On the Eleventh Day: Eleven Countries Heard From

If you know our family, you're probably aware that music is our common love and language. All four of our children began to sing before they talked. Thanks (mostly) to Paul, we all have over the years gained a common appreciation for a wide variety of music, particularly the vast body of Christmas music. I say thanks (mostly) to Paul for many reasons: let's say here, however, that if he ever happened to read all I've written about him since I started my blog (he hasn't) and had one of his own (he doesn't) he'd take this opportunity to tell the world how, during our first Christmas season together, I bought recorded music he wouldn't play for a dog. For me, it's the words and then the music. For him, it's the music period. Evidently, the Russian bass singing Silent Night an octave below the lowest register on the piano doesn't qualify as music. For sure our tastes in music are and have been different. In college, Paul sang Mendelssohn's Elijah and I sang Leaving On a Jet Plane. He played St. Matthew's Passion ; I listened to Simon and Garfunkel. He loved Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (look him up), I loved (and still do) Arnold McCuller--would have listened to him over James any day. It's not that we didn't like the music of the other (except for the Russian bass I mentioned)--we just like our own better.

Our different tastes in music understandably present problems at Christmas. Thankfully, John Denver produced a Christmas album in the early years of our marriage that we both adore; Rocky Mountain Christmas remains a staple of our family's seasonal celebration. Just this week, in fact, Kyle sent the family a text from his new home in Portland, Maine with an attached picture of the album. We all know now that the season had truly begun.

The musical interests of our four children are also varied and find diverse expression. For instance, Kelle reflects her sense of social justice through music which her daughters sing more readily and loudly than she ever did. Lucy and Lily at age 2 and 3 made Down by the Riverside their theme song one summer: Just imagine hearing preschoolers sing I'm gonna lay down my atom bomb/Down by the river side!!!!! In contrast, Kara, a classically trained vocalist, pours much of her artistry into "opera sitcom" (yes, it's a new field--don't expect to find it anywhere except on her website). Tim can sing in as many voices as you can name and Kyle composes his own music, shaping his multifaceted soul-experiences into singable narrative.

Our children have from their beginnings contributed in unique ways to our Christmas celebrations through song. I'm including one such contribution below--I'll share others in the next couple posts.

Kelle
Like many children, Kelle learned verse with the greatest of ease and had a powerful memory. During her third Christmas season (she was a little over 2), she began singing Away in a Manger as we traveled to visit relatives.We were surprised that she knew both the words and the tune so well. The only problem was, when she came to the end of the verse, she didn't conclude the song on the the final note. Instead, she sang last phrase "The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay,"to the second musical phrase of the song which goes with "The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head." Of course the song didn't seem finished, so she began again, creating what we will always remember as the Away in a Manger Round. Had you been there, you may have recalled, as I did, Shari Lewis' Song that Never Ends. After several times through, she finally stopped singing and said, obviously exasperated, "Will somebody help me end this song??!!"