[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[Publius]

MERRY CHRISTMAS

ADAM: “CANTIQUE DE NOEL”

Classical composers never managed to write a successful Christmas carol. That task was left to amateurs like Thomas Wade, Franz Gruber and Anonymous, who wrote so many great tunes. Handel and Mendelssohn had carols attributed to them, but the tunes had their sources elsewhere and were adapted long after the composers’ deaths when they couldn’t complain.

The one significant exception was “Cantique de Noel,” known in English as “O Holy Night.” The composer, Adolphe Adam (accent on the last syllable of both names) is best known for the ballet “Giselle.” But this tune guarantees him a place in the Composers’ Hall of Fame. In the last verse it requires the singer to hit a fifth over the high tonic (not a drink!) and run down the scale to the tonic, sounding each note separately, not using portamento to slur the notes. It’s inadvisable to hand this to church congregations; the results can be comical.

This is an Italian conservatory concert with some fine work from all concerned. In French.

Adam: “Cantique de Noel”

[Grimmy]

Merry Christmas!