while we watch
the chestnuts pop… Pop! pop! pop!
There’s a happy feeling
nothing in the world can buy…
When they pass around the coffee
and the pumpkin pie.
It’ll nearly be like a picture print
by Currier and Ives…
These wonderful things are the things
we remember all through our lives!
Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,
ring ting tingling too…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.
Outside the snow is falling
and friends are calling “yoo hoo”…
Come on, it’s lovely weather
for a sleigh ride together with you.
It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you…
It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.

Why do we give Christmas Cards?

A&P Christmas Greetings Volume 4 Catalog # 11987



     For many people (including us) the most pleasant Christmas greetings are musical ones. A&P Grocery Stores offered a series of Christmas record albums entitled “Christmas Greetings” in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  The information below we share with you from the liner notes of their fourth volume of the “Christmas Greetings” series.

Christmas Greetings Then and Now

 

     Today, the sending and receiving of Christmas greetings is an established tradition.  When we shop for cards there is a vast selection and it’s possible to spend hour after hour making our choices, picking if we wish a special card for each and every name on our lists.

     Where did this pleasant custom begin?  The thoughts and sentiments behind the tradition can be traced back as far as pre-Christian times.  Then, the celebrations concerned the winter solstice and the coming of the New Year.  Feasts were held and small tokens such as figs, honey, scents or coins were exchanged with wishes for bountiful crops, happiness, health, prosperity, and so on.

     As Christianity developed, many elements of the early winter solstice festivities were incorporated into the celebration of Christmas.  New Year’s greetings remained in the forefront, however, for as late as the thirteenth century, New Year’s Day and Christmas Day were synonymous.  For this reason, the earliest handmade and printed cards primarily carried salutations for good luck in the New Year.

     This custom was retained for quite some time.  With the invention of lithography at the close of the eighteenth century, printing became significantly cheaper and more people could afford greeting cards.  yet, for another half-century, New Year’s cards and Valentines were they type of cards which gained commercial and popular acceptance.  During this period, however, the Anniversary card and the Christmas letter became popular.  The former was a decorated card on which the sender could inscribe personal wishers and write in the word “Christmas” (or any other occasion.)  The Christmas letter was sent to friends and relatives written by hand on special writing paper decorated with Yuletide motifs.

     In 1843, Sir Henry Cole was a very busy man who spent long hours seeking postal reforms and other social changes for England.  In order to save precious time on his own Christmas letters, he hit upon the idea of a Christmas greeting card.  At his request, John Colcott Horsley designed what has come to be regarded as the first Christmas card. 

     For some time a card designed by William Maw Egley was a strong contender in the “first” race.  However, his own catalog of his works finally left the hands of private collectors and was presented to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Researchers at last were able to read in Egley’s own hand his notation that his card is “The second ever published…finished 1848.”

     The honor of the first American Christmas card goes to an inventive Albany merchant named R.H. Pease who, in the early 1850s, published a card for sale to the general public which, just incidentally, was an advertisement for Pease’s Great Variety Store.

     In England, it was not until the 1860s that Christmas cards were mass produced for the ordinary market.  However, by 1883, the London Times reported that “the popular use of Christmas cards…is productive of considerable moral benefit…has opened up a new field of labour.  Cards are sold at a range of prices calculated to meet any pocket.”

     In America, the Christmas card was eventually popularized by Louis Prang who began to produce huge numbers of cards in 1875.  “The father of the American Christmas card” was determined to bring art to the people and in 1880 – both as publicity for his cards and to impress the importance of greetings upon designers and distributors – he began to offer sizable annual prizes for designs enlisting such notable judges as Louis C Tiffany.  Prang published cards through the 1890s (one of his late designs is shown on this album cover).  His list of designers included most of the noteworthy European and American artists of the period and his influence on card producers both here and abroad was immense.

     Two factors played a significant part in the establishment of the Christmas card as a tradition:  constant improvements in printing processes and postal reforms which included extensions of services and lowering of costs.  However, it was the creative energies, the genius and the international influence of Louis Prang which spurred the Christmas card on to become a real institution beloved by young and old everywhere.

 

 



This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.

 



Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Christmas With Ed Ames RCA Records. Catalog #LSP3833

     How does a songwriter cool off on a hot day?  He writes a song about winter, of course.  That’s what Mel Torme did when he wrote “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” and that’s what Sammy Cahn and Jule Stein did when they penned “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow! In telling the story of writing this song, Sammy Cahn told Paul Zollo,

“The song ‘Let It Snow’ was written on Hollywood and Vine on the hottest day of the year. I said to Jule Stein, ‘Why don’t we go down to the beach and cool off?’ He said, ‘Why don’t we stay here and write a winter song.’ I went to the typewriter. ’Oh the weather outside is frightful‘–architecture-‘But the fire is so delightful, and since we’ve got no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.’ Now we three ’let t snows’? Why not two or four? Because three is lyric.” –Lyricist Sammy Cahn (1913-1992), recalling the genesis of his holiday classic, quoted in Songwriters on Songwriting: Expanded Fourth Edition, by Paul Zollo (2003).”

      Born on the Lower East Side of New York City, Sammy Cahn (born Sammy Cohen) was the only son (he had four sisters) of Jewish immigrant parents from Galicia, then a part of Austria-Hungary.  His sisters studied piano, but believing the piano to be a woman’s instrument, Cahn’s mother insisted he study violin.  After three lessons and following his bar mitzvah, he joined a small dixieland band called Pals of Harmony, that would tour the Catskill Mountains in the summer and also did private parties. This new dream of Cahn’s destroyed any hopes his parents had for him to be a professional man.
     In 2011, John Kosich of newsnet5.com posted the following article about Sammy Cahn.

      At one point or another over the past few weeks, you probably heard the holiday tune “Let It Snow.” The classic, which rose to number one on the Billboard charts in 1946, was written by the legendary Sammy Cahn.
     Cahn wrote more of Frank Sinatra’s hits than any other songwriter. Among the 89 songs Sinatra recorded of Sammy’s were “Love & Marriage,” “All the Way,” “High Hopes,” “Come Fly with Me,” “Three Coins In A Fountain,” “My Kind of Town” and countless others.
As I heard “Let it Snow” recently, I got to thinking about Sammy Cahn who died this week in 1993.
In October of 1992, I was working in Atlantic City covering the opening of a local chapter of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers). Burt Bacharach was there for the news conference and so were many other noted song writers.
     I did my interviews and then went into the reception that followed. It was there I spotted an older gentleman sitting alone at a table.
     As I looked at him I thought, is it? No, they didn’t introduce him earlier so it couldn’t be. Ah what the heck, I’ll ask.
     So I went up to him and said “excuse me sir, are you Sammy Cahn?”
His face lit up at the fact some 20-something reporter knew who he was. I said can I grab a word with you? He said “have a seat.”
     We were wrapping up our interview when I said to him I recalled hearing a story behind “Three Coins in a Fountain,” which won Cahn his first Academy Award in 1954.
With full showmanship a light went on, his smile widens and he said to me, “We were doing a picture called Pink Tights, with Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Dan Dailey. We wrote one of the best scores we ever wrote.”
     But it was music that would never be heard.
   “When the picture’s about to start Miss Monroe runs off to Japan with some baseball player called Joe DiMaggio, leaving us all there without anything,” Cahn said.
It’s a break that wouldn’t last for long.
     Cahn recalled, “One day we’re hanging around and the door opens and the producer walks in and says ‘Can you fellows write me a song called three coins in a fountain?’”
Cahn’s answer showed he was more than up to the challenge.
     “I looked at him and I said I can write you a song called “Eh,” he said.
Cahn asked the obvious questions, “I said can we see the picture? He says you can’t see the picture, it’s all over the lot. I said can we read the script? The script’s in Italy,” the producer responded.
“Would you mind telling me what this picture’s about?” Cahn asked. “Three girls go to Rome, they throw coins in a fountain and they hope they fall in love.” And with that the producer left. 
     “Well we had a title, a pretty good clue,” said Cahn. “I went to the typewriter and I typed three coins in a fountain, each one seeking happiness, thrown by three hopeful lovers, which one will the fountain bless.”
     While the words came easy enough to Cahn, he knew that was only half the job.
“I gave the lyrics to composer Jules Styne. Now you could spend a hundred years figuring out notes to these words,” he said.
It would take Styne only about 20 minutes.
     “We wrote that song in about an hour. It went on to become one of the biggest hits in history and I never saw the fountain, never saw the picture,” he said proudly.
Well, they had a song but now they needed a record. They first asked Cahn himself to sing it but since Frank Sinatra wasn’t doing anything, with their film on hold, Cahn turned to his old buddy and asked him.
     “I said would you do it? He said sure,” said Cahn. “So he came the next day and Jules Styne taught him the song and it became the theme for the film.”
The song would go on to become a big hit for Sinatra and The Four Aces; it would also mark the first of Cahn’s four Academy Awards.
     On January 15, 1993, just about three months after we spoke ,Sammy Cahn died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 79.
     He was a one of a kind figure who brought joy to millions around the world through his songs and his words. Cahn’s final words are the four he left to be inscribed on his gravestone…
“Sleep with a smile.”

This is the obit piece that we ran that night on WMGM-TV 40 in Atlantic City (direct link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMBJwynBivE ).

     What about Jule Stein (sometimes spelled Styne)?

     What some might call the original British invasion, began more than 50 years before the Beatles arrived in America, when a great music man to be, Jule Stein, left his homeland of England with his parents, bound for the United States. The year was 1912, and the young boy who would one day become Jule Styne, Broadway and Hollywood composer extraordinaire, was on his way to America’s heartland of Chicago.
     Several years before, the youngster, taken by a rich uncle to the London Hippodrome to see the great Scottish star, Harry Lauder, was so excited by the music that he jumped to the stage and began prancing and dancing about with Lauder. Amused and impressed, the singer advised musical training for the lad, and so it followed after the move to Chicago, the father, Isadore Stein, virtually bankrupted himself on a second hand upright piano. Almost from that moment on, the young Jule took lessons and soon began performing, seldom to ever look back. He often accompanied such stars as Al Jolson, Ruth Etting, Fannie Brice, and Sophie Tucker.
     In 1934, tiring of gang warfare, Styne and his wife (he had married six years before) moved to New York, where he took over a vocal coaching business from an ill friend, Al Siegal. Successful as a vocal coach, Styne was soon discovered by 20th Century Fox president, Joseph Schenck, who brought him to Hollywood to work with such stars as Shirley Temple, Alice Faye, Tony Martin, The Ritz Brothers and others in that studio’s stable. From 20th, he moved on to Paramount Pictures, where he met and collaborated with Frank Loesser on “I Don’t Want To Walk Without You Baby,” which remained for 20 weeks on radio’s “Your Hit Parade.” Styne’s next partner was the already highly successful lyricist, Sammy Cahn (the recently deceased and beloved president of the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame) who co-authored a host of memorable hits, including “Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry,” “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and “Time After Time,” all of which were hits for Frank Sinatra.  
      The team eventually made its way back to New York and Broadway and soon came up with a score for “High Button Shoes,” which ran a respectable 727 performances. Styne, with another collaborator, Leo Robin, next hit pay dirt with a musical version of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” which with the song, “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend,” helped Carol Channing and Marilyn Monroe make musical comedy history.
     Later, Styne revived his partnership with Sammy Cahn long enough to write the title song for “Three Coins In The Fountain,” which won them an Oscar. Styne and Cahn also produced the hit song, “Its Magic,” for the film Romance On The High Seas, which starred Doris Day. Yet another memorable earning of talents brought Styne together with Betty Comden and Adoph Green for the score for Peter Pan and Bells Are Ringing, which contained “Just In Time” and “The Party’s Over,” two more great hits.
     Other Jule Styne shows continued on the hit path, including titles like “Funny Girl,” “Subways Are For Sleeping,” “Do Re Mi,” “Fade In Fade Out,” “Hallelujah, Baby!” and of course, the incredibly successful collaboration with Stephen Sondheim, “Gypsy.”
     Styne received the Kennedy Center Award for Artistic Achievement. He is an Inductee in The Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and the Theater Hall of Fame, and is the proud owner of two Grammy awards, a Tony award, an Oscar, an Emmy, the Donaldson Award and The Drama Critics Circle Award.
      Jule Styne died in 1994 in New York.

     So, when you’re suffering the sweltering heat this summer, why not pay tribute to these wonderful songwriters and put on a recording of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”

 

This blog is written and published by DLF Music Transfer, LLC  dba Christmas LPs to CD.  For more information on Christmas music or to purchase CDs of classic Christmas records on CD, please visit our website www.christmaslpstocd.com , call us 888-384-6970, or e-mail us david@dlfmusic.com.

 

The Bells of Bethlehem

The Bells of Bethlehem A Christmas Festival of Song from the Holy Land, Europe and America

     A tremendous wealth of music has been written for the Christmas festival.  It is one of our most treasured reservoirs of folk material.  Our greatest composers have been inspired to write some of their most beautiful works for the feast.  Each age and each people has added to the musical legacy.  Some ages have been more prolific than others.
     In the 13th century,the followers of St. Francis of Assisi built replicas of the Christ Child’s crib, sang and danced about them and improvised little skits depicting the Nativity.  As the Franciscans traveled about Europe on their evangelizing missions, they introduced this tradition to many localities, and mystery plays in Latin and the local tongue were born.  The musical accompaniment for these playlets was improvised by taking a familiar folk tune, discarding its profane lyrics and setting religious verses to it. In this manner, the earliest carols were composed.  In these recordings, we hear two such carols cast in the form of dialogues: the German Josef lieber, Josef mein and the English Sir Christmas (In die nativitas).  Many of these early carols were lost, but with the invention of the printing press others were published.  The early church music traditionally performed at the Christmas services was preserved in manuscript.
     The development of the polyphonic style of musical writing from the 13th century on created a brilliant repertoire of church music which reached its peak during the High Renaissance.  Two fine representations of that style are included in this album: the motet by the English composer Byttering and Palestrina’s Hodie Christus natus est.  The baroque composers also contributed magnificent oratorios and cantatas for performance during the Christmas season.
     In England, the 18th century was marked by another wave of evangelizing – this time led  by the Methodists – and a new body of hymnody was born.  Examples of carols by Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley are included here.
     In the 19th century, a similar fervor was evident in America, and American contributions to the Christmas musical repertoire were prominent, as is recognized in these recordings.
     Traditionally and liturgically, in Europe the feast of Christmas lasts twelve days, beginning on December 25 and continuing to Epiphany on January 6.  In America, Christmas music is apt to be performed from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day – the liturgical season of Advent.  During this period, American church choirs perform Handel’s Messiah, Bach cantatas and older Christmas cantatas and motets, and the airwaves resound with carols sung by popular singers and choirs.
     This album offers examples of varied styles of Christmas music and performance.  It includes the celebration of the midnight mass in St. Catherine’s Latin Church in Bethlehem.  We hear the joyful pealing of the bells of the churches of Bethlehem proclaiming the feast day, the ancient Gregorian chant sung by the clergy and the choir of the Franciscan friars, the solemn mass and, sung in Latin, several popular carols including the German “Silent Nox” and French “Puer natus est.”  The record containing European material includes German, French, Czech, Polish, and English carols and famous works of Bach and Palestrina.  Because of its great popularity, one carol, “Silent Night,” is heard in three versions: Latin, the original German, and English.  The American record fittingly offers both carols of American origin and carols brought here from across the Atlantic.
     In the Holy Land, the chief event celebrating Christmas is the midnight mass celebrated in Bethlehem at St. Catherine’s Latin Church.  The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem presides.  At the end of the mass, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, bearing a statue of the Infant Jesus, leads the clergy, choir, and congregation to the ancient Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which was erected over the site of Christ’s birth.  Entering the Basilica, the Patriarch carries the statue to the grotto in the transept, where it remains until Epiphany, “venerated by the faithful.”
     In the recording entitled Christmas in the Holy Land, we hear the highlights of this two-hour celebration of the Christmas midnight mass.  The setting of the mass is the Missa I Pontificalis of Lorenzo Perosi (1872-1956).  The officiating pontiff is His Beatitude Monsignor Beltritti, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.  The choir is the Schola Cantorum of the Holy Land conducted by Father Raphael Angelisanti, Franciscan.
    

Of this album, Father Georges Lougans, a Franciscan of Jersualem, writes:

It is for you who could not come to Bethlehem or could not find place in the church, that we have made this record.  It reproduces as much as is possible in 55 minutes of a Divine Christmas Night office which lasts more than two hours.  You will hear the “Schola Catorum” of the Holy land, which is composed of Franciscan Fathers and Sisters, with the boys and girls of their orphanages.  The conductor is Father Raphael Angelisanti and the organist Master Agustini Lama.  The hymns are interpreted with heart and voice full of enthusiasm, without any artistic pretension, some of them so well known that the congregation often joins in to sing the familiar hymns they sang at home in their own countries.  The Divine Office starts with the Chant of Matins, in Gregorian. The Invitatory: “Christus natus est nobis; venite adoremus” (“Christ has been born for us, let us adore Him”).  The Hymn: “Jesu Redemptor omnium” (“Jesus, Redeemer of the World”).

The Psalms (of David) of the 3rd Nocturn.

The “Te Deum laudamus,” A Hymn of Thanksgiving.

Then comes the “Silent Nox” (“Silent Night”).

It is the cam, holy night, for which Gruber has composed this well-known melody, so perfectly adapted; that night which invites the pilgrims on earth to follow the shining star till the encounter with the Lord in Heaven.

 After the introductory prayers of the Mass and the appeal for God’s mercy on the sins of His children, comes the “Kyrie” of the “Missa I Pontificalis of Lorenzo Perosi (1872-1956).” This is followed by “Gloria” – “Glory be to God on high, and peace on earth to men of good will.”

During the celebration, one can hear the voice of His Beatitude Msgr. Beltritti, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, when he says or sings the orations, the prayers or blessings.  He is the Officiating Pontiff.  The Mass is in Latin, since the cosmopolitan assembly comes from all parts of the world.  After the “Universal Prayer” is chanted for the church, the government of the country, and all the nations of the world, and for the sick and the poor and the dead, the “Sanctus” is performed.

“Puer natus est in Bethlehem.” “A Child has been born in Bethlehem.  Jerusalem rejoices….Here He is, lying in the Manger, He Whose reign is without end….In the cheerfulness of our hearts, let us adore Christ, the Newborn Child, with a new canticle.”  The “Pater noster” is sung by the entire congregation and followed by a moving exchange of the sings of peace, among all those present.

“Adeste fideles” – “Let us hasten, faithful, joyous and triumphant, come, come to Bethlehem” – is sung when Mass is about to end, just before the beginning of the long procession of all those who are able to go to the nearby Grotto of the Nativity.  Here, the Patriarch places a gracious Infant Jesus in the Manger, where He will be venerated by the faithful.  Our joyful hearts are aglow and burning with the desire to see peace established in the whole world – the peace of Bethlehem; peace in Israel, and peace in the hearts of all men – Amen.

I ardently hope that this record may transport you in spirit to Bethlehem and that you may experience the feelings of those who have been there on Christmas night. 

 Song Listing:

Christmas In The Holy Land

 

Bells of Bethlehem – Matins – The Invitatory; “Jesu, Redemptor omnium”; Introit and Psalm; “Te Deum laudamus” (Clergy and Schola Cantorum)

 

“Silet Nox” (Schola Cantorum)

 

The Mass – Opening Prayers (The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Congregation0: Kyrie [Perosi: Missa I Pontificalis]

 

Kyrie (concluded)

 

Gloria [Perosi: Missa I Pontificalis]

 

The Mass (continued) – Alleluia (Schola Cantorum); Announcement of the Gospel (Clergy and Schola Cantorum); “Et incarnatus est” and “Amen” from the Creed (Schola Cantorum)

 

“Puer natus est in Bethlehem” (Schola Cantorum); Prayers and Announcement of the Preface

 (The Patriarch and the Schola Cantorum)

 

Sanctus [Perosi: Missa I Pontificalis]

 

Consecration (The Patriarch); “Pater noster” (The Congregation); Exchange of Signs of Peace (All) Angus Dei [Perosi: Missa I  Pontificalis]; Communion (Patriarch and Congregation)

 

“Adeste fideles” (Schola Cantorum); Final Prayers and Blessing (Clergy and Congregation)

Processio to the Grotto of the Nativity (Master Agustini Lama, organist); Bells of Bethlehem

 

Christmas in Europe

 

The Holly and The Ivy – This medieval carol is sung here in an arrangement by Cecil Sharp

The Deller Consort – Alfred Deller, countertenor; April Cantelo, soprano; Gerald English, tenor; Maurice Bevan, baritone

 

I Saw Three Ships – A traditional English carol based on an ancient legend.

 

Byttering: Nesciens Mater – This remarkable motet, which dates from about 1420, is by an English composer who is known only by the manuscripts that bear his name.

The Deller Consort – Honor Sheppard, soprano; Mark Deller, countertenor; Maurice Bevan, baritone; Conducted by Alfred Deller

 

O Tannenbaum – This familiar German folk song dates from about 1800

Erich Kunz, bass-baritone; The Vienna State Opera Orchestra Conducted by Erich Schwarzbauer

 

Josef leiber, Josef mein – The medieval mystery play is surely the source of this very popular hymn portraying the Holy Family

Erich Kunz, bass-baritone; The Mozart Boys Choir of Vienna; The Vienna State Opera Orchestra Conducted by Eric Schwarzbauer

 

Es wird scho glei dumpa – This lullaby to the christ Child is of Tyrolean origin

 

Stille Nacht – “Silent Night” is perhaps the most popular of all carols.  It is performed in this album in Latin, in the original German, and in English.  Like many of the most beloved carols, it is not the work of a professional composer.  The wrods were written in 1818 by Joseph Mohr, a priest in the village of Oberndorf, Austria, who took them to Franz Gruber, and organist in a nearby parish.  Gruber quickly set the hymn to music, and it was sung for the first time on Christmas Eve, 1818, in Oberndorf.

 

J.S. Bach: Zion Hears the Watchmen Singing from Cantata No. 140, “Sleepers Awake” – The beautiful string melody which accompanies this splendid tenor chorus is one of the immortal themes of music.  The chorus is the fourth mnovement of the Cantata No. 140, “Sleepers Awake.” For the text of this cantata, Back selected Philipp Nicolai’s great hymn, “Wake, Awake, the Night Is Flying” (1599).  Strictly speaking, the cantata is not a Christmas work, for Bach composed it in 1731 for the twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity and the first verse of Nicolai’s humn is allied to the gospel appointed to be said on that day. But Nicolai’s hymn is popularly sung during Advent because of its mystical references calling on the soul to prepare itself to be united with the Redeemer,or heavenly bridegroom, and because it heralds the “Incarnate Lord”.

The Vienna Chamber Choir, The Vienna State Opera Orchestara, Conducted by Felix Prohaska

 

Noel! Il ens ne, le divin Enfant – This joyful French carol celebrates the birth of Christ; “He is born, the divine Child, play ye woodwinds, sound ye bagpipes.”

Ensemble Vocal de Beauvais

 

Un flambeau, Jeannette Isalbella – A French carol which is popular in English as “Bring a torch, Jeannette Isalbella.”

Martha Schlamme, soprano; Edward Vito, harp

 

 Johannes Ciconia: Et in terra pax – Jean (or Johannes) Ciconia was a 14th century Flemish theorist and composer who left Liege to become a canon in Padua and Venice.  The instrumentation of this interesting piece has been worked out by Dr. Clemencic.

Musica Antiqua of Vienna, Conducted by Dr. Rene Clemencic

 

Pujdem spolu do Betlema – In this Czech folk hymn the carolers sing, “Together we shall go to Bethlehem, dear little Jesus child; we shall rock you in the cradle and adore thee.”

Nastal nam den vesely – Another Czech carol rejoicing in the birth of Christ: “A happy day began for us on this Christmas day; Christ the Lord was born of high degree to govern us on earth.”

Children’s Chorus of Radio Prague, Ensemble Pro Arte Antiqua of Prague, Conducted by Dr. Bohumil Kulinski

 

Przybiezeli do Betlejem – A Polish carol telling how the shepherds came to Bethlehem in humility and played joyously on their lyres.

Bog sie rodzi – A beautiful Polish carol sung a cappella.  Its text proclaims: “Great powers tremble as God is born.  He lies forsaken, lowly born yet Lord of priases, mortal yet King of the ages.”

 

Gymel of Guilelmus Monachus – The gymel is a two-part dancing song.  A 15th-century English theorist, Guilelmus Monachus (or William the Monk), noted down this gymel.  He was seeking to prove that the gymel was of English origin.

Musica antiqua of Vienna, conducted by Dr. Rene Clemencic

 

Richard Smert: In die nativitas – The Englsih composer Richard Smert was rector at Plymtree in Devon County from 1435 to 1477.  His In die nativitas shows the connection between the carol and the mystery play.  It6 is cast in the form of a dialogue between Sir Christmas and the company.  Sir Christmas addresses the company in both French and English.

The Deller Consort, Honor Sheppard, soprano; Robert Tear, tenor; Mark Deller, countertenor; Maurice Bevan, baritone; Conducted by Alfred Deller; Musica Antiqua of Vienna; Conducted by Dr. Rene Clemencic

 

Palestrina: Hodie Christus natus est – Palestrina’s jubilant motet dating from 1575 is a supreme example of the glories of Renaissance polyphony.

The Deller Consort, Honor Sheppard, soprano; Mark Deller, countertenor; Philip Todd, tenor; Maurice Bevan, baritone; Conducted by Alfred Deller

 

Christmas In America

 

Joy to the World – The verses of this popular carol were composed by the great 18th century writer Isaac Watts.  This performance brings to mind the familiar American street scene at Christmatime of a Salvation Army brass chorale playing for busy shoppers.

Philadelphia Brass Ensemble

 

What Child Is This? – The words of this carol were published as early as 1642, but they are certainly older. The tune is “Greensleeves.”

E. Power Biggs, organist; The Gregg Smith Singers; The Texas Boys Choir of Fort Worth; The New York Brass and Percussion Ensemble; Conducted by Gregg Smith; Arrangements by Robert De Cormier

 

Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains – “Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains” is a simple carol in martial rhythm almost indigenous to Mormon culture and often sung, particularly by children, with great enthusiasm.  It is the work of an early Mormon composer, J. MacFarlane.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’ Alexander Schreiner, organist; Frank W. Asper, organist;

Directed by J. Spencer Cornwall

 

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – Charles Wesley, the famous 18th-century evangelist and hymn writer, wrote the first verses of this carol in 1739.  Additional verses were written by another English evangelical leader, George Whitefield, in 174l.  In the 19th century, W.H. Cummings set the hymn to Felix Mendelssohn’s “God Is Light” chorus from the Festgesang, Op. 68.

Philadelphia Brass Ensemble

 

The Twelve Days of Christmas – “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is a traditional English Christmas carol.

The Norman Luboff Choir

 

O Come, All Ye Faithful – “O Come, All Ye Faithful” (“Adeste Fideles”) is known to have been sung in both England and France in the early 18th century.

 

Silent Night – see Christmas in Europe for note

E. Power Biggs, organist; The Gregg Smith Singers; The Texas Boys Choir of Fort Worth; The New York Brass and Percussion Ensemble; Conducted by Gregg Smith; Arrangments by Robert de Cormier

 

Good King Wenceslas – J.M. Nelae, in the 19th century, set the text of this carol to a 16th-century English spring carol.

 

Silver Bells – This popular American song was written by J. Livingston and R. Evans

Ray Conniff; The Ray Conniff Singers

 

Go Tell It on the Moutain – This beloved song is the most famous American spiritual dealing with the birth of Christ.

Mahalia Jackson; Orchestra and Chorus; Conducted by Johnny Williams

 

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear – The verses of this 19th-century American carol were written by a Unitarian minister, Dr. Edmund Mailton Sears, and scored by Richard Storrs Willis.

Philadelphia Brass Ensemble

 

The Little Drummer Boy – This tender song was written by the American composer Harry Simeone.

Ray Conniff; Ray Conniff Singers

 

Away In A Manger – Although this carol is often attributed to Martin Luther, there is no evidence that he wrote it.  The arrangement heard here is by Comfort Hinderlie Dale.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Alexander Schreiner, organist; Frank W. Asper, organist; Directed by J. Spencer Cornwall

 

The First Noel – This English carol dates from not later than the 17th century.

The Norman Luboff Choir

 

We Three Kings of Orient Are – John Henry Hopkins, the rector of Christ’s Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, wrote this American carol about 1857.

E. Power Biggs, organist; Columbia Chamber Orchestra; Conducted by Zoltan Rozsnyai

 

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen – “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” is probably the most popular of all English carols.  It may have originated in Cornwall.

E Power Biggs, organist; The Gregg Smith Singers; The Texas Boys Choir of Fort Worth; The New York Brass and Percussion Ensemble; Conducted by Gregg Smith

 

Here We Come A-Wassailing – Another traditional English carol.

The Norman Luboff Choir

 

O Little Town of Bethlehem – The verses of this carol were written in the mid-19th century by Phillips Brooks, the Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Philadelphia, and the music was composed by Lewis H. Redner, the organist of the Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia.

 

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