This year, she went in a more eclectic vein:
Carol of the Bells - The Tabernacle Choir
Most people automatically associate Carol of the Bells with Christmas, but its origins tell a different story. It's actually based on a traditional Ukrainian folk chant that celebrated the season of rebirth and anticipated a prosperous New Year. In 1916, composer Mykola Leontovich borrowed the four-note melody for a new choir song called Shchedryk, which debuted in the US at Carnegie Hall in 1921. When American choir director Peter Wilhousky heard the song, he wrote new lyrics and introduced his version, called Carol of the Bells, to holiday audiences. He copyrighted and published it in 1936.
O Holy Night Nat King Cole -
This carol has the distinction of being the first song ever to be played live on a radio broadcast. On December 24, 1906 a Canadian inventor, Reginald Fessenden, broadcast one of the first ever AM radio programs, and the first ever to feature entertainment and music for a general audience, from his Brant Rock, Massachusetts station. After playing Handel's Largo on an Ediphone phonograph, he proceeded to play O Holy Night on his violin, singing the last verse as he played. He finished the broadcast by reading various passages from the Gospel of Luke, before wishing his listeners a Merry Christmas.
Ave Maria
The original words of Ave Maria (Hail Mary) were in English, being part of a poem called The Lady of the Lake, written in 1810 by Sir Walter Scott. The poem drew on the romance of the legend regarding the 5th century British leader King Arthur, but transferred it to Scott's native Scotland. In 1825 during a holiday in Upper Austria, the composer Franz Schubert set to music a prayer from the poem using a German translation by Adam Storck. Scored for piano and voice, it was first published in 1826 as D839 Op 52 no 6. Schubert called his piece Ellens dritter Gesang (Ellen's third song) and it was written as a prayer to the Virgin Mary from a frightened girl, Ellen Douglas, who had been forced into hiding.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Annie Lennox -
This is a traditional English carol dating back to the 16th or 17th century. It was first published in England in 1833, when it appeared in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys.
Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Originally, this was an instrumental piece that Vince Guaraldi wrote to open A Charlie Brown Christmas. About a month before it aired, Lee Mendelson, who produced the special, decided it might work better with some words, so he wrote the lyric in about 10 minutes sitting at his kitchen table.
Mary would like to wish all the readers, both old and new, a very Happy Holiday!
Happy Holidays to us all
Before our feature presentation, The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like to start the evening with the 1955 Mister and Mistletoe Famous Studios cartoon, directed by Izzy Sparber and Al Eugster.
Things that make you go hmmmm - The events of the cartoon transpire over the space of five minutes, yet the nephews appear to have gotten a full night's sleep before awakening on Christmas morning.
Before the start of our feature presentation, in case you are already overwhelmed by the holidays, we found this very funny and increasingly tragic holiday short, from Letters Live, read by Lolly Adefope:
This is a reimagining of Frank Kelly's Christmas Countdown, which we will hear later next week.
Happy Holidays! ACME wants you to join them in celebrating the holidays with your friends at The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour - the official soap of our nation's bald eagles. Remember if your bald eagle's talons are filthy, do we have a soap for you! So why not sit back and relax (quick, find the most comfortable seat on the sofa,) get a snack (perhaps, some popcorn,) and a beverage and put The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour on in the background and watch this forgotten 1947 Christmas film, Christmas Eve (AKA Sinner's Holiday), directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring, George Raft, George Brent, Randolph Scott, Joan Blondell, Ann Harding and Virginia Field.
Inexplicably miscast as Aunt Matilda, an old matriarch who raised three boys, Ann Harding was younger than some of the actors who played her sons. At the time the film was released, Ann was 45 years old, and her sons - Randolph Scott was 47, George Raft was 46 and George Brent was 43.
Demand Euphoria!
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