Thursday, December 9, 2010

Cheesy Christmas

You know what Christmas wouldn't be the same without?

Cheesy Christmas music.


Maybe I'm becoming a somewhat jaded chorister from singing too many mass choir pieces but I've developed a knack for recognizing cheesy songs that are inserted into a musical program for the specific purpose of melting an audiences' heart. Don't get me wrong, I love a good cheesy choral piece as the next chorister, but there are some that just make me sing with a perma-grin because their ulterior motives are not so subtle.


A piece that Pro Coro is singing with the Edmonton Youth Choir is called "Night of Silence" by Daniel Kantor and it has the components for all good cheesy choral music. Lyrics that are trying a bit too hard to be deep, a gentle melodic piano line, and an unexpected fusion of melodies. It's the choral composer's equivalent of a mash-up. There is one part in "Night of Silence" where the soprano's and altos are singing:

Spirit among us, shine like the star,
Your light that guides shepherds and kings from afar

Alright, that's harmless enough, but it's paired with the tenors and baritones singing:

Silent Night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright


It's so bad but so good at the same time :) I can hear the men in the choir really going for it with hyperexpressive diction and Il-Divo"esque" melodic flare. It keeps our rehearsals interesting and entertaining! Thanks guys!


You can get a taste for the song below:

3 comments:

Miss Sarah said...

Raffaella and I were listening to Tony Braxton's "Christmas in Jamaica" just the other week when putting up the tree.

In an ironic way, of course.

Marie said...

I sang this with an absolutely terrible children's church choir in 3rd grade. Brings back so many memories.

Also, in case you're wondering who this random person reading your blog is, I'm a high school student who's quite into choir. I stumbled across your blog while googling some random choir related thing.

misssable said...

Sarah-You and Raffaella rock.

Marie-It's lovely to meet you! Thanks for reading my blog and commenting.