Like most musicians, I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas music. It’s not as simple as saying I love it - up to a point of saturation. Actually, I think my perspective is even more snobbish. I love it when it’s well-done, and I can’t stand cheesy, insincere and over-stylized teen-pop versions of timeless Christmas carols and anthems that one hears walking around the mall. (Well, not this one. I studiously avoid the mall.) The reason I despise those versions is precisely because I am a musician and I have a fairly well-calibrated and sensitive cringe-ometer.
So if there’s one thing I particularly love about the CPR Classical Christmas Carol Countdown is that I get the wonderful opportunity to sift through all the votes of your favorites, tally the results, and then dive into the stacks of genuinely great performances of some of the most beloved music ever written. The Westminster Choir. Denver Brass. Philadelphia Orchestra and Chorus. RCA Victor Singers. King’s College. Cantus.
Oh, wait – the cringe-ometer is registering off the scale because apparently this year … I have help.
The Christmas Carol Countdown airs a few times:
Saturday, December 14, 3-6p on CPR Classical
Christmas Eve (Tuesday), 7-10p on CPR News
Christmas Day, Noon-3p on CPR Classical
Look for this year's results along with the previous four years here on the Classical Page of cpr.org just after 6p on Saturday the 14th. And have a very Merry Christmas!
