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And So This Is Christmas…
Posted by Robbie | Posted in General | Posted on 08-12-2008
…as John Lennon once sang. My favourite time of year. Christmas in our home is celebrated with such a wonderful sense of joy, it’s easy to forget I’m an atheist.
For me Christmas is about being part of humanity. It’s a time when all people come together with a hopeful and warm spirit which transcends belligerency, prejudice and scorn. And I love the music which traditionally accompanies this season with a passion. We can all name our favourite carol; however young or old; whichever nationality. Mine is the Austrian carol, ‘Silent Night’. I have so many versions of this song. Dozens, if not more than a hundred collected over the years! Yet this carol could have been lost for eternity if not for a stroke of serendipity.
The music was written by Franz Xaver Gruber. The lyrics by the local priest, Josef Mohr from Oberndorf, Austria. Now, there are so many legends regarding this piece of music, it makes your head spin. However my favourite has to be the one where they rock up to the gig at the Church of St. Nicholas to find the organ not working, so Father Mohr tells Gruber to whiz back to his gaff and grab his guitar. Job done, they proceed with the performance… and the rest is history. Pure rock ‘n roll! However in 1818 there weren’t any cassette or video tapes to record the performance and the song could have been lost, consigned to the mists of time.
However, as recently as 1995 a manuscript in Mohr’s handwriting was found and authenticated showing he wrote the words in 1816. It is, quite simply, the most played, recorded (and bastardized!), carol of all time. A song which briefly brought together the troops on the frontline during World War One in 1914, which was a story I was taught at school to represent all that is good in mankind.
So. From myself, Karen and my little boy Max, we’d like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous, but above all else…healthy 2009.
Tune in on the 21st of December at 1.30 pm for my usual ‘My World Of Music’ Christmas Special. I’ll post the playlist online around the 22nd this year and if you’d like to request or dedicate a track? It would be a pleasure.
Keep listening and I’ll see you next year!
Robbie x
This article is printed in the December 2008 edition of Beachcomber magazine.