Piles of Clothing

 

[Disclaimer: This is not my living room.]

There are piles of clothing in my living room right now awaiting donation to Goodwill.

Yes, they are all clean.

Yes, they are all folded.

Most of the items have been hanging in my closet or resting folded in drawers for quite a while.

Unused.

I took comfort, however, in knowing they were there even though they were taking up space.

What in the world could this have to do with music?

Well, my closet was near overflowing so ridding it of some clothing is not going to really deplete my having clothing to wear.

Think about your music collection.

     Be it MP3s.
     Be it CDs.
     Be it Cassettes.
     Be it 8-Tracks.
     Be it LPs.
     Be it 45s.
     Be it 78s.
     Be it Cylinders. (For my radio friend!)

These are the tangible means by which we might possess music.

I can not forget to mention that music we access via YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, or whatever is created in years to come.

I won't even open the Pandora's box of including my sheet music in this total.

(Right now, next to my piano I have a stack of sheet music/books that is about 2 feet tall. That's just THAT stack of music.)

When is the last time you listened to ALL of your music?

Is that even possible?

I know of people who have days, weeks, months, yes, even years worth of music available to them.

Will they EVER be able to listen to all the music they possess or have available to them?

Just as this clothing once idly hung in my closet or rested in my drawers and I found comfort knowing it was there...

So too, do I - um, do we all - find comfort knowing that that piece of music in whatever form it may be in is there for us to play.

But, like these piles of clothing, sometimes we have to weed out our collections.

However, since I now have extra space in my closet and drawers, I have plenty of room for my music collection.

*smile*

Sometimes I Just Have to Stop Myself

Sometimes I just have to stop myself.

"Stop doing what?" you may ask.

Tangents.

My downfall is tangents.

It all starts very innocently then I delve deeper and deeper.

~*~*~*~

Right now I am doing some pretty intensive research.

This is not a new thing.

I am the one who still has all essays and term papers I've ever written that had a musical theme.

I am the one who at a music conference in 1996 met a university professor called Edwin Gordon who is associated with the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (He founded the institute. See www.giml.org). He also offered me a position as a research assistant.

My response at the time was, "Sure, I'm a research nerd!"

But then I declined the offer explaining I was content with my position. That the idea of going back to school did not appeal to me as I'd only been out of school fewer than 10 years.

Blah, blah, blah.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

At the time I did not realize the amazing opportunity before me. 

(Very few know of this offer. And no, I do not regret my naïve decision for I might not be where I am today had I taken it. But....who knows!?!?!)

Little did I know that I would be a university professor one day conducting my own research.

~*~*~*~

Today it was this song that sent me off on a tangent.

Phillida flouts me

I had found the song appealing and thought I would arrange it for a small ensemble.

Then my search began.

It is an example of a song about unrequited love from the 1600s.  Many songs of this kind were written during that time period by the troubadours.

I listened to a variation of the song (it did not match the music given above).



Then I looked in to the man, John Coates, who is singing on this video. He was a famed English tenor.

Then I found more verses to the song and started a file.

Then I looked up "Phillida" to see where it came from and what it meant.

Then I found other poems that used the name Phillida.

Then I just had to stop myself.

One song.

A wealth of information.

To continue another day.

Sacred or Secular?

I've been attending, participating in, directing Christmas programs for *ahem* nearly 50 years.

(That in itself is difficult to believe!)

For all that time a beloved Christmas carol has been "Jolly Old St. Nicholas."

I have always grouped it in the secular category when dividing Christmas carols as sacred or secular.

Secular (non-religious) in the same sense as "Jingle Bells," "Deck the Halls," "Up on the Housetop," etc.

As opposed to sacred (religious) which includes "Joy to the World," "Silent Night," "Away in the Manger," etc.

Until last week.

~*~*~*~

Last week I attended the Christmas program at a local private, church-affiliated school where both sacred and secular Christmas carols were included.

[I mention this because at many public schools in the USA sacred carols are not allowed.]

The bell choir played several tunes.  The director announced that since the program was near the Catholic feast day for St. Nicholas it was appropriate to play "Jolly Old St. Nicholas."

What!?!?!

That caught my attention.

Never had I associated the "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" as a sacred song much less with a Catholic feast day, but this director had apparently done her research.

It made me wonder about that connection.

Had I been singing/directing a sacred carol unknowingly all these years?

~*~*~*~

As I revisit the lyrics, I notice that other than the title of "Saint" (sometimes abbreviated "St.") and "Santa" there is no obvious religious reference to the song.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas,

Lean your ear this way;

Don't you tell a single soul

What I'm going to say,

Christmas Eve is coming soon;

Now my dear old man,

Whisper what you'll bring to me;

Tell me if you can.

 

When the clock is striking twelve,

When I'm fast asleep,

Down the chimney broad and black

With your pack you'll creep;

All the stockings you will find

Hanging in a row;

Mine will be the shortest one;

You'll be sure to know.

 

Johnny wants a pair of skates;

Susy wants a sled;

Nellie wants a story book,

one she hasn't read

As for me, I hardly know

so I'll go to rest;

Choose for me, dear Santa Claus,

What you think is best.

 

[Underlining is meant to draw your attention to those terms.]

 

I think that, while others in the world may assign this carol a religious connotation, I shall continue to consider it a secular carol.

 

It is more about the gifts that children, young and old alike, request from Saint Nicholas/St. Nick/Santa Claus/Father Christmas (or any other moniker for the "jolly old elf"). It aptly describes children secretly telling Santa of their wishes and the magical idea that he will come down the chimney on Christmas eve and encounter the stockings carefully hung.

 

If I write much more I'll find myself reciting "The Night Before Christmas."

 

And it's too soon for that, right?

Only 5 more days!