Fanfares and Parodies

I absolutely love good Christmas music. Not the tacky junk that is often on the radio station I turn off for a lot of the season, but good Christmas music. I love great choirs with tremendous organ and brass fanfares. There is nothing that thrills me more than the American Boy Choir singing “O come, All ye Faithful,” for instance. When I listen to their album I am apt to push the repeat button – well, repeatedly. I also love the most sublime sounds from the same choirs, like a single chorister singing, “Once in Royal David’s City.” All brass can be just as thrilling, as long as carols are played at a slower tempo with elegant fluidity. But then I also love parodies of Christmas music when they are very cleverly done, and there is none more amusing than the old Alan Sherman “Twelve Days of Christmas.” A twist on this love of parodies goes to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” only it is “N.O.E.L.” and some of the lines are absolutely hysterical. These days, though, there are a lot of want-to-be parodies that are just crumby versions of great tunes, and these I do not enjoy.