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Chords and Notes
THIRTY YEARS ago, I was studying for a Masters degree in Birmingham, U.K.. Come Christmas week, and my flatmates scattered to their respective homes — in Germany, Norway, U.S., and Croydon, London. Indian students who knew England better than me had made their own arrangements to spend the holidays with compatriots' families. I knew no one — and on Christmas Eve, I was left in solitary splendour, my flat showing the only light in a dark estate of 500 apartments in Griffin Close.
In Britain, they shut down the country over Christmas. No milk, no papers, and almost no public transport. I had no TV either — only a record player. And that week I saw the Christmas LPs in the local Tescos supermarket, desperately marked down to 99 pence, in some cases, 49 pence. I grabbed three or four and played them continuously. Which is why the new Times Music CD, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Rs. 250, was such a powerful evocation of that Christmas 1974. It features the original and well loved renderings: Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", Judy Garland's "Have yourself a Merry little Christmas", Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, the Andrews Sisters, Perry Como, all singing the classic standards.
Rock 'n' Roll Christmas, CD, Rs. 195, on the other hand, is a made-for-kids album, with favourites such as "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Little Drummer Boy" receiving a breezy treatment.
Contrary to what one might conclude from Charles Dickens and greeting card art, it rarely snows in Britain in December — January is more likely. But that year, seemingly for my exclusive pleasure, it did. When I woke up, still very sorry for myself, the snow was already there. Griffin Close was now alive with excited young voices, all heading for the nearby lake (part of the property in Bourneville, owned by the Cadbury family of chocolate fame). The lake was frozen hard and dozens of youngsters were skidding across it without benefit of skates. A snowman was coming up fast. Suddenly, it seemed I was not quite alone in the world. In next to no time, a Salvation Army band had turned up, providing an impromptu concert of Christmas music. It was a three or four piece brass band if I recall, and I can hear their music all over again as I listen today to Christmas with the Salvation Army, CD, Rs. 295.
Not all seasonal songs lend themselves to brass — but the oom-pa-pa works its magic if you hear it outdoors. This is an unusual Christmas album and I was particularly thrilled to hear some secular classics such as Handel's "Water Music" suite and that great bagpipe standard, "Amazing Grace", done with trumpet and kettledrums.
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My second memory of Christmases past dates from the late '70s and the locale was, if anything, even chillier. I spent three winters in a row in Himachal Pradesh, on the border road that joins Manali to Leh in Ladakh. I was part of a team of scientists trying to understand how avalanches were triggered off. This required us to put down our sensors on precisely those slopes on the road, which were most avalanche-prone. Having gingerly laid the cables, we retired to a safe distance and kept watch... till something happened.
It was cold, boring work, and Christmas Day was just another working day. We waited in our snow boots, goggles, and parkas. That was when some of the jawans assigned to help us broke out into song. Sound comes out poorly when one tries to breathe at 3,500 metres and the lips are frozen, but we could recognise the hymn from our "convent school" days — a Hindi version of "Silent Night". It was a ragged chorus we joined in, but we gave it all we had.
The Army Major accompanying our team joked that if we sang any louder, we might well trigger off the avalanche we were so anxiously waiting for. It was well into January before our sensors recorded the awesome rumbling before themselves being washed away in the sliding mass of mud and snow. That time on the Leh Road is always associated for me with the simple words that go into the making of My Favourite Hymns, CD, Rs. 250, most of them sung by leading church choirs in Britain, but some rendered in a modern fashion that American revival groups have made popular.
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The Greatest Christmas Megamix, CD, Rs. 295, with its 41 non-stop seasonal songs performed by "Frosty the Snowman" in hip hop fashion as well as Christmas Sax Moods, CD: Rs. 295) where Daisy James inventively plays 20 well-loved carols on the saxophone, are for those who look for brisker versions of the familiar Christmas musical fare. The Megamix is a great background for parties while the sax is something for those who want to recall emotion in tranquillity.
(All CDs mentioned were released this month by Times Music.)
ANAND PARTHASARATHY
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