God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

After a long absence, I have returned to celebrate Christmas with you! It's not as long of an absence as you might think, since sometimes I've come here to update the broken links from old posts, or to re-record songs I shared previously, but it has been a year since I added a new song.

We don't know who composed the melody, or even the lyrics, to this song. It's just been passed down through the years. Maybe an entire church or family gathered together to create the song, each contributing a few lines of verse, then forgot who had written the melody. Hymnary estimates that the song dates back to the 18th century.

Who knows - perhaps a church singer wrote the song themselves, but didn't want their name to be written down for credit.

James Cooper writes on his website, WhyChristmas (where I learned a lot of information about Christmas traditions, as well as some reasons why Jesus was probably not born in the winter), that "Merry," a few centuries ago, did not have the exact same meaning as "Happy." It could also mean pleasant, successful, or having plenty. To "rest merry" was to remain in a state of plenty. Plenty of assurance, perhaps, that "Christ our savior was born ... when we were gone astray."

(Can't see a video? Click here to listen on YouTube.)

Keep filling your teacup with music!
~Liya

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Listen to the song here
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Once you finish making a recording, it's fixed forever. Thankfully, musicians have a tool that can help them control their need for perfection. We can play a song better later and re-record it. This brings the two sides of the coin together: we can listen to how we sounded in previous years, use our new knowledge, consider all the ways we could have done it differently, and actually do it differently.

In fact, in case you're curious, that’s what I’ve done with today’s recording.

Enjoy your last 10 days of 2023 - and keep filling your teacup with music!
~Liya 

 

Carol of the Bells

We usually associate "Carol of the Bells" with Christmas because of its English lyrics. (I've seen many versions, but they're all about Christmas.) However, the original Ukrainian version of this song, "Shchedryk," was about the New Year. In 1919, Mykola Leontovych wrote it based on Ukrainian folk chants. The lyrics describe a little bird coming to a home, proclaiming all the good fortune that is on its way. If only it could visit us this year...

Listen to the song here
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In my last 2 posts, I wrote about how recording is a way of defining how you played at a certain time. It also lets you see all your mistakes and missed opportunities.

If I feel like recording your music doesn’t just entail perfectionism, but is perfectionism, how do the professionals feel?

How do they work up the courage to lay their music down on records? They’re in a public position, representing the peak of piano playing. The consequences of slipping up on a famously difficult section, or missing some information about how the music should be played, are an order of magnitude greater.

Now think about professional musicians in the early 1900s, the start of the recording era, who are now being listened to over 100 years later! They put their playing on full display, with limited editing capabilities, for future generations to hear. I was pleasantly surprised to find how many of these recordings we still have!

 

O Come, O Come, Immanuel

Listen to the song here
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Recording your music gives you a window into your past playing. On the other side of the coin, it can be more stressful than even a live performance. Once you play the notes, they don’t disappear in the air; they’re saved for you or others to listen to at any time. The recording defines how I sounded playing today’s song in 2021.

I'm happy with how this recording turned out, but oftentimes when I listen to my old recordings, I think of new techniques I’ve learned that I could have used. Sometimes I’m even disappointed with how I stumbled through a difficult section. 

I think I'm forced to be a perfectionist in some sense when I record. I can't escape it; it's just part of the process to keep trying until your recording is the best it can be.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Listen to the song here
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I’m planning to post 4 Christmas songs this week, but I can’t think of 4 ideas to write about, so I’ll take my 1 idea and split it up. Who knows, maybe you don't have the time to read 4 posts in one week!

Today’s recording has gone through a long wait to be posted here, so now is the time. One advantage of making recordings is that I get to hear what my playing sounded like 2, 3, or 5 years ago. I don’t have to sit and try to remember; I can just listen!

Christ the Lord is Risen Yesterday

Listen to the song here
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When I Fall in Love

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! To finish 2022, I'm playing a ballad called "When I Fall in Love," composed by Victor Young and Edward Heyman. This one has been around for 70 years now, but you might know it because of the famous version by Nat King Cole. I hope you like it!

Listen to the song here
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Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! On this Christmas morning, I'm playing an Advent hymn called "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus." The lyrics were written by Charles Wesley in 1744, but they have been sung to several different melodies. The melody I'm playing here is a Welsh hymn tune called "Hyfrydol," composed by Rowland Prichard. I hope you like it!


Listen to the song here
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Christmas Time is Here

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! This is actually my first post of fall 2021, but it's closer to winter now. Today, I'm playing a song called "Christmas Time is Here," which was composed by the jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi for "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Maybe you've been waiting for Christmas just as much as you've been waiting for a Tea with Liya post. Sometimes, we see the value in waiting when the event we've been hoping for finally arrives. I hope you like listening to it!


Listen to the song here
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The First Noel

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! December 25th has finally arrived, so it's time for another Christmas song called "The First Noel." This is another one of our set of vocal Christmas songs. Even though we're at home during a pandemic, we can still use things like these songs to celebrate the birth of Jesus together. I hope you like listening to it!



Keep filling your teacup with music!
~Liya

Silent Night

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! Today, I'm playing a Christmas song called "Silent Night." The list of Christmas songs is almost done, and since Christmas Eve is often celebrated in the evening, I decided to choose this song for today. If you actually wanted a silent night, you would be sleeping, not listening to this song. I think you just came here because you wanted to celebrate Christmas. I hope you like this song!


Listen to the song here
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Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! Today, I'm playing a Christmas song called "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." Christmas seems to be getting closer every day, and a great way to celebrate is with more songs! This is another one of my "Christmas Collaborations" where I have added my voice to the recording. There is also another singer in the recording, so my voice is harmonizing him. We might not be two angels singing, but we can still say, "Glory to the newborn King!" I hope you like listening to it!


Listen to the song here
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Away in a Manger

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! Today, I'm playing a song called "Away in a Manger." This well-known Christmas song actually has two different melodies. You could hear one, the other, or even both depending on what recording you listen to. It's also written in "3 time," unlike some of the other songs that we've done. You could count to 3 while you were playing this song instead of counting to 4. I hope you like listening to it!


Listen to the song here
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Angels We Have Heard on High

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! Today, it's time for a piano and vocal cover of "Angels We Have Heard on High" - a Christmas song that you have probably heard right here on earth. This recording reminded me of what happens when multiple musicians are recording live (something that I haven't done in a while, since Covid is still here). If you don't have specific instructions written out for when to start and end the song, you have to infer what the other musicians are trying to do ... so that's why this recording has three verses instead of 4! I hope you like listening to it!


Listen to the song here
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Mary Did You Know

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! It's time for another Christmas collaboration. Today, we're playing a song called "Mary Did You Know." Perhaps we could empathize with Mary a bit here, since we have a pandemic that's appeared. We don't know what's going to happen, but we can't stop ourselves from moving into the future. I hope you like listening to this song!


Listen to the song here
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O Come All Ye Faithful

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! Today, I'm playing a Christmas song called "O Come All Ye Faithful." Now it's time for the faithful to come! In fact, this song is telling us all to come, even though it's talking about an event that happened thousands of years ago. It's still something worth celebrating for all of us. I hope you like listening to this song!


Listen to the song here
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O Come O Come Emmanuel

It's time for some Christmas songs on Tea with Liya!  Today, I'm playing a song called "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." This year, I've decided to add another singer to my recordings. He will sing the songs while I play the piano. We all know that two is better than one, don't we? I'll be adding more of these in the next few weeks, so be ready to fill up your teacup!

Listen to the song here
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Tis Autumn

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! Today, I'm playing a jazz ballad called "'Tis Autumn." Composed by Henry Nemo, it reminded me of the leaves that fall on top of anything you find outside. When winter and then spring come, they're all gone. Could you find something underneath a pile of autumn leaves? I hope you like listening to this one!


Listen to the song here
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A Pittance of Time

Welcome back to Tea with Liya! Today, I'm playing a song called "A Pittance of Time," which was composed by Terry Kelly. He was in a store on November 11th when he noticed a man who refused to observe the 2 minutes of silence to respect war veterans. He managed to hold back his anger that day and direct it into a song instead. It reminds us that 2 minutes is just a "pittance of time" - a small sacrifice to honor those who sacrificed their lives. I hope you like listening to it!


Listen to the song here
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Jingle Bells

I'm glad you returned today to listen to this jolly Christmas song called "Jingle Bells." The history of this song is more complicated than you might expect - it isn't associated with Christmas at all! It probably became a Christmas song because it mentions traditions associated with the time of year or the holiday itself. Thanks again for coming to listen!

Listen to the song here
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