Unfortunately, not watching the brand-new Doctor Who Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride" straight from England (1). A few weeks ago I was directed to a website that has real-time webcasts of many television stations around the world - including both BBC1 (home of the good Doctor) and BBC2 (home of lots of arts programming and Covent Garden telecasts - the person who told me about this site was trying to get me to watch a documentary they showed on Angela Gheorghiu, which I unfortunately missed because it was on while I was at work). Unfortunately, I checked this site several days ago - and they are no longer carrying any major BBC channels, although they do have some specialized ones for weather and politics and local stuff. At least I did get last year's Christmas Special "The Christmas Invasion" on the Sci-Fi Channel and taped it, and with luck I hope to be seeing the new one this weekend at a meeting of the local fan club.
I often watch the Midnight Mass from Saint Patrick's Cathedral - mainly because they always have a soloist from the Met sing "O Holy Night" (probably the only Christmas carol I find completely irresistable - most of them I can live without unless being performed by a great singer). They've had Marcello Giordani, Ramon Vargas, Ruth Ann Swenson (she's the most common one) and Christine Goerke (2). I also admit that I've often found what Cardinal O'Connor, and now Cardinal Egan, say in their homilies is pretty interesting - I remember Egan a few years ago talking about how Joseph (and presumably Jesus), the "joiner of wood" was actually more of a construction worker than what we would think of as a carpenter , e.g someone who makes chairs and tables and shelves (3). I can't help but think of devoutly Christian Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, who uses Jesus-as-carpenter as a model for his housebuilding work. Unfortunately, I missed it this year. And I have no idea who sang "O Holy Night".
Anyway, I went to an open Jewish choral sing at the JCC, sponsored by one of my former choruses, Zamir Chorale, where we read through some choruses from Judas Maccabeus, Chichester Psalms and some Yiddish songs. Not quite one of the Avery Fisher Messiah Sing-Ins, but about 300 people showed up and we started late because extra chairs had to be set up. Although we had a fabulous boy soloist, better than many on recordings, even (I regret that I've forgotten his name), I think I'm getting sick of the Bernstein. I've already sung it twice and I'm going to sing it again in the spring. Unfortunately, it's become the "token Jewish work" for virtually every chorus. While I understand many mainstream choruses may not be familiar with the gorgeous work of Louis Lewandowski, or know that Schubert actually wrote at least one piece in Hebrew, what about the Sacred Services of Ernest Bloch and Darius Milhaud? Or excerpts from Kurt Weill's The Eternal Road, maybe the greatest "Jewish Opera" ever written? And he wrote a wonderful, jazzy setting of the Kiddush, too.
One of my standard Hanukkah rituals is to play Walter Widdop's colossal 1926 recording of "Sound an alarm" and Bryn's Terfel's "Arm, arm ye brave" every night of the holiday - this usually extends to at least the remainder of the Widdop CD (on Pearl, unfortunately out of print, especially since I lost the case and the CD itself isn't in such great condition), if not always the Terfel Handel Arias CD. To prepare for the sing-in, I bought a recording of Judas Maccabeus (McGegan: De Mey, Saffer, Spence, Thomas, Asawa). Well, at least it was cheap. I haven't heard the whole thing, but what I have heard, especially the "Sound an alarm", can best be described as WEEMPY WEEMPY WEEMPY (remember the Hefty Garbage Bag commercial?). Actually, Guy de Mey (Canadian?) has a lovely, light lyric voice and excellent coloratura, but he sounds like he's at a tea dance, not calling troops into battle. I'd cast him as Jupiter in Semele in 5 seconds flat, but not Judas. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Widdop, possibly the greatest British tenor of the 20th Century. And I wanted to buy the recording with Jan Peerce and Martina Arroyo, but it's now out of print. GRRR....
I also did the "traditional" Jewish Christmas of a movie and Chinese food. Nearly every theater in the city seemed to be sold out for the afternoon, so I went down to the Film Forum and caught a Woody Allen double bill of Play it Again, Sam (do you realize I still haven't seen all of Casablanca???) and The Purple Rose of Cairo (mixed feelings on the ending). I still want to see Dreamgirls, The Prestige, Happy Feet, and The Fountain, but the movie I'm really waiting for is Pan's Labyrinth, which has received ecstatic reviews, a 22 minute ovation at Cannes (!), a Golden Globe nomination for best Foreign Film (it's Mexico's Oscar entry, too, and I'd also be surprised, based on what little I've heard of it, if it's not up for a Best Score Oscar too - but I've never forgiven the Academy for not giving the Best Score Oscar to Star Trek - The Motion Picture in 1979), and no less than Steven King called it the greatest fantasy film since The Wizard of Oz. Very dark, violent fairytale set in post-Franco Spain - shades of Spirit of the Beehive? It must really be something, because "serious" film people tend to look down their noses at fantasy.
Weather was awful, by the way. Cold, gray, and damp. I don't think I've had a white Christmas since I was 5. Certainly not more than 3 times in my life
Oh, and I am now finally the very proud mommy of a brand spanking new DVD player - my first. My Hanukkah present to myself. Now all I actually have to do is figure out how to hook it up to my ancient TV. I think I'm going to need to hook up some extra thing (I think it's called an RF modulator) to the TV and hook the DVD player into that because I think the TV only has one output jack.
My actual DVD collection consists of: The Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (also the first film I bought on VHS), The Court Jester (my all-time favorite film - I've seen it about 100 times and it still makes me laugh), Angela and Roberto's L' Elisir D'Amore, her La Traviata, and 3 of my favorite "classic" Doctor Who episodes - "The Mind Robber", "Ghost Light", and "The Curse of Fenric". Hope I can actually start watching them before New Year's, and maybe even get a Netflix subscription.
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(1) Actually, I now think of December 25th less as "Christmas" than as "Doctor Who Christmas Special Day". Massive apologies to any Christian readers :-)
(2) I was a little unhappy that Roberto Alagna, who I presume is Catholic, didn't do it the one year he was here for Christmas - 2003, right before his Met Werthers. Then again, marrying a woman who is Romanian Orthodox, and a divorcee, may have disqualified him.
(3) I've always found it very interesting that Christian (specifically Catholic) holy relics tend to be the body parts of Jesus (and the saints). Since he was a carpenter (or a construction worker), surely something he made should be holy, like a chair or a table with miraculous powers? Can anybody who is Christian/Catholic give me any idea as to why this is so?
