A Christmas Carol

Written by Victoria Baker
Saturday, 10 December 2011 14:44

It appears that Greenwich’s Rob Mathes has been as busy as ever with a slew of fabulous musical projects, log onto his website www.robmathes.com to read about them all in detail. He is back this year with his famous Christmas Concert and will, I’m sure, bring much joy to locals and others alike who are fans of his unique style.

This year’s annual Rob Mathes Christmas Concert will take place at the Performance Arts Center at Purchase College on Dec. 16 at 8 p.m., Dec. 17 at 8 p.m., and Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $75, $60, $45, & $35. To obtain tickets go to The Performing Arts Center website Artscenter.org phone: 914-251-6200 or stop by or call The Music Source in Old Greenwich, Themusicsource.org 203-698-0444.

Music became a marked feature of the Christmas season very early on giving rise to the ever popular Christmas Carol. But the first chants, litanies, and hymns were in Latin and too theological for popular use. The 13th century found the rise of the carol written in the vernacular under the influence of Francis of Assisi. In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic is treated in a style that is familiar or festive.

Interestingly enough, during the British Commonwealth government under Oliver Cromwell, the British Parliament prohibited the practice of singing Christmas carols as pagan and sinful. Its pagan roots in the 13th century and its overly “democratic” 14th century influences made it an unsuitable activity for the general public and it was to be mandated so by the Commonwealth government of 1647. During this brief interlude in English history, during which there was no monarch, this activity by the populace was to remain illegal. But this activity was prohibited only as long as the Commonwealth survived and in 1660 when King Charles II restored the Stuarts to the throne, the public was once again able to practice the singing of Christmas carols.

No musical work is more closely associated with the Christmas season than “Messiah” by George Frederick Handel (1685-1759). It may come as something of a surprise that it had nothing to do with the Christmas season when it was composed. It was initially performed for Lent, but since Handel’s death is usually performed during Advent. Seven hundred people attended the Messiah premiere in Ireland. To allow for this crowd, gentlemen were requested to remove their swords and ladies were not to wear hoops in their dresses. The performance earned approximately $400 providing $127 to three charities in aid of prisoner’s debt relief to secure their release.

Rob Mathes’ Christmas music is nothing like the traditional songs of yester year; it’s more like an homage to contemporary tastes. If you need to get in the Christmas spirit but don’t usually enjoy the same traditional versions of classic songs then give Rob Mathes a try...you may prefer it to Handel.

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