A Lark Ascending

When we lived in Germany in the 70s my parents invited our German friends over for Xmas dinner. In a moment when all the Brits were in the kitchen our guests innocently picked up mince pies, added them to their plates and poured gravy on them. They were especially taken with this English custom!!!!!

Gerald Finzi 'In Terra Pax' An utterly haunting English pastoral reflection on Christmas and peace for tenor, choir and orchestra. Can be found on this CD with lots of other Christmas pieces from other early/mid 20thC English composers:

For me, it's 365 (or 366, if necessary). Let me know what time I should arrive, Bev (and get rid of those brussel sprouts please). Pretty sure my parents always did turkey. I always loved turkey and still do, but whenever I heard about the other things people were eating at Christmas, it kind of reinforced my feeling that perhaps it was too soon after Thanksgiving to be doing a big turkey feast again. For the past 30 years or so, the only Christmas dinners we do are with my in-laws, who are both still living. We've usually had either ham, cornish hen, prime rib, or some combination of those. Damn, this thread is making me hungry... Not sure I've ever had goose. Is it greasier than duck? I've had plenty of duck. Looks really great, can you give us directions from Heathrow , we both love sprouts. Given the state of air traffic control and border control in the UK at present you'd never make it out of Heathrow in time. I would point out that photo came off Google. My attempts at Xmas dinner are far more frugal - can't put the preparation in that my parents used to. I like sprouts too, actually. The trick is not to overcook them (my parents' failing - they'd do them in a pressure cooker and reduce them to pulp). At the point when the bright green starts to fade, yank them out. They have to be crunchy.

As mentioned in another thread, really enjoyed this. Recommended to anyone with a taste for "prog" rock, which seems to have become marginally less unfashionable of late.

I'd never heard of this...and I'm of Cornish extraction (through my dad). Seems to be an American thing (not that national or regional labels on food mean bugger all...what has Welsh Rarebit to do with Wales?) . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_game_hen Any self-respecting Cornishman would have wrapped it in pastry, added potatoes, swede and parsley and ensured there was proper crimping.

I've never eaten a goose in my life. Suspect turkey is the norm - with beef, pork or lamb (or nut cutlet) as alternatives, The vital ingredient is brussel sprouts (which no-one eats for the other 364 days of the year). This looks much like what I'm used to: The things on the turkey are 'pigs in blankets' - sausages wrapped in bacon. The scary yellow thing at the back looks like swede which is essentially cattle feed which we eat to remind us of our rural roots. Every proper English person then goes out and Morris Dances.

I've always loved the soprano - many of the names above (including our Evan, duck). Charlie Mariano comes to mind as an additional - came to love him in Eberhard Weber's 70s band and then heard things beyond. A lot of UK tenor players double on soprano - an early favourite was Stan Sulzmann's wonderful snake-like piece 'G.R.S.' on 'On Loan With Gratitude' (long OOP). The likes of Iain Ballamy, Julian Arguelles, Mark Lockheart and Julian Siegel all make marvellous use of it. I'm not a listener who can survive by following musical lines alone...I like the colouristic effects that a range of instruments can bring. So a quartet with a sax player who can switch between tenor and soprano gives that variety of timbre that I like best in music. I appreciate others find such things mere distraction from the musical logic. A favourite from someone mentioned above but in an early appearance in someone else's band. Steve Lacy's solo on 'Just One Of Those Things' on the Gil Evans Ten album. I think that was the record that first alerted me to Lacy sometime in the early 80s.

TUM are a marvellous label - just a bit difficult to locate at times. I was looking for this last week and found it very difficult to track down a source. Ended up ordering via Amazon from the USA. Hopefully listeners who have enjoyed Occupy the World will check out some of the other musicians there. The Juhani Aaltonen discs on TUM are tremendous.

Just listened, Jim. Really enjoyed the album. You can hear the Genesis (I'd go further and say 'Lamb' era Genesis) inspiration. Which is not a criticism in any shape or form. I've long felt the critical insistence on the eternally new leads to all sorts of avenues that have only just started to be opened up being left behind as the next stylistic fashion sweeps in. Strong songs, lots of the key changes I love from the original era and some great soloing. You can be proud of it.

Must be related to different systems, cross Atlantic currency conversion or the like. Just shows up here.

You've clearly had too many already! Fill in the numbers of beer and/or wine and/or spirits. Put in your country. Click See How You Compare.

Apparently I need to move to Namibia Booze calculator: What's your drinking nationality?

Western musicians may well be suffering from the 'customers' requirement for cheap music in a world of unregulated free-marketism. But others are suffering far worse: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30532463

Don't know anything about his 'art' but always found him very entertaining. These two especially:

The 'final' album is up on Amazon for release on 16th January: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Songs-Quintet-Kenny-Wheeler/dp/B00Q5OCUB2/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1418840734&sr=1-1&keywords=kenny+wheeler A perfect set of partners.

Thriller set in Hollywood in 1946 among the emigrant Jewish community at the start of the Red Scare. A bit slow but I'm drawn in.

I've always liked Peter Brotzmann's version of 'Silent Night'. Webern could have done a wonderful reduction on 'Ding Dong Merrily On High'. I can hear it in my head.

Give these two a read. Carey rides to the rescue of the likes of Bennett. Goes hell for leather at the Bloomsbury elite. A bit disappointed to read in a review of his autobiography that he joins the dewy-eyed throng lamenting the demise of the grammar school.

I had to read 'New Grub Street' at the start of my first two terms at university (where English was a subsidiary). We then attended a lecture where we were told why we shouldn't have liked it. That set the pattern for the next few months. Was enormously relieved to stop doing the subsids and concentrate on History, if only because it allowed me to just enjoy the novels I was reading.

Sure we did this before but I've never had any problem repeating myself. Britten's 'A Boy Was Born', Honegger's Une Cantate de Noel', Messiaen's 'La nativite du Seigneur' and the obvious Bach and Handel always go down well here. Might explain why no one visits me at Xmas. The three Coope, Boyes and Simpson Xmas records (plus a new one from Coope, Simpson, Fraser and Freya) are my first choice for a folky Xmas. On the traditional carols front 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and 'O Come O Come Emmanuel' (even if it does make me think of a 70s riske film). Though the folksy 'Shepherds Arise' from the Copper Family collection is my all time favourite - tremendous crunchy harmonies and a melody line that seems to change direction every two bars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6vNkUDkRDA A more polished version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB1wz8F-57Q I also have a fair few folky Scandinavian Xmas albums which are lovely. Jazz wise I like that 'Jazz for Joy' record, the Ella album and, of course, Miles' 'Blue Xmas'. Oh, and 'Blues, Blues Christmas' - a fabulous 2 CD collection of blues and R&B tunes including the immortal 'And Death May Be Your Santa Claus'. And if you like a bit of Central French hurdy gurdy music...

If selected bonbons from the Anthony Braxton catalogue were played on an endless loop for two months of the year they would very rapidly cease to be the music of choice of the discerning intellectual.

Now that's the sort of thing I want to hear.

Little Donkey, We Will Rock You (not the Queen song thought that is annoying too) and any of those manger songs. Most of the 'classic' things on endless repeat - not that they are necessarily bad songs, just that they reappear on autopilot. I remember really liking the Slade song in the early 70s but it makes me run for the hills now every time I hear it ( every 23 mins on average in public places).

I'm almost certain my copy of 'Cruel But Fair' by the Dean/Hopper/Gallivan/Tippett band has that same label on the LP centre - it's also on Compendium. Brings back memories of a dingy Mansfield bedsit....

I'm always intrigued by the guitarist on that one - Jeff Green. What else did he do? never come across him before. Cue those in the know.... Discogs has some interesting enties for him - Elton Dean's Just Us and a big band Intercontinental Express which has a pretty impressive line up - Kenny W, Ray Babbington, Elton Dean. Nick Evans etc, etc http://www.discogs.com/Intercontinental-Express-Joe-Gallivan-Charles-Austin-Ken-Wheeler-Nick-Evans-Jeff-Green-Elton-Dean-Ro/release/2389205 Just checked my copy of the Just Us reissue and he is there on the 2 extra tracks. Intercontinental Express looks intriguing - Dean also worked with Gallivan around the time in a wonderful quartet with Tippett and Hopper. Sounds where Soft Machine might have gone after Five if things had worked out differently. One disc issued at the time; another much later. Recommended if you don't know them.