It s time, I guess, to wish long-suffering readers Merry Christmas. After all, it s my only real opportunity all year, to use the word merry.
Think about it. Merry just doesn t go with any other celebration. And the only other usage I can think of is in the carol, God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen.
Merriam-Webster online lists blithe, jocund, jovial and jolly as synonyms, but merry suggests cheerful, joyous, uninhibited enjoyment of frolic or festivity.
Another Internet source indicates slightly and good-humoredly drunk. After the third bottle of beer he began to feel quite merry.
If that s you, please don t extend your merriment to four.
Classical CDs Weekly: Christmas CDs 2020 | reviews, news & interviews Classical CDs Weekly: Christmas CDs 2020
Classical CDs Weekly: Christmas CDs 2020
Ten choice discs for the festive season
by Graham RicksonSaturday, 19 December 2020
Another year, another new Bach
Christmas Oratorio. Not that I’m complaining; this one is another zinger, up there with excellent contemporary versions from Stephen Layton and John Butt. Rainer Johannes Homberg’s Stuttgart Hymnus Boys’ Choir sing with incisive clarity, high-class support coming from Handel’s Company and a starry trio of trumpets. The first cantata’s opening chorus is all brassy exuberance, Homburg highlighting Bach’s ability to express unbuttoned joy. Try the first section of Cantata V, its dance rhythms immaculately sprung, or the unhurried splendour of Cantata VI’s finale. He has excellent soloists too: the tiny four-voice recitative just before the end of No 6 is sublime, Bach’s genius comp