Sorry I haven't been back for a while. It was a real busy Christmas concert schedule--and then I got caught up in some of the political threads. I know--like a moth to a flame. But somehow it really irks me when somebody makes stupid attacks on Carter--probably the only genuinely good man--and good even on a global scale--seemingly without the need to backstab anybody-- to be US president in the 20th century.   OK--- political discussion, get thee behind me.

Anyway, my group group's Christmas concerts are always sponsored by a specific embassy--no money given, just the theme, and the ambassador makes it official--hosts a gathering, etc.

Well, this time it was the Austrian embassy. Can't go wrong with that---Mozart, Schubert, Alpine-flavored Christmas music. It was just wonderful. I even had the chance to sing at the ambassador's residence--just 12 of us--out of about 200. She and some of her staff sang one of their favorite carols--which I'd never heard before. She told us how hard it was in the US to try to follow the Austrian custom of only going to get a Christmas tree on the 24th of December. She was lucky to get one at all even close to what she was looking for.

And at the reception, a staff member wanted to know why there are SO many Protestant denominations over here--and how they differ. Not easy to explain--especially auf Deutsch. And I wound up singing "Es gibt kein Bier auf Hawaii" with another staff member--while everybody was milling around us. She knew verses I'd never heard. I think anything goes at Christmastime as far as music.

Then a few days later another subset of my group did 2 family Christmas concerts. A story--from about 1890--of "Why the Chimes Rang" ( cathedral chimes which hadn't rung for centuries). Then we tacked Rudolf, Frosty, and Santa on after the play.--it seems the kids have to have them--and it was after all a family concert.

Lots of wonderful songs about bells--including "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"--which, I've learned, is not only a warm emotional song, but was written (the poem) by Longfellow during the Civil War-- and at a low point for him--his son had been recently seriously wounded.   It even has verses-- hardly ever sung--which fix its time--something to the effect of "Then from every accursed mouth/ The cannons thundered in the South."

It seems to me that the more you know about the background of a song, the more you appreciate it. Familiarity does not breed contempt--at least not for me.

More later.