Music For the Festive Season. . .

The cover of one of our three favorite "traditional" Christmas collections that we enjoy every year here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold.

Tomorrow is the first day of Advent, and the Christmas festival follows not far behind. While I prefer not to rush into things, it's hard not to begin thinking about the celebration and enjoying the small flourishes that go along with it like, for example, the music related to Christmas.

While I also enjoy traditional English carols along with more recent seasonal tunes by The Kinks, Greg Lake, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Andy Williams (along with holiday cheese by Dean Martin, Paul McCartney, and, yes, even WHAM!), in my view, you simply cannot go wrong with traditional German Christmas music. It provides a quiet and calm antidote to the overplayed schlock that clogs the airwaves at this time of year.

Three of our favorite collections (on CD. . . How 20th century of us!) include:

1) Weihnachten: A German Christmas
2) Christmas in Vienna: The Vienna Boys' Choir
3) German Christmas Music: Kammerorchester by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach

All are fairly easy to find and order online. Start with Amazon, the most obvious choice these days. Listening to these collections, you'll of course notice a few well-known melodies along with much that is less familiar though no less beautiful in the form of choral and instrumental music.

A very fitting soundtrack for Advent and the coming Christmas season without having to fall back on the likes of Moriah Carey, Whitney Houston, Cold Play, Taylor Swift, or the cast of Glee, or whoever it was who recorded that dreadful tear-jerker Christmas Shoes. The last of which the less said the better.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Comments

The Problem of "Business Casual" Attire. . .

This is how it's done. Business Casual the RIGHT way, ladies and gentlemen. Even during the summer months. A photograph (taken by Studio B Portraits ) which appeared in 425 Business Magazine in May 2017. T his post on the problem of business casual dress began as a quick postscript to a previous blog entry last week but quickly grew and grew as additional thoughts occurred, were developed in more detail, and revisions made. So much so, that it seemed, eventually, like a better idea to make the initial P.S. afterthought into its own entry . Are ya ready, Freddy? Then, here we go. . . ------------ U nless you actually plan to sell beach snacks and trinkets on Cozumel, become a serial barista, or greet customers at a fancy nightclub after taking out huge student loans to attend university somewhere for four or five years, plus an MBA afterward, it's really a better idea to err on the side of (somewhat) more formal work attire any time you head into the

The Average Guy's Guide to Classic Style Now on Ebay!!!

Another great old Laurence Fellows illustration of menswear from the classic era, the 1930s. T he Average Guy's Guide to Classic Style is up and running on Ebay. -- Heinz-Ulrich

"If you see something you want. . ."

The above photograph has been "borrowed" from the J. Press website. "I f you see something you want," advised my late mother, "buy it. It won't be there when you go back later." A favorite (and wise) adage hers that I still follow whenever possible. So when this item appeared on clearance at J. Press, I mulled it over for a couple of days, and then clicked the requisite boxes to make the online purchase. Should be here within the week. Once upon a time, I had a similar jacket by Corbin that I foolishly purged before we left Central Illinois ('Illi-noir' anyone?) for Michigan almost 10 years ago. Not sure what I was thinking at the time since I did like the item and wore it routinely. This one will be a bit nicer and help me make sartorial amends. At least to myself. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Classic Style

Search This Blog