Seven Carols For Christmas

Alice Parker for Robert Shaw

Here are Seven Carols For Christmas, arranged by Alice Parker. My church choir, along with the Festival Celebration choir, performed these on December 14. 

In 2006, Alice Parker wrote this description of the process:

“In 1970, Robert Shaw asked me to write some arrangements of Christmas carols for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Choruses. We had not worked together since the last album for the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Irish Folk Songs in 1967, and his move to Atlanta.

“He was planning a series of Christmas concerts, and was not satisfied with the settings he could find: they were apt to be too elaborate, with overly simple choral parts. He asked that the chorus be allowed to shine in rather open orchestrations, and gave me freedom to choose whichever titles I wished in a mix of familiar and unfamiliar tunes.  In Mr. Shaw’s acclaimed Christmas concert, the carols were scattered through the retelling of the story, in different patterns with the succeeding years.

“So they were not at the beginning intended to be a single concert piece, although I am frequently asked to share my preference for a sequence. One possibility, using all the numbers, is: O Come, Emmanuel; Away in a Manger; Fum, Fum, Fum!; Good Christian Men, Rejoice; So Blest a Sight; God Rest You Merry; Masters in This Hall. Another choice would be to split the above list into two parts, with the first three forming a little suite from varied sources, and the next four celebrating their British heritage. But you may order them as you wish, or use just one or two in a special program.

Rejoice!

“The enduring popularity of these arrangements has been a source of great satisfaction to me. It shows that these wonderful melodies, with their texts of love and hope, can unite different generations in the concert hall, as well as in the church and at home. Even in the cacophony of today’s musical world, their message shines clear and true. So now, good Christian folk, rejoice, and join your voices in tidings of comfort and joy! “

A live performance by The Michael O’Neal Singers, December 2016

The Pioneer Valley Symphony performance at Greenfield High School. Also, O Holy Night with Emily Jaworski. December 19, 2015

Huron Carol

fillyjonk linked to the Huron Carol. The singer “notes that the Nativity story has been ‘reset’ from the First Century Middle East to pre-colonial North America…. I am not bothered by it: the idea that Christ is for all times and all places can also sit along with the idea of ‘we know a little of the history, so we should try to be accurate.'”

Merry Christmas!

 

The catch-all Christmas Eve post

random

Christmas 2021 Frankincense Cartoon

The catch-all Christmas Eve post is a soft and fuzzy list of seasonally related items. This could be, “Oh, nuts, I didn’t post THAT piece of music,” Or someone else shared a nugget I wanted to steal. 

Gabriel’s Message – VOCES8 & Classic FM

The Wexford Carol – Yo-Yo Ma, Alison Krauss 

Gaudete – Steeleye Span 

The Bells of Christmas – Julie Andrews, from a Firestone LP I still own,  crackles and all 

Jesus Christ -Big Star

A Charlie Brown Christmas album- Vince Guaraldi

GRINCH – Middle Aged Dad Jam Band feat. “Weird Al” Yankovic

Mary’s Boy Child – Harry Belafonte

What Child Is This? – Peter Sprague, featuring Allison Adams Tucker

Nativity Scene | Nate Bargatze’s Nashville Christmas

Must Be Santa – Bob Dylan 

Bethlehemian Rhapsody – because puppets

Hamidolph (An American Christmas Story) – Hamilton Parody – Eclipse 6

The serious Carol of the Bells / Shchedryk – Marsh Family adaptation of Ukrainian New Year song for 2026

The raucous The Season’s Upon Us -Dropkick Murphys 

It’s A Wonderful Life

I was one of those people who had dismissed that 1946 Frank Capra film, sight unseen. 

Cole Haddon wrote Why You’ll Never Get Tired of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ Spoiler: It’s not because life is so wonderful.

“’I’m not a praying man, but if you’re there and you can hear me, show me the way.’

“George Bailey utters these words in a now-iconic scene near the end of It’s a Wonderful Life – but it was an unscripted line of dialogue, as it turns out.

“‘As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears,’ Jimmy Stewart said in a 1987 interview. ‘I broke down sobbing.’

“George wasn’t supposed to cry, but Stewart couldn’t help himself. That’s because the actor was a broken man himself, not unlike the character he was playing…

“He was suffering from shell shock, what we call Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome today. Shakes, a short temper, nightmares. He had become prone to the very same mood swings and explosive outbursts George Bailey periodically displays.

“However, playing George turned out to be spiritually restorative for Stewart in many ways. While he rarely spoke about what he witnessed in the skies over Europe, the character taught him how to act again and, I think it’s fair to say, provided him with one of the most personal roles he ever played.”

Binghamton State Hospital volunteers

Inebriate Asylum

Binghamton State Hospital was/is an imposing behemoth. From the National Park Service: “The New York State Inebriate Asylum [its original name] is nationally significant in the area of health/medicine as the first single-purpose hospital in the United States that was designed and built for the treatment of alcoholism as a disease.”

 

From Asylum Projects: “Founder J. Edward Turner belonged to a school of thought that alcoholism wasn’t just a vice, but could be cured medically. The well-lit rooms and extensive grounds are an important marker in New York State’s view of addiction… But it “only served its original purpose for 15 years, at which point Turner’s inebriate asylum was converted into a hospital for the chronically insane.”

 

From Womb to Tomb: The Story of Binghamton State Hospital by Mary Chattin and Danielle Snali noted, “In 1890, the ‘Castle’ now emphasized treating and curing patients rather than isolating them away from society.

 

“In the late 1950s, the Binghamton State Hospital was home to around 3,400 patients and doubled its staff to implement new, intensive therapy programs… By 1962, the hospital was home to 1,200 employees and 2,500 patients. The nearly 1,000 patients decrease in just a few years was often credited to the effectiveness of the new treatment programs.”
Community support

And perhaps to the volunteers? Starting in the late 1950s, awards were given to organizations and individuals who shared their talents. In 1960, the second annual event honored four Triple Cities groups, including the Vestal Jaycees for ward activities and cooking classes; the Binghamton Chamber of Commerce for holding record hops; the National Secretaries Association, Binghamton Chapter, for teaching shorthand and typing; and the Johnson City Catholic Daughters Court, Monsignor 1594, for ward activities (games and parties). Each volunteered 250 or more hours.

 

Four individuals, pictured above in the June 9, 1960, Binghamton Evening Press, were also honored for donating 100 hours of volunteer time, including my father, Les Green.

 

The following year, a longer story appeared in the newspaper about the needs of the clientele. Addison C. Keeler, president of the volunteers organization, noted that hospital volunteers wage a “relentless war on boredom… Many patients, in their present attitude of mind, aren’t going anywhere, but if volunteers can restore some purpose and bring some happiness, the volunteers can feel that their efforts were worthwhile.”

 

I knew my father performed at the Binghamton State Hospital several times. But I didn’t know until recently that he was the President of the hospital’s volunteer council in 1963. I wonder why he was so invested in that institution.
Closure
“The Binghamton State Hospital was not immune to financial hardships, but it succeeded in the 1960s and 1970s when other state hospitals in the United States were struggling. This institution, once a critical service in the Binghamton community, lost its grandeur and purpose. However, it remains the mysterious ‘Castle on the Hill,’ awaiting a new story.”

Per the Wikipedia page: “The building remained in use as a mental hospital or psychiatric services center until 1993, when it was closed due to inadequate maintenance… In 2015, Binghamton University announced it had taken stewardship of the building and published plans for its rehabilitation.”

The building and its people have been the subject of a one-woman play, The Asylum Project by BU Assistant Professor of Theatre Elizabeth Mozer, which she turned into an original mainstage production called Castle on the Hill in the 2010s. 
Here are several photos, from long after it was closed.
Special thanks to David from a Binghamton Facebook page for the nifty photo!

Pay attention to Ask Roger Anything

professional curse

In a silly Vlogbrothers post, John Green repeatedly asked his brother Hank, “What is the meaning of life?” One time, Hank replied, “I think the meaning of life is to be in relationship with other people and pay attention.”
Paying attention sounds like an excellent idea. As a librarian, I am always looking for BS on my social media feed. I see people declare that person X died when they hadn’t. Person Y is attributed to have said or done something that did not happen, or someone with a similar name or look did.
The one thing I have had to learn is that I can’t fix the Internet. I’ll point out typos to long-time blogger buddies. When I find something egregiously wrong on a government website, I would have left a comment in 2024. Now, at least on federal websites, I need to ascertain if it is a casual error or intentional disinformation. This makes me sad. l will still try to correct state government sites.
Some of the lack of paying attention is dangerous. I’m mildly surprised that my wife hasn’t run over someone who walks out into traffic while they are looking at their phones. She’s an excellent driver, but please stop testing her reflexes, people. 
It may be a professional curse, but I find myself paying close attention, from removing obstacles on the sidewalk to noting where most people sit in church. 
Zee ask
If you have a query that requires my attention, you may Ask Roger Anything. Masochist that he is, he will answer almost any question, no matter how absurd, and in short order.

You can leave your questions in the comments section of this blog, in my email, referenced elsewhere on this blog, or on my Facebook page (Roger Owen Green); always look for the duck.

Sunday Stealing Feels Festive

Maundy Thursday

Welcome to Sunday Stealing, which, heading towards the solstice, Christmas, and other celebrations, feels festive.

Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Impetua is a blogger who stole this meme from someone named Yello, whom our moderator could not find. While it’s not specifically about the holidays, these questions do have a festive feel.

Stealing Some Fun

1. Describe your favorite cake.

My favorite cake is carrot cake, which I’ve had for my birthday about half of my life. Considering I didn’t have it in the first 18 years means I’ve had it a  lot since. Part of my grand self-delusion is that, since it has carrots, it must be healthy. I don’t  REALLY believe it, but it’s pretty delicious, especially with vanilla ice cream. 

2. Think of the best party you’ve ever attended. Were you a host or a guest?

The best parties I can remember are my birthday, which I suppose seems terribly unimaginative and/or self-centered, but it’s true. For my 16th birthday, my parents held a party at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY. I rarely had parties at home because our house was so small, so my parents renting out a place was a big deal.

The next birthday that stands out is actually the 33 1/3rd birthday party I had with my then-girlfriend. We held it in July because my birthday in March is cold, and the weather can be dodgy. I remember the invitation was on green paper, of course, and the design was an LP label with the party information.

My 50th birthday was at my church, and my sister Leslie came up for it.

I’ve had a card party (hearts) at my house almost every year for the past dozen years, and that’s always a joy. We play hearts

Hallmark

3. When you choose a greeting card, do you pay more attention to the words or the pictures?

I always pay more attention to the words. I like a nice picture, but a nice picture with saccharine verbiage will turn me right off.

4. What’s your favorite holiday?

The problem with most holidays in the United States is that they are often fraught. The so-called “war on Christmas.” Thanksgiving carries a lot of baggage from its first celebration. MLK Day and Juneteenth are deemed too DEI. Most people can’t tell the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.  Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day? 

It may be Lent generally, and Maundy Thursday specifically. I love that melancholy music. 

5. Who is your favorite character on your favorite TV show?

That would be Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. He had a good job, a lovely and talented wife, and a pleasant child. They lived in a charming house. He had good friends. What’s not to like?

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Ramblin' with Roger
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