There is music all around to remind us that Christmas is right around the corner.
Christmas carols come in different sizes, colors and flavors, including quite a few — surprisingly — in a minor key, which we often associate with sadness.
WABE music contributor Dr. Scott Stewart joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to share and examine a few of these minor mode holiday hits.
“Carol of the Bells,” also known as the “Ukrainian Bell Carol,” is a popular Christmas jingle in the minor mode. The original text of the song had nothing to do with Christmas.
“It’s a Ukranian song called “Shchedryk” composed in 1916 by Mykola Leontovych. Essentially, it says ‘the swallow is a herald of spring coming.’ American choir director Peter Wilhousky wrote English lyrics to the piece, and it premiered in Carnegie Hall in 1921,” said Stewart.