At least I hope we're going to get Shickly Mix because I'm looking across the glass,
through the glass, into the other studio where Peter Shickly usually stands,
and I don't see Peter Shickly, but I do see some guy dressed up in a Santa suit.
Ho, ho, ho, am I ever ready. Here's the theme.
Hello there, I'm Peter Shickly, and this is Shickly Mix,
the program dedicated to the proposition that all musics are created equal,
or as Duke Ellington put it, if it sounds good, it is good.
And the glad tidings today are that our bills are paid by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
and by the National Endowment for the Arts,
with additional support from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences,
and also from this very radio station right here,
within whose hallowed walls I fashion these programs, which are then flung to the four corners by PRI, Public Radio International.
I'm one of those annoying people who shop for Christmas presents all year long.
It's not that I don't have to do some last minute shopping too, but I have a special place,
used to be a closet, now it's a couple of drawers, where I keep presents for people.
Some of them are presents for specific people,
and some are just nifty things that I run across and I know they're going to come in handy.
I love giving presents, and what I love best is when you get a real inspiration,
the perfect present for that person.
But let's face it, inspiration doesn't always strike,
so it's nice to have a drawer or two full of goodies,
and I don't mean desperation stuff either,
I mean stuff that when you see in the store you think,
what a great present that would be for somebody.
So I buy it and stick it in one of the drawers.
By the way, were you a peeker?
I've talked with various friends about this,
and some of them have said that when they were kids,
they tried to find where the presents were hidden before Christmas and check them out.
Now me, I wouldn't want to know.
I'd rather be surprised and delighted at opening time,
and I'm pretty sure I felt the same way when I was a kid too.
When my kids were young, I don't mean Santa Claus age, but young,
I told them, don't go in that closet because that's where the presents are,
and apparently they didn't.
I've asked them since they've grown up.
Anyway, the main reason I collect presents year round
is not because I'm Mr. Well Organized.
In fact, in most ways, I am definitely Mr. Last Minute.
It's because the tradition of PDQ Bach concerts in New York City
during the last week in December goes back to 1965,
and that means that the Christmas season is usually an especially hectic time of year for me,
what with meetings and rehearsals and interviews and finishing up recent discoveries and everything.
So it really behooves me to be ahead of the game in terms of helping Santa.
And in all these years, I have made it an absolute rule
that Christmas and the two days or so before it be kept free,
even if the series of concerts starts on December 26th, as it often has.
No matter how frantic things got, no matter how many things still had to be done,
on December 23rd, the family used to pile into the car and head on up to Stonington, Connecticut,
where my wife's folks lived, and that was Christmastime, period.
Now, I can't pretend that I never thought about the concerts at all during those visits.
I'm usually working on my spoken introductions right up till curtain time.
But the deal is, and it has been honored almost religiously,
no appointments, no phone calls, no nothing having to do with work.
Because even though I'm not a churchgoer, it has always seemed important to me to keep Christmas.
And that's the name of today's show, Keeping Christmas.
Those are the bells of Bethlehem on Christmas Day.
To Christians, of course, this season celebrates the birth of Christ.
It's a time of glad tidings and good cheer, a time of joy and sharing.
And sharing has come to mean the giving of presents,
just as the three wise men brought gifts to the infant Jesus.
But some people feel that in our society, the sharing has gotten in the way of the joy.
That is, that present giving has become so compulsive and commercially driven
that the feelings of awe and humility experienced by the Magi
have been replaced by feelings of greed and envy.
That displaying open-hearted generosity has given way to keeping up with the Joneses.
That the din and the rush of the marketplace have driven out the stillness of contemplation.
In other words, that the religion has been carefully extracted from this religious celebration,
creating a decaf holiday that everybody can enjoy without losing any sleep.
Search up a light and can't seem to find the right star.
Who took the merry Christmas?
People all over the world forgot about Mary.
To be his and buying toys, learning about Santa's toys,
making believe he's just another baby boy.
Making believe he's just another baby boy.
Search up a light and can't seem to find the right star.
Making believe he's just another baby boy.
Who took the merry Christmas?
People all over the world forgot about Mary.
To be havin' fun, drinkin' with everyone,
showing North back Mary's only son.
Showing North back Mary's only son.
Who took the merry high Christmas?
Tell me now, y'all.
Who took the merry high Christmas?
Who, who, who took the merry high Christmas?
Who took the merry high?
Who took the merry high Christmas?
Who, who, who took the merry high Christmas?
Who took the merry high Christmas?
The Staple Singers asking,
who took the merry out of Christmas?
Well, and for that matter,
who took the humble out of pie?
Here are two settings of a well-known carol,
and I think I'm safe in saying that
taken as a pair, they cover just about
the entire range of the Humility meter.
Oh,
The first Noel,
first performed by an early 19th century music box,
and then by pianist Annette Di Medio and orchestra.
The orchestra doesn't seem to have a name,
but I do, and it's Peter Shickely.
That of the program is Shickely Mix,
and it's from PRI, Public Radio International.
Today's show is called Keeping Christmas,
and we just heard two extremes in the art of hymn setting.
Now it's true that many modern arrangements of Christmas songs
are too pompous or too sentimental for my taste.
But on the other hand, I am not one of those
who feel that the only acceptable setting
is a traditional setting.
Those who feel, in other words, that there's no room at the inn
for modern classical composers or jazzers.
I guess because jazz grew up partially in brothels and speakeasies,
some people think that the application of jazz techniques
to traditional material is at least disrespectful,
if not downright humorous.
Now it's true that sometimes things are jazzed up in a gimmicky way.
But anybody who's been to a church where gospel music is sung
knows that you don't have to be out of American Gothic
to be serious about religion.
Here's the first verse of another beloved Christmas carol,
followed by two very nice pieces based on the song.
Old little town of Bethlehem, thou still receiveth thine eye.
Above thy peak and ringless sleep, thou silent stars provide.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all thine ears are yet in thee to die.
The hopes and fears of all thine ears are yet to die.
JAZZ MUSIC
MUSIC
JAZZ MUSIC
O Little Town of Bethlehem. We heard the first verse sung by the Canterbury Choristers and then an affectingly cool tune called Our Little Town by Jimmy and Percy Heath based on the carol.
In addition to the brothers Heath on tenor and bass, that was Stanley Cowell on piano and kalimba, that's a thumb piano, and Tony Perrone on guitar, and Akira Tana on drums.
And finally, a lovely arrangement of the carol by Stephen Paulus, performed by the ensemble singers of the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota conducted by Philip Brunel.
The oboist on that recording is Marilee Klemp, the harpist is Lynn Aspenas, the back announcer is Peter Shickely, and the show is Shickely Mix from PRI, Public Radio International.
We're talking about keeping Christmas, so what does that mean? For some people it means keeping it religious, and for others it means keeping it serious, and then there are people for whom those two things are the same thing.
There are many folks who feel that there is no place for humor in religion at all. When I discovered the concert of choral Christmas carols by P.D.Q. Bach, I very much wanted them to be completely secular. I didn't want to ruffle feathers, I wanted audiences to enjoy themselves during a season of good cheer.
The first carol is called Throw the Yule Log on Uncle John, and it's about throwing the yule log on Uncle John. The second is called Oh Little Town of Hackensack, and it's about Santa Claus coming to New Jersey.
The last one is called Good King Kong, and that's what it's about. As I said, these are, to my sensibility, completely secular pieces.
But after they appeared in print, a woman contacted my publisher and said that she was never again going to order any piece of music published by them because the title, Oh Little Town of Hackensack, is so blasphemous.
Obviously, the title doesn't offend me, but I can appreciate the woman's discomfort, perhaps even anguish. She would consider me a pagan, yet even I have heard jokes and comedy routines that have made me uncomfortable.
Here is a member of the Shaker community commenting on Simple Gifts, the hymn that has become well known due to its use by Aaron Copland in the music for Appalachian Spring.
Although the world has made the song famous, we feel troubled that in its fame it is taken so lightly. To believers, it holds a real message, reminding us that we do have to come down to the place just right in order to live out Mother's Gospel.
One should never belittle great depth of feeling, especially when it's in the service of love, and anyway, it's always wise to avoid being blasé. But you also have to make room for the diversity of a society like ours.
When we look at small self-contained societies, as we sometimes longingly do, the absolute integration of religion into everyday life seems healthy and powerful.
But when things get more heterogeneous, well, we all know what people can do to each other in the name of religion, and have done.
And for that reason, the separation of church and state seems absolutely necessary in a large country such as the barely United States of America.
So like it or not, we live in a quite secular society, not as secular as that of Soviet Russia, but more secular than that of many Middle Eastern countries, and also perhaps more secular than that of Brazil, where, I read recently, a paraplegic man and his fiancé were denied permission by the church to marry, because he would be unable to sire children.
In America, almost anything goes, at least if you're not receiving any money from the government. See? We're not as secular as you thought.
And that brings us to tidbit time. Today's tidbit is pretty tame by counterculture standards. It doesn't have anything directly to do with religion.
But by popular music standards, it's a pretty dark slice of Christmas humor. You've got to listen carefully to the words on this one.
Who said there ain't no Sandy Claus?
I had a wife who gave me trouble And when she died, they paid me double
Saw my father, well, he don't live And he give me money for that negative now
Who said there ain't no Sandy Claus? Oh, I did
Who said there ain't no Sandy Claus?
I took some money and had a spree And my mistake, it may bore a spree
Now, doin' time, it ain't much fun But I got a friend who gives me a gun
Now, who said there ain't no Santa Claus? Oh, I did
I ain't heard no sleigh bells ring Or seen no reindeer fly
But all them nice things happenin' Don't just drop in the sky
Now, some folks just ain't got no place To lie in a hallway But I believe in Santa Claus
How lucky can I get?
Who said there ain't no Sandy Claus?
They must like me pretty well Cause now I got my own self
They dressed me up and they cut my hair And now they gonna give me the
The chair
I told you so
Ron Holden and the Thunderbirds with Who Say There Ain't No Santa Claus
Actually, he does exist, you know, and I can tell you that firsthand
I got into an elevator at a Holiday Inn last spring
And a six-year-old boy said, softly but very audibly
Look, Mom, it's Santa Claus
Actually, I get that fairly frequently in December
Just walking down the street ever since my beard turned white
So hang in there, Virginia
Hey, listen, speaking of the lighter side of Christmas
Sometimes a non-traditional setting can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
Now, this may be the corniest of all the standard holiday songs
And that's saying something
But the second of these two renditions turns it into a very tasty morsel indeed
If I may be permitted a special seasonal dispensation to mix my metaphors
Hey, fellas, why don't you tell the kids about your ice-cold friend?
Alright!
When they placed it on his end, he began to dance around
Oh, Frosty the Snowman was alive as he could be
And the children say he could laugh and play
Just the same as you and me
Frosty the Snowman knew the sun was hot that day
So he said, let's run and we'll have some fun now before I melt away
Down to the village with a broomstick in his hand
Running here and there all around the square
Say and catch me if you can
He led them down the streets of town right to the traffic lot
And he only paused a moment when he heard them hollers stop
Oh, Frosty the Snowman had to hurry on his way
But he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Thump-a-dee, thump-thump, thump-a-dee, thump-thump, thump and Frosty goes
And he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Oh, Frosty the Snowman had to hurry on his way
But he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Thump-a-dee, thump-a-dee, thump-a-dee, thump and Frosty goes
And he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Thump-a-dee, thump-a-dee, thump and Frosty goes
And he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Thump-a-dee, thump-a-dee, thump and Frosty goes
And he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Thump-a-dee, thump-a-dee, thump and Frosty goes
And he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Thump-a-dee, thump-a-dee, thump and Frosty goes
And he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Thump-a-dee, thump-a-dee, thump and Frosty goes
And he waved goodbye saying, don't you cry, I'll be back again someday
Frosty the Snowman, sung by the Chipmunks and swung by Mike Jones
A pianist new to me, what a great left hand
That was recorded by the way, according to the notes, aboard a cruise ship
Somewhere between Puerto Rico and the Bahamas
Maybe that explains all the high seas
A nice jazz Christmas album on chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro, something like that, nice label, nice album
A compilation that has everybody from Earl Hines to Steve Allen on it
Well, we live in a far flung world
Some of the pieces we've heard today, like the music box playing the first Noel on the one hand
And Ron Holden and the Thunderbirds doing Who Say There Ain't No Sandy Claws on the other
Those two pieces are farther apart than Puerto Rico and the Bahamas
And that's the way it is
Look, I'm a card carrying member of the ACLU
But I miss the nativity scene on the town square
And I remember saying back in the 70s that the day would come when a public school choir couldn't sing the Messiah
And that day is already here in a lot of areas
I wish we could come up with ways of embracing instead of denying the fact that our cultural heritage is religious as well as secular
And I wish that the problems, the very real problems that arise from our wild and woolly heterogeneousness
I wish they could be solved by inclusion rather than exclusion
Meanwhile, here and now, for better or worse, Christmas is two celebrations
A joyous religious holiday and a merely happy secular holiday
Or anyway that's what they should be at the very least
And you can make them that
Whatever your religious feelings are, don't let mammon grind you down
Okay, since people, at least people under the age of 10, often identify me as Santa Claus
Let me presume to dispense some holiday advice
And here it is
Keep Christmas
That's it
Keep Christmas
Yeah, I know it's sort of like do the right thing, right?
But I mean go out of your way to keep Christmas
Whatever that means to you
On Christmas Eve, when I was a kid, one member of the family used to read the St. Luke version of the Christmas story aloud
Out of the big old family Bible
I miss that
We should revive that practice in our house
And when it comes to presents, remember that there is a middle ground between mindless consumerism and Olympian asceticism
Make each present count
And be of good cheer
And most important of all, don't pay too much attention to people on the radio trying to tell you how to lead your life
There's not a Christmas spirit
There are Christmas spirits
And that's what I call this last suite
It has three numbers and I'll see you in about nine minutes
Ye sons of men with me, rejoice and praise the heavens with heart and voice
For joyful tidings you we pray of this heavenly babe like you born here
Who from his mighty throne above came a doll to manifest his love
To all such as what he embraced and who'd be born again
We pray this mystery for to one floor
And the king of kings, he did behold the poor, unhappy state of mind
He sent his own beloved son
An angel assembled by heaven's command to a spotless virgin in the land
Who loved the seed of David King, those joyful tidings are to be
He healed this virgin full of grace
And I told her that in nine months' space she should bring forth a son and he
And that's Sickly Mix for this week. Our program is made possible with funds
provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the National
Endowment for the Arts. With additional support from the National Academy of
Recording Arts and Sciences and from this radio station and its members.
Thank you members and have a fine holiday season. And not only that, our program is
distributed by PRI, Public Radio International. We'll tell you in a moment
how you can get an official playlist of all the music on today's program with
album numbers and everything. Just refer to the program number. This is program
one, two, three. And this is Peter Sickly saying goodbye and reminding you that it
don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi. You're looking
good. See you next week.
And I'll see you next week.
.
If you'd like a copy of that playlist I mentioned, send a stamped, self-
addressed envelope to Shickly Mix. That's S-C-H-I-C-K-E-L-E, Shickly Mix.
Care of Public Radio International, 100 North 6th Street, Suite 900A,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55403.
PRI, Public Radio International.
S-C-H-I-C-K-E-L-E, Shickly Mix.
S-C-H-I-C-K-E-L-E, S-C-H-I-C-K-E-L-E.
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