Hope you've had a merry one so far.Last night, I saw Meet Me in St. Louis for the first time in thirty years. I had forgotten how good that film is. Sure, it's almost plot-free, and it conjures up nostalgia for an America which probably never existed. But I suspect that many people did once know a family life similar to the one portrayed in this film; perhaps some still do. And Margaret O'Brien is hilarious as America's first gothling.
(What kind of job would a guy have to do to afford a house like that these days?)
Over on the Confluence, there has been some discussion of favorite holiday music. My favorite offering of the season is the "Coventry Carol." Little Margaret O'Brien's character might have made the same selection, since that song is as sad and depressing as a carol can be. It speaks of the slaughter of the innocents. (Which probably never occurred -- but if it did occur, probably would have consisted of some 30 deaths. Some historians enjoy making such calculations.) The most heartbreaking and haunting versions are by Aled Jones and the Medieval Babes.
The best Christmas music often has a touch of melancholy in it. Take, for example, "I Wonder as I Wander." In the 1930s, a musical folklorist heard this carol sung by an impoverished child in Appalachia. Nobody knows where the child got it. Once you know the backstory, you can't hear that music without thinking of all the children who have grown up in poverty.
Part of the long-lasting appeal of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" stems from the non-merriness of the tune. The lyrics speak of comfort and joy, but the descending notes speak of something else. No matter who sings the thing, I always imagine it being sung by an ill-fed urchin in the snow.
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (from Meet Me in St Louis) is also a lovely, depressing thing -- especially if you consider the impact those lyrics must have had on a wartime audience.
I also admit to being a sucker for Enya's spacy Gaelic version of "Silent Night."
One non-depressing piece of which I'm quite fond is the Troika from Prokofiev's Lt. Kije Suite, which was written for a 1934 Russian film. The film was once believed lost but, by some magic, it is now available online. I just saw the opening bit, and I have to admit that the film marries Prokofiev's music to cinematic rhythms in a way that Eisenstein never matched. (The basic plot was re-used in the "Tuttle" episode of MASH.) In recent years, "Troika" -- under the name "Russian Sleigh Ride" -- has received frequent playings at Christmas concerts. It's one of those classical pieces you've heard even if you think you haven't.
Speaking of depressing Christmas music: The simple and devastating opening words to John Lennon's "So This is Christmas" always stop me in my tracks:
So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year older
And a new one just begun...
Good thing the lyrics do not go on in that vein, or few listeners would make it to New Years Eve. If little Margaret O'Brien had written the rest of that song, it would have been a real suicide-inducer:
I've felt all Christmas
A sense of unease
I see the four horsemen
Bring death and disease.
And so this Christmas
at this year's eclipse
Human life reaches
Apocalypse
Happy Christmas, one and all. May you avoid the wrath of the Christmas meteor.
7 comments:
Damn Joe, you put the "mud" in "curmudgeon."
You're my new hero!
Your non-political posts are so worthwhile - I can almost forgive your anti-Obama stance.
Never mind - with a lovely dog like that you can't be all bad (wink).
Wishing you joys of the season and a better New Year than you expect.
Think positive!!
The thing that always annoyed me about "Meet Me in St. Louis" was their unwillingness to move to New York. I ask you, where would you rather live--New York City or St. Louis? No contest!!!
One thing I noticed this year: you know how in the Christmas song, Judy Garland sings the line, "until then we have to muddle through somehow"? In the Muzak version of that carol, the one you hear when you go shopping, they always replace that line with some sentimental cr@p, "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough," something like that. This year, I've noticed that they've restored the original line. I think that's an indicator of the national mood. People know we're in for a period of hardship.
Merry Christmas, Joseph, and for what it's worth (not much, I'm afraid), you're always in my prayers.
Therese, the GENUINE catlady
If I remember correctly, the Lieutenant Kieje music was used a lot in Woody Allen's "Love and Death". And used very well, too.
My personal favorite Christmas song is "2000 Miles" by Pretenders. Like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "I'll be Home for Christmas", it's a sad lonely song that can pack a huge emotional impact when you listen to it. For me anyway.
I'm a sucker for Enya holiday music, too, Joe. I even bought her winter album this year.
I'm a sucker for Karen Carpenter's Merry X-mas Darling. Brings tears every year.
Here's a history of "Merry Little Christmas." Judy Garland's version wasn't the first. Of the three versions, I like the Meet Me In St. Louis version the best.
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