Rockin’ Around the Christmas CDs…

    

Are you a Christmas music fanatic? Do you long to hear something different, something other than the standard Bing Crosby, Burl Ives or Nat King Cole? Well, check out the library’s extensive Christmas music collection on CD. The library has more than 800 Christmas music CDs!

For the past year (since last November), I’ve been listening to Christmas music non-stop. Luckily I love Christmas music, and I have a desk job so I can wear headphones while working (I think my coworkers would kill me if I played this stuff out loud year-round). I made it my personal goal to listen to every Christmas CD the library has. I’ll admit sometimes it’s been difficult, especially when it’s been over 30 Celsius in the middle of summer, but now that it’s November again and the snow is back it has become easier. Surprisingly, after a year, I’m still not sick of Christmas music!

In the past year I’ve listened to over 60% of the collection, so I still have a ways to go, but I have listened to hundreds of CDs I would never have listened to and some of those CDs have been so good I’ve went out and bought myself copies. I also know what sort of Christmas music I don’t like, but this article will focus on the some of the ones I think deserve some recognition.

Ashanti’s Christmas was the first CD I listened to that I liked enough to buy. I was vaguely aware that she was a singer, but I had no idea what she sang or anything about her. I have to admit I thought it would be another trite, overdone CD. I couldn’t be more wrong. Her voice is so pure and clear and the songs are fairly traditional. I love this CD!

In a similar vein, A Winter Symphony by Sarah Brightman is also well worth listening to. Again I thought I wouldn’t enjoy the CD, but I was proved wrong once again. She has a clear and powerful, but, at the same time, soft voice and it works wonderfully well with the arrangement of traditional and unfamiliar carols.

Who knew I liked Celtic music, or medieval music? I had never heard of Celtic Woman, but I certainly put A Christmas Celebration on my wish list. Of course I knew of Loreena McKennit, but I was only vaguely familiar with her music. After listening to A Midwinter Night’s Dream I have definitely put it on my “to buy” list.

If you prefer your music more upbeat try Destiny’s Child’s 8 Days of Christmas. I loved the CD and especially loved their interpretation of the 12 days of Christmas. Elton John’s Christmas Party is also great for a rocking good time. His compilation includes everyone from Otis Redding, U2 and The Pet Shop Boys. Of course Elton sings a couple of tunes himself. I would highly recommend both CDs if you’re hosting a party.

Never in a million years would I think I would like choir music, but I loved Joy to the World by the Robert Shaw Chorale. Perhaps because I attended churches with an “open door” policy on choir members (if you wanted to join, you could, regardless of any sort of musical talent), but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

If you really can’t go without Bing or the other crooners, you’ll love the 3-CD set entitled Happy Christmas Memories. Bing, Elvis, Rosemary Clooney, The Andrew Sisters and Danny Kaye are well represented along with many others.

Although I think that Bing Crosby gets overplayed, I did quite enjoy The Voice of Christmas : the Complete Decca Christmas Songbook. It has got all of the tunes we are familiar with, as well as some I had never heard before, including “O fir tree dark”, “Looks like a cold, cold winter” and “Little Jack Frost, get lost”. It’s a great find.

Some other recommendations include: Christmas Portrait by the Carpenters ; Christmas Greatest Hits (a compilation) ; Peace on Earth by Matt Dusk ; Christmas Stays the Same by Linda Eder ; Christmas by Colin James & the Little Big Band ; Joy : a Holiday Collection by Jewel ; Christmas with Dino and Season’s Greetings both by Dean Martin ; and finally The Christmas Music of Johnny Mathis.

-David

A walk through the “Story of Civilization”

Often someone will talk about a book that has had a significant impact on their lives. I don’t have one particular book, but an entire series that influenced my life: Will and Ariel Durant’s eleven volume Story of Civilization.

The Durants’ passion and commitment to documenting and celebrating the origins and traditions of the Western experience transcends other books about the topic. The language is slightly chauvinistic and very politically incorrect to our ears, but the sincerity and spirit of the project still shines through.

The other quality of this labour of love is the urgency of the enterprise. Begun in 1935, the early volumes were Will and Ariel Durant’s attempt to reconnect with the grand civilizing experiment of the West in the face of the irrationality of Nazism and Fascism, and the impending darkness of the Second World War.

Over the years I stumbled upon volume 3, Caesar and Christ, then volume 2, The life of Greece, and finally The age of faith. Every random encounter was an adventure as I got ‘lost’ and ‘found’ in each book. Although the series wasn’t completed until 1975, the pinnacle of this labour of love was reached in the tenth volume, Rousseau and revolution, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1968.

What I loved most about the ‘walk’ were the contradictions, including many examples of the Dark Ages being not so dark and the Age of Enlightenment not so enlightened. Yet the history this series describes is worthy of praise. As this was my introduction to Cervantes, Rabelais, Milton, Voltaire, the Gracchi family, and more, I will always hold many fond memories of my random stroll through Will and Ariel Durant’s epic series.

Phil

Confessions of an Autodidact

 When I was a nerdy youngster, I was given 25 cents for my weekly allowance. I would head to the drugstore and purchase a Classics Comic while my brothers and sister spent their quarter on popsicles or penny candy. I collected the majority of the titles considered by that comic publisher to be the masterpieces of literature. Those purchases held me in good stead as I probably earned my undergraduate degree based on my knowledge of the plots and characters sketched out on the pulpy pages of those cherished comics.

Since then, in my quest to become a better reader and a better human being, I have been attracted to lists like Clifton Fadiman’s The New Lifetime Reading Plan that outline the books that I need to read before I die. In the same spirit, Yann Martel (he of Life of Pi fame) took on the daunting task of recommending books on a biweekly basis to our current  prime minister. Martel’s choices and the letters that accompanied them are compiled in What is Stephen Harper Reading?

While some viewed his project as a tad self-righteous, having a personal bibliotherapist prescribe a book based on your ailment du jour seems to me to be a luxury. Inspired by political issues, Martel’s letters make compelling reading. For example, when pitching Julius Caesar, Martel raised concerns about funding to SCHRC, an academic grant. New funding for this grant is now to be spent exclusively on business related degrees. Martel defends funding to the arts because “the world would be a better place if, rather than having business types infiltrating universities, we had Shakespeare types infiltrating business.” Other titles range from Gilead by Marilynn Robinson, a favourite of President Obama, a “big reader,” to The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terrorism by Michael Ignatieff which seeks to reconcile the realism necessary to fight terrorism with the idealism of our democratic values. Martel’s purpose was to remind Stephen Harper of the “life-shaping marvel contained within books.” In that vein, here are other titles to assist my fellow autodidacts in living the good, well read life:

Beowulf on the Beach by Jack Murnighan – a field guide to reading and enjoying 50 of the greatest books.

 The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer – a guide to the classical education you never had.

Book Smart : your essential reading list for becoming a literary genius in 365 days by Jane Mallison

Read This Next : 500 of the best books you’ll ever read  by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark

- Jane