Merry Shellacmas, Part 3! I'd Like to See My Mom for Christmas, Hallejuah Chorus (Arthur Pryor, 1908), Vom Himmel Hoch (1904!), Richard Crooks, and two groove-wrecked goodies

 

DOWNLOAD LINK:  Merry Shellacmas, Part 3!

So, a 1933 The Star of Bethlehem whose lyrics can be understood!  I did my best with the 1910 recording thereof, but it proved next to hopeless.  (Hm.  What does "next to hopeless" mean?  It's like those snarky websites which reluctantly concede that the "precise" meaning of the Establishment Clause is not known, when the simple reality is that we either know or we don't know.  There aren't degrees of knowing/not knowing.)  Anyway, the two 1933 Richard Crooks restorations sound great, and of course I'd say that, since I made them.  And I hate to have to point this out, but it seems necessary: None of my rips are from Internet Archive (which goes without a "The," apparently).  It's against my blog policy to present anything but my own work.  But, of course, that is my personal, totally subjective position.  There's no right/wrong or true/false when it comes to a belief statement.

So, the truly burning question: Which involves more work--finding the right response curve and parametric EQ tweaks, or tracking down a recording date?  Well, sometimes the latter is the bigger challenge.  As with the Victor Concert Orch.'s 1939 March of the Toys (below), that marvelous Victor Herbert light concert work.  There were at least three candidates, including a 1927 vocal version (part of a medley) and a "Music of" album of (I think) 1927, also.  But this is clearly from a 1939 radio broadcast.  Or, rather, for a broadcast.  Because I doubt it was recorded from the radio--quite often, transcription discs were provided for broadcast purposes, which makes all the more sense when we realize that programming was often staggered during the days of this and that network.  Back when "live" didn't necessarily mean "live."

And... three astounding Arthur Pryor band performances, with both Handel and Tchaikovsky rendered in unreal, day-at-the-races tempi.  How the band so much as survived the course with Hallelujah Chorus and Overture Miniature, don't ask me.  That both sound fresh, and on recordings over a century old, is astounding.  Wait, I already used that word.

I'd Like to See My Mom for Christmas--an indispensable holiday standard of the weird variety, and not because of its theme (totally holiday-appropriate) but because it verges on creepy. Simply put, because our modern celebration of Christmas is all about family, it is nothing but fitting that lost loved ones be included.  But not literally!  There's a difference between "I miss my mom/girlfriend/dad" and "I expect visitation any time now."  Leave the ghost stories to Charles Dickens.  Oh, and songwriter Edgar Unger also wrote the oft-recorded Put Christ Back Into Christmas (same year: 1951).

My Christmas Symphony (1912) rip initially had me wanting to ditch the results, but it doesn't sound all that bad.   Not on second listen, anyway.  But there's no hope for the 1923 William Jennings Bryan holiday message, which I only managed to make listenable after 90 minutes of work.  And it's odd when a 1923 voice recording is lacking, but William sounds like he's in another room.  ("William, move closer to the horn... Oh, never mind.")

As far as I know, Emile Waldteufel's Skaters waltz wasn't intended as a holiday regular, but neither was Julius Fucik's Entry of the Gladiators intended as a circus match (as far as I know).  So there.  And I love this 1926 recording, which was trimmed for its inclusion on an RCA Camden reissue--thus, I was surprised when I first heard this unedited take.

1920's Kiddies' Patrol/Kiddies' Dance remains a fun "descriptive" novelty, with incredible work by the Brunswick Concert Orch. (an all-pro "house" band, no doubt), and the surface hiss is easily overcome by the vocal and musical moments.  Was the 1920 experience of this 78, "It sounds like children inside the cabinet!!"?  Or, "Hm.  Better check and see"?

The Trinity Choir's 1911 Joy to the World is a marvelous performance of a hymn which never grows old (to my ears, at least).  Like Jingle Bells, Joy is a repeat-play wonder.  And it is a hymn and not a carol, for those who value that distinction, and I've frankly forgotten its story.  Long credited to Handel, it is now (I believe) regarded as derived from Handel.  Meaning, it's not by Handel, and yet it is, sort of.  There'll be a quiz after this post.

The Paul Whiteman "potato head" Christmas record is one of the great novelties of the season--it's simply the fact that "Pops" made such a record in 1928, and one blessed with two expert charts (by Bill Challis and Ferde Grofe, respectively).  Superbly smooth, and we've heard far worse.  At this very blog, in fact.

Oh, and the 1904 cornet choir playing Vom Himmel Hoch (under its Norwegian title) sounds uncannily good 119 years down the line (and I love the chorale setting), and I'm glad my copy is a 1914-1925-period reissue, audio-wise.  Martin Luther's Vom Himmel Hoch is one of THE holiday classics, but don't tell Mariah Carey.

Please forgive the blank composer fields.  I forgot to tag them in advance (which involves a separate app), and if I fill in those fields now, I'll have to redo all of the file images.

March of the Toys--Victor Concert Orch., Dir. Nathaniel Shilkret, 1939

Silent Night, Holy Night (A: Challis), Christmas Melodies (A: Grofe)--"Pops" and the Gang, 1928.

Hallelujah Chorus--Arthur Pryor's Band, 1908

Joy to the World (Watts/Handel/Not Handel)--Trinity Choir, 1911

Kiddies' Patrol--Christmas Eve/Kiddies' Dance--Christmas Morning--Brunswick Concert Band, 1920

Vom Himmel Hoch (Fra himlen hoit kom budskap her)--Cornet quartet with organ and bells, approx. 1904

The Star of Bethlehem (Adams)--Richard Crooks, Orch. c. John Barbirolli, 1933

The Holy City (Adams)--Same

I'd Like to See My Mom for Christmas (--Bob Jones With the Williams Sextette, 1951

The Skaters--Waltz (Les Patineurs)--International Concert Orch., Dir. Nathaniel Shilkret, 1926

Nut Cracker Ballet (Dance Characteristique)--Arthur Pryor's Band, 1911

Overture Miniature (From "Casse Noisette")--Same, 1912

The Lord's Prayer--William Jennings Byran, 1923

Christmas Symphony (F.X. Chroatal)--Prince's Orchestra

Lee