Patrick Conley, host of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, started a recent interview by asking guest Nick Chalmers the type of music he typically listens to during Advent.
Chalmers, director of choirs at Chesterton Academy and director of music at Annunciation in Minneapolis, said he tries to listen to at least some Advent music during Advent. But selections “invariably bleed over into Christmas music as well,” he said.
“I have sort of go-to ensembles, so the King’s Singers or the Cambridge Singers, groups from across the pond,” he said, as well as local groups he got to know during his “formative listening years,” including Cantus and the Rose Ensemble. And “go-to larger works” including Handel’s “Messiah,” Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” and Charpentier’s “Midnight Mass for Christmas.”
His 6-year-old and 3-year-old children tend to favor “Jingle Bells” and “Here Comes Santa Claus” this time of year, Chalmers said. “And I’m happy to report that I’ve memorized the entirety of the ‘Polar Express’ soundtrack as well,” he said.
Chalmers recently joined Conley to discuss Christmas music. During the interview, Chalmers described and played about two minutes of each of two songs that might be considered lesser-known pieces of music.
One is “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,” a carol written in the Provence region of France near the end of the 17th century, and published in English about 25 years later, he said. The lyrics have to do with bringing a torch to the stable for the birth of Jesus, he said.
“This carol is very much a dance” conceived for French nobility, Chalmers said. It was later used by composer Marc-Antoine Charpantier as a drinking song, he said.
The other is “Sherburne,” composed by Daniel Read, who was born in in 1783, and is one of the first known American composers, Chalmers said. He described it as similar to “old tent revival music or Civil War-era music” sung with a “very bright, rustic, almost twangy … vocal approach by singers that are seemingly untrained,” he said. “The idea is that you’d get together with your family or your friends in what was called a ‘community sing.’”
To hear the full interview, which includes audio from “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella” and “Sherburne,” listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Dec. 23 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Dec. 24 and 2 p.m. Dec. 25.
To learn about an ensemble led by Chalmers as artistic director and tenor, called the Mirandola Ensemble, visit themirandolaensemble.org. Or visit the ensemble’s Facebook page.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Patrick Conley, host of “Practicing Catholic,” who shares a memorable experience from a Christmas midnight Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul in 2010; and a reprised interview with Allison Spies, archives program manager for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who shares some fun stories from past Christmases in the archdiocese.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
