Four Down and One to Go

I’m getting there slow but sure! Only another fifteen days to Christmas Day! That means that I still have two concerts with my Male Voice Choir, three weddings to play for, a Nativity Play and a Christingle Service at church, A Service of Lessons and Carols, and the usual Midnight Communion and Christmas Day Service plus rehearsals for all of them!

Four down and one to go. I’m referring to Nativity Plays. So far this week I’ve played for four Nativity Plays at one of our local primary schools, and all the plays had a capacity attendance. Is it just sentiment that parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles attend in such high numbers or is there some comforting message in the retelling of the Christmas Story?

Tonight I’m out giving a talk illustrated with musical examples on Christmas Customs and Traditions. In it I feature such pieces as The Sans Day Carol (Now the Holly Bears a Berry), The Holly and the Ivy, Mistletoe and Wine, Deck the Hall with Boughs of Holly, (I wonder how many of you remember this piece being used on a television advert some years ago, for Timex Watches? - “…tic a tic a Timex Fa La La”) Oh Christmas Tree, The Candle Light Carol – one of John Rutter’s compositions, Santa Claustrophobia – (a wonderful brass band arrangement featuring many pieces which have Santa in their titles – such as Santa Claus is Coming to Town, When Santa Got Stuck up the Chimney and I saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus), Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Then tomorrow its back to the primary school to accompany more traditional Christmas carols sung by years 3/4 and years 5/6, followed an hour later by a rehearsal with a local choir who will be singing at a wedding I am playing for an hour after that!