Adeem Bingham just couldn’t abide the Aaron Lewis song “Am I the Only One.” The embittered tune, released in 2021, infamously name-checked Bruce Springsteen for being a disappointment to “real” Americans and moaned about the tearing down of Confederate monuments. Bingham, who performs as Adeem the Artist, wasn’t having it.
“It’s a terrible fuckin’ song,” Adeem, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, says. “I listened to it one time and it made me so angry.”
The Knoxville-based artist performed a parody version as a shit-stirring experiment, playing on the old-man-yells-at-cloud energy of the original. Fans urged them to record and release it on their next album, but Adeem had a better idea.
“I thought, what if I treated the guy that Aaron Lewis wrote that song for with respect and care and consideration and tried to imagine his actual perspective and tried to use my intuition to be sensitive to his view of things, and how he feels, and the reality of it?” they said.
The result was “My America,” an acoustic tune that appears on Adeem’s new album White Trash Revelry (one of Rolling Stone‘s best country albums of 2022) and imagines the difficulty of someone navigating a rapidly changing world. “Do the places I’ve found meaning still mean anything at all/Do the values I’ve upheld hold any value now?” they sing. It’s a powerful example of empathy for someone who may not hold the same beliefs as Adeem, a high-wire act of writing that closes out a landmark recording by one of Americana and country music’s most gifted songwriters.
It’s a mild November weeknightand we’re sitting in the coffee shop Frothy Monkey in East Nashville, trying to talk above a jarringly loud playlist of Johnny Cash, Elliott Smith, and Loretta Lynn. Adeem is wearing a denim jacket and scarf over a t-shirt with Dale Earnhardt’s image and the phrase “Today is a great day to kill god.” They’re attempting, with some degree of difficulty, to eat a slice of flourless chocolate cake while being interviewed.
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“This wasn’t a great idea,” they say, “but it’s a very good cake.”
Adeem spent the early portion of their life in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area before their family relocated to central New York. They returned to the South as an adult, landing in East Tennessee. Their 2020 album Cast Iron Pansexual brought wider attention, wrestling artfully with parts of Adeem’s identity — “I Never Came Out” cheekily references dalliances with men — and taking on Toby Keith’s jingoistic, working-class cosplay in “I Wish You Would’ve Been a Cowboy.”
It was the latter song that caught the attention of B.J. Barham, leader of American Aquarium, while he was on a long drive with his wife. Barham immediately offered Adeem slots opening for his band, where they were tasked with winning over an audience that may or may not have had a super firm grasp on the nuances of gender identity. Barham felt like the empathy of Adeem’s writing was enough to sway them.
“When you make [songs] human, when you make them not just, ‘I’m right, you’re wrong, fuck yourself,’ but when you talk about it from a very real human standpoint, that’s where you can cross those party lines,” Barham says. “When you address topics that you’re strong willed about, when you talk about them in a very human way, you can transcend them. [Jason] Isbell does that. Adeem eats, sleeps, and breathes that.”
Adeem disclosed their nonbinary identity in 2021, and later that year they created a GoFundMe campaign for a new album, taking the novel approach of asking for $1 in hopes that thousands would say, sure, why not. To Adeem’s surprise, it worked out and exceeded expectations. It even attracted the attention of celebrities like Vincent D’Onofrio, who helped spread the word.
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“We just had so many people show up. It was awesome,” they said. “It was like a little lightning bolt. People were bored on the internet and I had an idea.”
Adeem enlisted Kyle Crownover, whose day job is serving as Tyler Childers’ tour manager, to produce the album and then brought in a murderers’ row of guest musicians including Mya Byrne, Joy Clark, Jake Blount, Lizzie No, Jett Holden, and Zach Russell. As with Cast Iron Pansexual, the songs on White Trash Revelry tackle big topics of identity, faith, and the complex politics of the rural South, but they burrow even deeper than before, speaking with authority and vulnerability about the reality of those experiences.
“I felt kind of misunderstood as a kind of counterculturally presenting person in the South,” they say. “And living in the North and being perceived as a redneck. There was always that desire to understand the other.”
One of the most stunning examples of this is on the White Trash Revelry song “Middle of a Heart,” in which Adeem tracks the life of a young hunter who turns into a young soldier and ships off to war. He returns home haunted and falls deep into despair, choosing to take his life in one absolute gut-punch of a verse. It’s been compared, with good reason, to John Prine’s “Sam Stone” for highlighting the interior battles of veterans with PTSD.
“I sent them a text message: Just finished ‘Middle of a Heart.’ Fuck you,” Barham recalls of hearing the song for the first time.
Adeem nimbly shifts between writing from the perspectives of others and incorporating their own biography. “Painkillers & Magic” recalls a childhood of playing in the dirt at an aunt’s trailer, surrounded by assorted varieties of addiction, and praying in church for miracles that never come. “I watch with the eyes of a child as it happens/through the lens of these memories of white trash revelry,” they sing.
There’s a prevailing sense of solidarity with folks in the rural South (and the working class in general), and of how much more complicated the politics are than media outlets on the coasts make them out to be. “Books and Records” pictures people selling their most treasured possessions to make rent as prices and demands surge around them. The funky “Redneck, Unread Hicks” describes a place where pockets of progressive thought and queer fellowship are getting organized, all while “singing ‘Black Lives Matter’ to a Jimmie Rodgers melody.”
“These mutual aid groups [in Knoxville], it’s all fuckin’ hillbillies,” Adeem says. “It’s trailer park kids who’ve seen too many of their friends die of fentanyl overdoses, and they know no help is coming. With that song I really wanted to showcase how the social media meme of what it means to be a leftist activist and the reality of it is very different. Red-dirt shithead rednecks try to act like we’re carpetbaggers if we try to say things need to be handled differently in the South, but people on the coast do the same thing to us.”
Adeem also looks with clear eyes at the way white supremacy has been woven into the American experience from the outset in the revved-up country-rock tune “Heritage of Arrogance” and how that requires some unlearning of handed-down information. Using the lens of Adeem’s memories of Confederate flag-lined streets and all-white churches, on down to both-sides equivocation around the killings of Rodney King and Trayvon Martin, it’s a rousing call to break the cycle. Unlike other songs that have taken on the topic, “Heritage of Arrogance” doesn’t slot Adeem as being virtuous or above the problem. Instead, they’re figuring it out like the rest of us. “I’ve been learning our true history and I hate it,” they sing. “Wasn’t taught the world was so goddamn unjust/but it’s on us to make it right.”
“It’s so much harder to be like, ‘Listen, we as white people have been socialized to be racist,’” Adeem says. “That’s the reality of the situation in America. I’m dealing with it. You’re dealing with it. Everybody’s dealing with it. To me, removing the power from the word ‘racism’ gives us a lot more opportunity to address it and work through it.”
It’s not an easy process to go through, separating the truth from one’s generational beliefs. Mistakes are inevitable. Many people never even get started, though discomfort doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
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“I do have a lot of sympathy for folks on that side, because finding somebody who loves you enough to sit around through the tumultuous experience of coming out of that and shedding it and letting it go, it’s a lot. It’s a lot to navigate. It’s a lot to accept,” they say. “It’s like heaven and hell. Some people die old believing in heaven against all odds because they can’t accept that their grandpa is not there, or their wife. Do you want to take that from people? I don’t know.”
But, as Adeem so capably demonstrates again and again on White Trash Revelry, that’s where the empathy part matters the most.
There’s jazz and there’s JAZZ. Charles Mingus encompasses both. His basslines transcend the staff they’re nominally written in, the two dots in the clef mere symbols of where the music might begin. In 1972, Mingus had a lineup arguably as formidable as any other group of musicians he ascended the stage with. A young Jon Faddis on trumpet, a seasoned Charles McPherson who had played alto sax on and off with Mingus since 1960, an even older Bobby Jones on tenor sax and clarinet, John Foster on piano and veteran percussionist Roy Brooks on drums and musical saw. Yes. Musical saw. That ensemble recorded two nights at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London on August 14th and 15th, 1972. Those recordings were finally released earlier this year; 2022 being the centenary of Mingus’ birth. It is an understatement to say the music here approaches some of his best work. As most who appreciate jazz know, live performances are where the music truly soars. That statement is not meant to diminish studio work with its overdubs and mixing best takes. Nor is it meant to diminish other forms of music like blues or rock. It’s just a statement of fact. Improvisation tends to achieve its greatest synchronicity when musicians are called on to create in front of an audience, especially one already engrossed by the potential in the performance they are about to be a part of. The music on this set of discs illustrates that statement completely. More than that (if such a thing is possible) are Mingus’ sentiments commenting on Black oppression and Black celebration, reflected in his composition nominally about Arkansas governor Orval Faubus of Little Rock Nine infamy “Fable of Faubus” and the tribute to Louis Armstrong titled “Pops” that follows.
In 1976, Patti Smith and her group played three shows in Washington, DC. The first two were at the cozy club on Georgetown’s M Street called the Cellar Door. It seated less than two hundred. Consequently, most of the seats for those shows went to people in the know–reviewers, DJs, industry folks and a couple lucky fans and hangers–on. The shows were also broadcast on the syndicated King Biscuit Radio Hour. Later that year, Smith and her band played at Georgetown University’s McDonough Arena. The latter venue was essentially a basketball court. Bleachers lined the sides, the floors were made of wood and on hot days it smelled like a gym locker room. It was a perfect place to see down and dirty and raw rock and roll. In 1976, the Patti Smith Group played that kind of music. I went to the Georgetown concert with a friend of mine. The opener was a newish group called Bebop Deluxe. To say the least, the pairing was interesting. Most attendees were there to see Patti and her guys. By the midpoint of their set, there were only a handful of folks sitting down. Everyone else was on their feet, shaking their bones and sweating in the overheated gymnasium. Patti’s oversize t-shirt hung off her slender frame, dripping with sweat. So did mine. When the band kicked into the song “Horses”, the crowd sang along on the refrain “Horses, horses, horses….” Lenny Kaye’s guitar crescendoed up, up, up with the vocals of the crowd and Smith jumped like a frenzied wildcat, her fist pumping the air in a challenge to the gods.
Anyhow, a recording was recently released of the two Cellar Door shows. The energy of the McDonough Arena show is present and barely contained. My guess is this is because of the cramped space the Cellar Door must surely have been that night. This is Patti Smith and her band near its garage band best, wedding three-chord rock with poetry, physical energy and just enough sarcasm (in the best tradition of Bob Dylan) directed at the industry representatives and their money and overpriced haircuts. In other words, it is rock music in the 1970s, with all its contradictions, energy, despair and delight. Punk and poetry. Desire and dollar bills.
When I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s and 1980s there were two harmonica players I used to catch as often as I could. The first was Will Scarlett, perhaps best known for his work with the rock blues combo known as Hot Tuna. I would catch him in bars around town, sitting in with various bands. He also played at free concerts in Berkeley’s People’s Park–when the police didn’t shut them down.
The other harpist was the bluesman Charlie Musselwhite, who has played with everyone from Howlin’ Wolf to John Hammond. Musselwhite moved to the Bay Area in the mid-1960s after his influential Vanguard release Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s South Side Band gave him some well-deserved notice. He quickly became a popular sideman in the burgeoning San Francisco music scene and a friend of the accompanying counterculture. One particular performance I remember that featured Musselwhite was at a campaign fundraiser for Gus Newport, a CPUSA member running for re-election as Berkeley’s mayor. I don’t remember who was in his band, but I do remember his harp playing.
In the spring of 2021, Musselwhite and a group calling themselves the New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers released their second disc, titled Volume 2. The group includes Cody and Luther Dickinson and Chris Chew of the North Mississippi All Stars, plus the (now deceased) Jim Dickinson on piano, Alvin Hart Youngblood, Squirrel Nut Zippers ‘ Jimbo Mathus, and washtub bassist Paul Taylor. According to various sources, the name came from something Luther Dickinson said while Musselwhite and he were on tour. The music is the product of a few days of playing and jamming in 2007. Although Jim Dickinson had finished the production work before his death in 2009, the tapes were left in storage. After some studio work in the early months of the COVID shutdown, Volume 1 was released in 2020, with volume 2 following.
The music here is the blues. Some of the songs are rock tunes with a blues take, while others are straight-out blues. From the frolicking “She’s About a Mover” to “Greens and Ham” and a half dozen or so more, the tunes lure the listener in and don’t let go. Simultaneously casual and polished, the music is the proof of these folks’ abilities, talents and years of playing. Although every song here gets my feet tapping, my tongue singing and my soul stirring, the one that sticks with me the most is actually a reworking of jazz composer Charles Mingus’ “Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me.”
It’s almost Christmas. You’re practically out of time to order the perfect present and still have it arrive by Dec. 25. If you’ve been scrolling through Amazon’s best holiday deals, you might be wondering: what’s the last day you can order at Amazon for Christmas?
There’s a shipping deadline approaching. If you want your gifts to come on time, we recommend ordering them from Amazon as soon as possible. But if you’re leaving your gifting decisions to the last minute, keep reading to discover the last day you can order at Amazon for Christmas.
What’s the last day you can order at Amazon for Christmas?
The last day you can order at Amazon for Christmas is Dec. 22. Amazon has free two-day shipping, but nothing is guaranteed. Shipping delays happen! Especially the closer we get to Christmas. We’d recommend ordering your holiday presents as soon as possible.
Amazon Prime members may be able to order later
Amazon Prime members may be able to order gifts on Amazon as late as Dec. 23 or even Dec. 24 with same-day shipping. However, your options are likely to be much more limited the longer you wait. Non-Prime members can pay for expedited and same-day shipping on most items for an added fee.
Join Amazon Prime for $15 a month or $140 annually
The best holiday deals at Amazon
Christmas is less than two weeks away. Do you have gifts for everyone on your list yet? Don’t worry, there are still plenty of deals that you can get at Amazon ahead of the holidays. The major retailer has deals on iRobot robot vacuums, Apple AirPods Pro, top-rated kitchen gadgets and more. We even found deals on gift cards, perfect for gifting friends and loved ones this Hanukkah and Christmas.
Read on for our favorite deal picks at Amazon’s sale, or tap the button below to see all the deals.
Reload $100 on an Amazon gift card, get a $12 Amazon credit
Amazon gift cards make great stocking stuffers. Amazon is offering a $12 credit when you reload an Amazon gift card with $100 or more for the first time. Find out if you’re eligible below.
Amazon gift card reload deal: Reload $100, get a $12 credit
The latest Apple AirPods Pro 2 earbuds have an upgraded wireless chip for improved audio functionality, a new low distortion driver for clearer audio and improved active noise cancelation. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 provide truly custom sound: You can use your iPhone’s camera to analyze your unique ear anatomy and find the perfect audio settings for you.
The design of the AirPods Pro 2 is fairly similar to the previous generation, but Apple has introduced touch control to the AirPods Pro 2 to help users more seamlessly control their AirPods.
Get the second generation Apple AirPods Pro (2022) for their best-ever price at Amazon now.
Apple AirPods Pro 2, $229 (reduced from $249)
Looking to save even more money? You can get a big discount on the second generation of Apple AirPods at Amazon, too.
Apple AirPods (second generation), $115 (reduced from $159)
These JBL earbuds feature advanced noise-canceling technology for a solid price. They offer a 40-hour battery life without noise-canceling or 32 hours of battery life with noise-canceling engaged. The earbuds are water-resistant and sweat-proof.
CBS Essentials writer Kaylyn McKenna bought these during Amazon Prime Day 2022. “I think that these earbuds do an excellent job with both the active noise canceling and ambient noise cancelling features. They connect really easily and offer a long battery life, plus the sound quality is about the same as AirPods.”
These JBL earbuds are on sale at Amazon for half off. They’re a great AirPod alternative if you want all of the features of the AirPod Pros at a price far lower than the least expensive Apple AirPods.
JBL Tune 130NC noise-canceling wireless earbuds, $50 (reduced from $100)
The super-thin and light Oasis has the most features of any of the current Kindle models. It has a larger screen, auto-adjusting light sensors, page-turn buttons and an automatic, rotating page orientation. Unlike the Paperwhite, it’s made of glass and aluminum. The Kindle Oasis is waterproof, too, making it the perfect e-reader for the poolside or beach reading.
The bundle includes a Kindle Oasis, a leather cover and a power adapter. It comes in 8 GB and 32 GB storage options.
Kindle Oasis essentials bundle (8 GB), $234 (reduced from $320)
Kindle Oasis essentials bundle (32 GB), $259 (reduced from $350)
Save $15 right now on Amazon on this pack of 44 Crest Whitestrips teeth-whitening strips — that’s 22 treatments in total. Crest promises its strips will get your teeth significantly whiter in just 20 days. Plus, they’re billed as being safe on enamel. Rated 4.6 stars at Amazon.
Crest 3D Whitestrips teeth whitening kit, $30 (reduced from $45)
This mini coffee device is a great option for small spaces.
The five-inch-wide Keurig coffee maker lets you brew up to 12 ounces of coffee, hot chocolate, tea and more. It offers an energy-efficient feature that automatically turns the coffee maker off 90 seconds after you’ve brewed your cup.
The iRobot Roomba j7+ is designed with the issue of dog poop in mind. This smart vacuum includes iRobot’s P.O.O.P., or “Pet Owner Official Promise,” guarantee. Your Roomba j7+ is guaranteed to avoid pet waste, or iRobot will replace your vacuum for free.
The vacuum features a powerful, three-stage cleaning system with iRobot’s most powerful suction. The home-cleaning device uses an edge-sweeping brush to get into corners. The Roomba j7+ features dual multi-surface rubber brushes that flex to adjust to different floor types. Best of all, they don’t get tangled with pet hair.
When it’s done cleaning, the device automatically empties into its included clean base for easy dirt disposal with enclosed bags. Just empty the cleaning station once every 60 days.
iRobot Roomba j7+ robot vacuum, $599 (reduced from $800)
The iRobot Roomba j7 is a bit more affordable and also offers the P.O.O.P. promise. (A cleaning station is not included.)
iRobot Roomba j7 robot vacuum, $399 (reduced from $650)
iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO robot vacuum with automatic dirt disposal: $399
The iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO uses “Imprint Smart Mapping” technology to map your home. Use your connected phone to direct the Wi-Fi-enabled robot vacuum to clean any room you want. You can even schedule a future clean. This Roomba is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The smart appliance learns your cleaning habits, and can suggest extra cleanings during peak pollen and pet-shedding seasons. And don’t even worry about dumping out your dustbin. The Roomba i3+ EVO features iRobot’s “Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal” system, and empties your accumulated dirt into an enclosed bag.
iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO robot vacuum with automatic dirt disposal, $399 (reduced from $599)
You can also get the iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO robot vacuum bundled with the Braava Jet M6 for $648.
iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO plus Braava Jet M6, $649 (reduced from $900)
The Roomba 694 is Wi-Fi-enabled. Control the vac with your connected smartphone or device via the iRobot Home app. The Roomba 694 has a 90-minute run time before it automatically docks and recharges.
“We have two dogs, one that sheds moderately,” a customer says. “I purchased in hopes that it at least would help between regular vacuuming. I vacuumed first with my Dyson then set it free. When it was done with the job, I didn’t expect much in the dust trap… I was wrong! It was full! Super impressed.”
iRobot Roomba 694 robot vacuum, $179 (reduced from $274)
The fifth-generation Amazon Echo Dot has a number of new-for-2022 features, including improved audio, a temperature sensor and Eero Wi-Fi built in (requires a compatible Eero network).
Use this Amazon smart speaker to control your home via voice commands, make calls hands-free, play music, set an alarm and more. Choose from three colors.
“Very cool and speaker sound is superb,” wrote an Amazon customer. “The speaker sound is tremendous!”
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen), $28 (regularly $50)
Blink Mini smart home security camera (2 pack): $30
Start or expand your smart home security setup with a two-pack of Blink Mini cameras. They’re on sale at Amazon for less than half price when you buy a bundle of two. (You’ll get an even better price per camera if you buy three.)
The Blink Mini smart home security camera features 1080p video recording (cloud-based saving optional), motion detection and two-way audio. Blink Mini works with Alexa, so you can monitor your cameras from your Amazon Echo Show ($85) via voice command.
Blink Mini smart home security camera (2 pack), $30 (reduced from $65)
The Blink Outdoor is a water-resistant security camera designed to monitor the outside of your home. It features two-way audio, motion detection and a live video stream. It is battery-operated and has a two-year battery life.
Like the Blink Indoor camera, the outdoor offering also comes in a variety of multi-packs and bundles.
Blink Outdoor camera kit (1 pc.), $70 (reduced from $100)
Blink Outdoor camera kit (3 pc.), $150 (reduced from $250)
The Garmin Vivoactive 4 with a 45mm case is 45 percent off right now at Amazon. This Garmin smartwatch uses Garmin’s Pulse Ox technology to track your energy levels, respiration, menstrual cycle, stress, sleep, heart rate, hydration levels and more. It can stream downloaded music from Spotify and Amazon Music. When paired with your smartphone, the watch can receive incoming notifications.
This Garmin smartwatch features more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor-sports apps. Want a personal trainer on your wrist? This watch can show you animated workouts via your watch screen.
Available in a variety of colors.
Garmin Vivoactive 4 (black), $176 (reduced from $330)
If you’ve never had sous vide cooked meat and vegetables, well — you’re missing out. The 12.8-inch Anova Nano sous vide precision cooker circulates heated water at exact temperatures to cook foods to perfection. Rated 4.7 stars on Amazon.
Anova Nano sous vide precision cooker, $99 (reduced from $149)
Ring Alarm 8-piece kit with Ring Indoor Cam and Echo Show 5: $300
This Ring Alarm set brings together three components: Amazon’s video-capturing Echo Show 5, the Ring Indoor Cam and an eight-piece Ring Alarm system featuring a Ring Alarm keypad, a base station, a motion detector, a range extender and four contact sensors. The bundle is rated 4.7 stars (out of five) by Amazon users.
As with other Ring DIY home-security systems, other (sold-separately) pieces can be added as your needs change or grow. And, yup, because of the Amazon-Ring connection, the Ring Alarm system works with Alexa (as do the Ring Indoor Cam and Echo Show 5, natch).
Ring Alarm 8-piece kit with Ring Indoor Cam and Echo Show 5, $300 (reduced from $385)
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra features a 6.8-inch screen, compared with the standard S22’s 6.1-inch screen. It also offers a 40MP front camera, compared with the standard 10MP front camera, for better selfies. The back camera is also enhanced with a better wide-angle camera and stronger zoom functionality.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (128 GB), $879 (reduced from $1,200)
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (512GB), $1,131 (reduced from $1,400)
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 offers enhanced charging support, an upgraded processor chip and some notable camera upgrades. It also includes aesthetic improvements such as a slimmer design and a new Bespoke edition.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 includes two rear cameras — a 12-megapixel primary camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide. The rear cameras convert to front-facing selfie cameras with a flip of the phone. The Galaxy Flip 4’s Flexcam camera captures vivid photos at a wide range angles. It also offers a mode to capture better photos at night.
The smartphone features a 6.7-inch foldable display screen with Gorilla Glass Victus Plus. This upgraded Gorilla Glass offers improved scratch resistance and durability. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 supports 25 W wired charging and features 15 W wireless charging support, another upgrade from the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 (256 GB), $960 (reduced from $1,100)
The Ring video doorbell bundle boasts a 1080p HD outdoor camera with enhanced features that let you see, hear and speak to anyone from your phone, tablet or PC.
Receive mobile notifications when anyone presses your doorbell or triggers your built-in motion sensors.
Ring Video Doorbell bundle with Echo Show 5, $70 (reduced from $185)
65″ LG OLED B1 Series Alexa built-in 4K smart TV: $1,729
This 4K smart TV with Alexa built in has a 65-inch OLED display. The LG TV adjusts your viewing and audio settings automatically to provide the best viewing experience, no matter what you are watching. It is also a popular choice for gaming due to its 120 Hz refresh rate and gaming mode feature.
65″ LG OLED B1 Series Alexa built-in 4K smart TV, $1,729 (regularly $2,297)
This is one of the best deals you’re going to be able to find on a MacBook. Right now on Amazon, the 2020 MacBook Air with the M1 chip is only $800. This lightweight MacBook features Retina display, an impressive 18-hour battery life and fast performance. There is a 2022 edition out, so this is a slightly older model — however, it is unbeatable deal for a new MacBook.
Introduced in 2022, the 10.9-inch Apple iPad Air 5 is the latest in the lightweight iPad Air line. The iPad Air 5 offers performance up to 60 percent faster than the prior model, thanks to Apple’s turbo-charged M1 chip. The device boasts a 12 MP wide-angle back camera that supports 4K video. It also offers touch ID, and Apple’s Liquid Retina display.
Available in five colors; prices vary.
Apple iPad Air 5 (64 GB) (pink), $500 (reduced from $599)
Apple’s high-end tablet, the iPad Pro, features a Liquid Retina XDR display, a pro camera system (12 MP wide; 10 MP ultrawide) and a Thunderbolt port for lightning-speed data transfers. Looking for a traditional laptop experience? It’s compatible with Apple’s Magic Keyboard.
The latest iPad Pro comes with several major upgrades. One of the most notable changes is that the 2022 iPad Pros are equipped with the M2 chip, the same fast and powerful chip included in the latest MacBooks. The M2 chip makes this the fastest iPad yet — and an excellent choice for video editing, streaming or gaming.
11″ Apple iPad Pro 4th generation (WiFi, 128 GB), $749 (regularly $799)
If you’re already used to a certain interface, switching can be tough, especially if you’re not particularly tech-savvy. Fans of the super-simple Roku platform will enjoy this TCL model with a built-in Roku system. Plus, the picture quality of this 6-Series model is stunning for the money.
55″ TCL QLED Roku 5-Series with 4K resolution, $948 (reduced from $1,500)
Save over 50% on artificial trees, wreaths and more Christmas decorations
Take advantage of the following deals on National Tree Company artificial wreaths, centerpieces and Christmas trees. All are rated four stars or higher, and all are discounted at Amazon now.
This Baggallini backpack makes a great gift for a busy student or working professional that wants a stylish way to take their laptop and supplies on the go. It also features a luggage handle to easily attache to rolling suitcases, making it a great gift for travel enthusiasts as well.
This TV offers great picture quality at an affordable price. It includes Dolby Vision HDR and quantum dot Wide color gamut technology for accurate color and clear picture quality. Amazon Fire TV is built-in to the Hisense fire TV, so you can easily access all of your favorite programs from Paramount+, Hulu and more.
Hisense U6 series 4K fire TV, $359 (reduced from $530)
Can’t decide between Keurig and Nespresso? Instant Pot makes a dual coffee and espresso maker, the 4.4-star-rated Instant Pot Dual Pod Plus.
This kitchen gadget is compatible with K-Cup pods, Nespresso capsules and ground coffee when used with the included reusable pod. It lets you brew up to 12 ounces of coffee and up to six ounces of espresso at a time.
Instant Pot Dual Pod Plus, $150 (regularly $230)
KitchenAid Artisan series 5-quart stand mixer with pouring shield: $350
The KitchenAid Artisan series 5-quart mixer features a 10 speed slide control.
The kitchen device comes with a flat beater, dough hook and wire whip attachments. If “aqua sky” isn’t your color, this stand mixer is available in a wide variety of shades.
KitchenAid Artisan series 5-quart stand mixer with pouring shield, $350 (regularly $460)
The professional-grade Vitamix 5200 blender has a dial that can be rotated at any point during the blend to achieve the texture you want. Its blades move so fast that you can make hot soup out of cold ingredients, right in the blender.
The Vitamix 5200 blender comes with a tamper (a tool that lets you manually move ingredients in the blender) to help with thick blends.
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for pet owners? Check out the Furbo dog camera.
This camera can help you stay connected with your pets while you’re away from home. It features two-way audio and wide-angle video. The best part? You can use the Furbo app to toss your dog treats. You can even create a custom voice recording to play when the Furbo dispenses treats for your pet.
The app also sends you alerts when your furry friend is running, barking, moving around or appears to be throwing up. You can always stay up-to-date on what your pet is up to while you’re gone with the Furbo. You even also get a cute video diary of your pet’s day at the end of the day.
The Amazon Fire TV offers a 4K experience with support for Dolby Vision, HDR 10 and HLG. This smart TV is a must-have for Alexa owners. You can go entirely remote free and ask Alexa to play live TV, stream your favorite TV shows and movies, check sports scores, set timers and reminders, start video calls and more.
The Amazon Fire TV Omni series gives you access to over 1 million movies and TV episodes, plus the streaming platforms you subscribe to. Want to broadcast whatever’s on your phone right into your living room? Use the TV’s Airplay function to share videos, photos and music from your compatible smart devices to your Fire TV.
The Amazon Fire TV Omni series is available in multiple sizes. Prices vary.
65″ Amazon Fire TV Omni series 4K smart TV, $720 (reduced from $830)
Check in on your pets while you’re at work or out to dinner with the Petcube pet camera. The Petcube streams and records in 1080p video, while providing sound and motion alerts.
If it records anything suspicious or concerning, pet parents can access 24/7 live chat with a veterinarian via the Petcube app.
Petcube pet monitoring camera, $30 (reduced from $50)
These comfy winter boots make a great holiday gift. They’re made with a cozy wool blend lining and wool blend footbed to keep your feet warm during the winter/
Pricing varies by size and color.
Bearpaw Skye winter boot, $49 and up (reduced from $70)
L’or barista system coffee and espresso maker: $139
This espresso machine and coffee maker combo is a great gift for the coffee lovers in your life — and you can get it for $50 off right now on Amazon. The barista system offers an at-home French café experience with 6 different brewing sizes.
L’or barista system coffee and espresso maker, $139 after coupon (reduced from $189)
Best Walmart deals on popular holiday gifts
If you’re finishing up your Christmas of Hanukkah shopping and looking for a great deal at Walmart, start here. The retailer is offering deep discounts on a variety of most-wanted holiday gifts, including Apple Watches, Samsung tablets, HP Chromebooks and more.
Looking for the perfect budget TV for the holidays? Head over to Walmart — the retailer has restocked a number of its bestselling budget Roku smart TVs. No matter what size or resolution you need, there’s a deal for you.
Here’s a list of the best Roku TV deals at Walmart. As of publication, all these deals are still available.
24″ Onn Roku 720p HDTV, $88 (reduced from $138)
32″ Onn Roku 720p HDTV, $108 (reduced from $144)
32″ TCL Roku 3-Series 720p HDTV, $118 (reduced from $148)
32″ TCL Roku 3-Series 1080p HDTV, $148 (reduced from $250)
42″ Onn Roku 1080p HDTV, $158 (reduced from $248)
43″ Hisense Roku 720p HDTV, $198 (reduced from $249)
50″ Onn Roku 4K UHDTV, $238 (reduced from $268)
50″ TCL Roku 4-Series 4K UHDTV, $248
55″ TCL Roku 4-Series 4K UHDTV, $278
58″ Hisense Roku 4K UHDTV, $298 (reduced from $338)
65″ TCL Roku 4-Series 4K UHDTV, $378
55″ Elements Roku 4K outdoor TV, $998 (reduced from $1,298)
If you’re trying to get a PlayStation 5 console, head over to the Walmart website now — the console has been going in and out of stock over the past week. You can use the links below to head straight to the PS5 listings at Walmart and see if you can get lucky and find one.
PlayStation 5 God of War Ragnarok bundle, $559
Playstation 5 God of War Ragnarok bundle (Digital Edition), $669
The Xbox Series X boasts 4K resolution at 120 Hz, 3D spatial sound, 1 TB of blazing fast storage (and fast load times). It’s backwards compatible with thousands of Xbox games — even your old Xbox 360 and Xbox games.
The Apple Watch Series 8 is a durable smartwatch that is swim-proof, dust-proof and crack-resistant. It also comes with a new crash detection feature, which detects when the wearer is in a severe car crash and alerts emergency services of their location.
The Apple Watch 8 has a number of health-tracking features, including an optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor for ECG, blood oxygen sensor and a new body temperature sensor. You can also tap into yoga, meditation and other workout programs via Apple Fitness+. (Apple Fitness+ is a subscription service. It costs $9.99 a month; Apple Watch buyers get the first month free.)
Apple Watch 8 (41mm) (GPS), $349 (reduced from $399)
It’s pretty rare to find a robot vacuum for less than $100 — never mind a top-rated, voice-activated one like the Anker Eufy 25c robot vacuum. Head over to the Walmart now to get yours now for less than half its usual price.
The Anker Eufy 25c robot vacuum doesn’t skimp on features — it connects to your home Wi-Fi and can be controlled through an app or through your home’s smart speaker. It has 1,500 Pa of suction, three-layer filtration and a slim profile that helps it get under furniture to clean. It’s rated 4.4 stars at Walmart.
Anker Eufy 25c robot vacuum, $96 (reduced from $249)
This 4.6-star-rated television features 4K upscaling with Dolby Vision HDR, 32 active dimming zones, pixel-level brightness adjustment, and a gaming mode designed to reduce lag. Includes a voice remote.
We’ve seen most Walmart TV deals sell out really fast this season, so if you’re interested in scoring a top-rated Vizio television at a big discount, you’ll want to act now.
The Wyze robot vacuum, now less than half price at Walmart, features LIDAR navigation. The sensor on top of the vacuum maps your home, so you can create no-go zones on the accompanying app and have more control over cleanings. It’s able to handle height gaps of up to 0.8 inches, so it can easily transition between carpets and hardwood floors.
The Wyze robot vacuum has 2,100 Pa of suction and a 4.4-star rating at Walmart.
This adorable Fujifilm Instax bundle is just $49 right now at Walmart.
The on-sale bundle includes a mini instant camera and a 10-pack of Instax film. Choose from six colors.
“This camera has been pretty fun to use,” wrote a Walmart customer. “It came with everything you need to get started: camera, batteries, film, and wrist strap. This would be fun for kids, teens, and adults!”
Fujifilm Instax Mini 7+ bundle, $49 (regularly $67)
This 72-ounce countertop blender boasts a 4.6-star rating on Walmart. It features a 1,000-watt power base with ice crushing technology, making it perfect for smoothies. It comes with a recipe guide with 25 chef-inspired recipes.
Get the Ninja professional blender now for 50 percent off right now.
Ninja professional blender, $50 (reduced from $100)
The Hoover Power Dash pet carpet cleaner features a dual-tank water system, fast heated drying and a removable nozzle. Includes a power spin brush roll and two cleaning solution pods to get you started.
Hoover Power Dash pet carpet cleaner, $69 (reduced from $119)
The latest Apple AirPods Pro 2 earbuds have an upgraded wireless chip for improved audio functionality, a new low distortion driver for clearer audio, touch controls and improved active noise cancellation. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 provide truly custom sound: You can use your iPhone’s camera to analyze your unique ear anatomy and find the perfect audio settings for you.
Get the 4.4-star-rated second generation Apple AirPods Pro (2022) for their best-ever price at Walmart now.
The Apple Watch SE, the most affordable model in the Apple Watch lineup, is even more affordable now with this deal at Walmart. The smartwatch offers a 40mm screen and boasts a wide range of health and fitness features. It can also be used to play music, check your tests and make calls when paired with your iPhone.
Apple Watch SE GPS (1st generation), $199 (reduced from $279)
The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic comes in just two (classic) colors: black and silver. You can customize the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic with a sold-separately Samsung band of your choice. You’ll save up to $200 at Walmart now with this holiday deal.
Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (42mm), $199 (reduced from $350)
Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (46mm), $299 (reduced from $460)
The wireless Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset features a powerful processor, 3D positional audio, hand tracking and haptic (vibrational) feedback — all designed to immerse you in games like never before. This bundle includes Beat Saber and Resident Evil 4 VR.
Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset bundle (128 GB), $349
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 Max wireless headset: $80
This wireless gaming headset by Turtle Beach — compatible with the Sony PS4 and PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC — features 48 hours of battery life, a flip-to-mute mic, a low-latency wireless connection, and support for the Sony PlayStation 5’s 3D spatial audio. Save $50 at Walmart now.
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 headset, $80 (reduced from $130)
This Lenovo Ideapad 1i has a 14-inch FHD display and Intel Celeron processor. It runs n the Windows 11 operating system. This affordable laptop is a great fit for students, professionals or anyone looking for a solid laptop to surf the web or watch Netflix on.
A personal blender can make a great holiday gift. Or you can treat yourself to this Magic Bullet personal blender to get a head start on your 2023 health goals. Either way, it’s currently an unbeatable deal at only $20.
This personal blender lets you blend, mix, and chop your favorite smoothie ingredients or food items in seconds. The blender comes with a 16 oz tall cup, a short cup, a party mug, two resealable lids, a to-go lid and a recipe guide.
Magic Bullet personal blender, $20 (reduced from $35)
20-piece Beautiful by Drew Barrymore cookware set: $119
The 20-piece Beautiful cookware set with a ceramic non-stick coating is oven safe to 500ºF and compatible with induction cooktops. It includes an 8-inch fry pan, 10-inch fry pan, 3-quart sauté pan, 3-quart saucepan, 2-quart saucepan, 5-quart Dutch oven and steamer insert, five cooking utensils and four cookware protectors.
The set is available in four aesthetically pleasing colors, all with gold handles. Dishwasher safe but hand wash recommended. Rated 4.9 stars at Walmart.
This Vitamix 6500 blender features three pre-programmed blending modes for smoothies, soup and frozen desserts. The kitchen gadget features a 64-ounce container and sturdy, aircraft-grade, stainless steel blades. It also offers variable speed control so that you can fine-tune the speed to fit each recipe as well as your own texture preferences.
This IP55 weatherproof TV with HDR10 is designed for outdoor use in all seasons — it works in temperatures from -4ºF to 104ºF. It features a tempered, anti-glare screen that’s bright enough for use in partial sun.
55″ Elements Roku 4K outdoor TV, $998 (reduced from $1,298)
Lego Disney ‘Encanto’ the Madrigal house building kit: $40
Build the Madrigal house from “Encanto” with 587 Lego pieces. It’s a three-level house that comes with a sticker sheet for decorating. It comes with two mini-doll figures and one micro-doll figure (of Abuela, Mirabel and Antonio), as well as capybara and butterfly figures.
Lego Disney “Encanto” the Madrigal house building kit, $40 (reduced from $50)
Jetson Bolt folding electric ride-on with twist throttle: $298
Why not put an electric bike under the tree this Christmas? This folding electric bike goes up to 16 miles per hour and runs for up to 15 miles on a rechargeable battery. It has twist throttle and cruise control settings. It also has a bright LED light for riding in the dark. This bike is recommended for ages 13 and up.
Jetson Bolt folding electric ride-on with twist throttle, $298 (regularly $389)
Looking to get in better shape for the holidays, or get a head start on your New Year’s resolution? Walmart is offering quite the deal on FitRx SmartBell adjustable dumbbells. Originally $200, you can get one for $89 now at Walmart.
The 4.4-star-rated FitRx SmartBell adjustable dumbbell can be adjusted from 5 to 52.5 pounds in 2.5-pound increments. An anti-slip handle and safety lock keep plates in place during your workout. Comes with a storage rack.
At this price, why not pick up a set of two?
FitRx SmartBell adjustable dumbbells, $94 (reduced from $200)
Cricut Explore Air 2 Daybreak machine bundle: $169
The Cricut Explore Air 2 is a true workhorse. It cuts up to 100 materials quickly and precisely, using commercial-grade technology to control the direction of its blade and the cutting pressure to match different materials. This bundle includes 40 vinyl sheets and several helpful tools to use while crafting with the Cricut.
Cricut Explore Air 2 Daybreak machine bundle, $169 (reduced from $199)
Here’s your opportunity to put a brand new gaming console under the Christmas tree and save money while doing it: You can get a the all-digital Xbox Series S Holiday Edition console for $249 at Walmart now. Tap the link below to score the deal while you can. (Hurry — it won’t last.)
Xbox Series S Holiday Edition console (512 GB), $240 (reduced from $299)
CBS Essentials readers can’t get enough of ‘The Pioneer Woman’ kitchenware — it seems to be the perfect combination of style, performance and value. This 4.7-star-rated stainless steel knife block set includes an eight-inch chef knife, an eight-inch bread knife, a 6.5-inch Nakiri knife, five-inch utility knife, 3.5-inch paring knife, four 4.5-inch steak knives, a pair of shears and an acacia block.
Available in four colors.
The Pioneer Woman 11-piece knife set, $40 (reduced from $49)
The Pioneer Woman live poinsettia in 6″ mug planter: $32
This holiday-themed mug planter featuring Charlie the basset hound comes with a real, live dark pink poinsettia with at least five blooms. The low-maintenance plant makes a great decoration for you home — and a great gift to bring for holiday hosts.
The Pioneer Woman live poinsettia in 6″ mug planter: $32 (reduced from $40)
The set includes 18-inch luggage with an easy-carry retractable handle and zippered storage compartment, plus a 10-inch plush backpack with adjustable shoulder straps. You can choose between four different characters and luggage designs: Cameron Cat, Fifi Fox (shown), Lola Unicorn and Winston Owl.
Squishmallows luggage and backpack set, $27 (reduced $38)
Here’s a holiday deal fans of “Stranger Things” won’t want to miss — Walmart is offering the Google Chromecast bundled with a “Stranger Things” Funko Pop! figure of Eleven for just $50. Google Chromecast supports streaming in 4K resolution and features a voice remote.
Google Chromecast “Stranger Things” bundle, $50 (a $62 value)
Walmart is rolling back the price of the Apple iPad Air 5 for the holidays.
Introduced in 2022, the 10.9-inch Apple iPad Air 5 is the latest in the lightweight iPad Air line. The iPad Air 5 offers performance up to 60% faster than the prior model, thanks to Apple’s turbo-charged M1 chip. The device boasts a 12 MP wide-angle back camera that supports 4K video. It also offers touch ID, and Apple’s Liquid Retina display.
If you’re looking for an affordable tablet this holiday season, check out the Lenovo Tab M8. The tablet offers an eight-inch HD display that’s great for streaming videos. The battery life is fairly long, with up to 15 hours of video playback on a single charge. The tablet also comes with a built-in kids-mode with Google Kids Space, making it a great gift for children.
Just about anyone will love these budget-minded Apple AirPods. They’re not the latest model, but they’re still one of the most sought-after earbud models on the market.
Retailing for $159 at Apple, they’re on sale at Walmart this week for $79. These AirPods boast more than 24 hours total listening time (with the wireless charging case), a foolproof, one-tap setup for Apple device owners and a low-latency wireless connection (for full immersion when consuming movies and music).
Apple AirPods (2nd generation), $120 (reduced from $159)
This 4.0-star-rated Dyson vacuum is great for households with pets — and humans with long hair. According to Dyson, its “detangling Motorbar cleaner head deep cleans carpets and hard floors with hair removal vanes that clear long hair and pet hair from the brush bar.” It also has a hair screw tool with a conical brush bar that’s great for cleaning upholstery and pet beds. Its whole-machine filtration captures pet allergens and fine dust. And if that isn’t enough, it also transforms into a handheld vacuum.
Dyson V10 Animal cordless vacuum cleaner, $450 (reduced from $550)
This Ninja kitchen system has everything you need for smoothies, dressings, dips and more. The 72-ounce blender pitcher features Ninja’s total crushing technology to easily blend ice and frozen foods. The system comes with two 16-ounce Nutri Ninja cups. The cups come with to-go lids.
The system includes a food processor equipped with a chopping blade, and an extra dough blade that Ninja says can mix up to two pounds of dough in 30 seconds.
This 7-in-1 air fryer has 7 one-touch cooking functions, including air fry, bake, rotisserie and dehydrate. It has a touchscreen and a preheat option and cooking timer. You can even cook two different foods using different functions at once thanks to the air fryer’s dual-basket design.
Right now, you can get this 4.9-star-rated air fryer for only $60 during Walmart’s Black Friday sale.
This Wi-Fi-compatible robot vacuum can be controlled by your smartphone or voice assistant.
This slim robot vacuum’s powerful 200 Pa suction operates quietly, at about the same volume as a working microwave. It automatically increases suction when extra vacuuming is needed and features an infrared sensor for evading obstacles and drop-sensing tech to avoid falls.
Eufy by Anker RoboVac G32 Pro, $98 (regularly $300)
Looking for a more traditional Bissell upright vacuum, one that’s ideal for trapping pet dander and other allergens? Walmart is currently offering a great deal on this multi-surface wet dry vac. The Bissell CrossWave Pet features a tangle-free pet brush roll and a pet hair strainer that keeps all that shed fur from clogging up your machine.
Bissell CrossWave Pet wet dry vacuum, $199 (reduced from $299)
The Samsung Galaxy Live earbuds are available at the deepest discount we’ve seen this holiday season. Samsung designed these earbuds with 12mm speakers and a form factor that allows them to deliver spacious sound quality, resulting in an immersive, concert-like experience. Fans of live shows may want a pair.
This budget-friendly HP color printer offers scanning, copying and mobile printing functionality. Get a free six-month ink subscription for it, when you activate a free HP+ plan.
HP DeskJet 2723e wireless all-in-one color printer, $49 (reduced from $69)
This compact streaming device lets you stream your favorite shows and movies from streaming services like Paramount+.HBO Max, Netflix and more in 4K. The Roku interface is fast and easy to navigate. Right now, you can get this device for only $45.
Roku Ultra LT 4K streaming device, $45 (reduced from $80)
The on-ear Beats Solo3 may be a good fit for music fans looking for a pair of bright-sounding headphones, especially those partial to rock, folk and country tunes. These headphones support spatial audio for a more immersive listening experience, soft ear foams for comfort, and up to 40 hours of battery life on a single charge.
These sweat-resistant earbuds are ideal for avid runners or gym enthusiasts. They offer two levels of noise-canceling; active noise canceling and transparency mode.
Meanwhile, the IPX4 water resistance ensures they’re protected even when you’re sweating on them every day.
Beats Studio Buds, $100 (regularly $150)
Holiday gift guides
As always, check back to CBS Essentials for holiday gift guides for every special someone in your life. Check back for more throughout the season.
For today’s Advent Calendar work i’m returning to one of the composers who stood out most prominently among the premières at last year’s Proms festival. Elizabeth Ogonek‘s Cloudline wasn’t just one of my own favourites, you evidently felt exactly the same way, as the work almost came top of the 5:4 Proms Première polls. Ogonek composed her orchestral piece Sleep & Remembrance in 2016, basing it on the poem ‘While Sleeping’ by Polish poet Wisława Szymborska.
The work taps very convincingly into the implications of both words in its title. Sleep is strongly conveyed by the fact that the piece has such a dream-like character. By that i don’t simply mean it sounds ‘dreamy’ (though it does, at times) but more that it has a fragmented, jump-cut attitude redolent of the way our dreams propel us from situation to situation in a way that defies conventional notions of narrative. Ogonek’s narrative is similarly unpredictable, not exactly constituting a ‘chop and change’ approach to material but nonetheless moving rapidly between ideas. This in turn facilitates the possibility of ‘unremembrance’, showing little concern for allowing ideas time to unfold, instead revelling in the caprice and fluidity of its stream of consciousness modus operandi. Yet the fact the music embodies ‘unremembrance’ doesn’t imply that it’s unmemorable – far from it.
Though capricious, the work falls roughly into three sections, the first of which seems to correspond to the dream in Szymborska’s poem, littered with breathless activity and prosaic paraphernalia. Ogonek’s material begins spritely and highly energised, fluid but punchy, growling but playful. The shifts begin almost immediately, first opening out to examine an oscillating idea, then pushing on at pace again, whereupon, after a pause, the music abruptly becomes more placid, again concerned with oscillation. This friction persists, causing the piece to move along like a car with an accelerator subject to continual, random fluctuations of foot pressure. There are fanfares, a whirlwind of fleet, anonymous stuff flies past, sustained soft clusters materialise, reaching a high point before returning to an attitude of punchy fluidity.
A significant change occurs around the work’s midpoint, where the music loses its firm grounding and starts to float, a muted trumpet melody heard in the midst of pretty, hovering harmonies. The fact that this is something different from what we’ve just heard is clear not simply from the total change in behaviour but also its duration, Ogonek for the first time allowing an idea time to speak. Though from a superficial perspective one could argue this beautiful section sounds more ‘dreamy’ than before, i can’t help feeling this has more to do with the poem’s protagonist waking from sleep and woozily beginning to make sense of what they just experienced, primarily the telescoping the time. The music builds somewhat, and the brass inject some muscle, ultimately bringing about a massive swell.
The final section, if anything, appears to ramp up the superficial dreaminess (bearing one or two hallmarks of film music), though it gradually gains in clarity through a number of melodic phrases that are passed around and become focused upon. However, though arguably rooted most of all in post-dream reality, the music here seems wistful and reflective, perhaps suggesting a desire to break through the ‘unremembrance’ and recapture something of what was experienced, now lost, during sleep. The ending is soft and tender, all the time growing simpler, concluding in an atmosphere of half resolution.
The world première of Sleep & Remembrance took place in March 2016, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by François-Xavier Roth.
Full score
Wisława Szymborska – While Sleeping
I dreamed I was looking for something, maybe hidden somewhere or lost under the bed, under the stairs, under an old address.
I dug through wardrobes, boxes and drawers pointlessly packed with stuff and nonsense.
I pulled from my suitcases the years and journeys I’d picked up.
I shook from my pockets withered letters, litter, leaves not addressed to me.
I ran panting through comforting, discomfiting displaces, places.
I floundered through tunnels of snow and unremembrance.
I got stuck in thorny thickets and conjectures.
I swam through air and the grass of childhood.
I hustled to finish up before the outdated dusk fell, the curtain, silence.
In the end I stopped knowing what I’d been looking for so long.
I woke up. Looked at my watch. The dream took not quite two and a half minutes.
Such are the tricks to which time resorts ever since it started stumbling on sleeping heads.
Mariah Carey performs to a recording of All I Want for Christmas Is You at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York.NBC/Getty Images
When Mariah Carey performed to a recording of All I Want for Christmas Is You atMacy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York last month, the holiday season more or less commenced. The crowd against the commercialization of the holidays cried, “Too soon!” For some musicians, however, it couldn’t come soon enough.
December is a jackpot month for artists with holiday albums in their catalogues, especially in a country where a holiday record (Michael Bublé’s Christmas) won a Juno Award for album of the year. Not only are festive songs evergreen and popular, they are the passports into the lucrative seasonal concert schedule.
“We released Barenaked for the Holidaysin 2004, and we’ve toured behind it 12 years now,” said Barenaked Ladies’ drummer Tyler Stewart. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
The band’s Hometown Holidays tour this month covered 14 cities, from Vancouver to Toronto. Not only does their 18-year-old album give them material for an annual show, it allows them to hit markets more frequently. Barenaked Ladies just played a Toronto-area concert in November, at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ont. Less than a month later they were back in the same region with a holiday concert at Toronto’s Massey Hall. This kind of tour routing is only feasible with a completely different show on the return visit.
“Our fans love it,” Stewart said.
The BNL show was just one of the holiday concerts that filled up this month’s calendar at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The artists booked there, including Molly Johnson, Good Lovelies, the Tenors, Kellylee Evans, and Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, all have recorded seasonal albums at some point in their careers. Coming off the pandemic, generally ticket sales this year have been sluggish, according to promoters and presenters who spoke to The Globe and Mail. Christmas concerts were the exception.
“There’s a significant appetite,” said Heather Gibson, responsible for non-orchestral music programming at the NAC.
What helps fuel the demand is the family nature of the events. With multi-generations attending, tickets are snapped up quickly. “It’s a holiday experience with kids, parents and grandparents,” said Tim Des Islets. “Where typically fans are buying two or three or four seats, for Christmas shows it’s six, eight and 10.”
Des Islets is the founder of the Canadian artist management company Noisemaker. His clients include the Newfoundland vocal trio the Once and Ontario’s Good Lovelies, both touring mistletoe music this month. Citing the broader audiences who attend Christmas concerts, Des Islets sees the shows as a marketing tool. “It’s an opportunity to introduce a new fan base to the band.”
Comprised of singer-songwriters Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough, andSusan Passmore, the harmony trio Good Lovelies are a hot ticket on the summer folk festival circuit. But, with three holiday-themed albums and EPs to their credit, they’ve developed a niche as annual Christmas specialists as well.
Barenaked Ladies on the Bravo! Program in December 2006.Geoff George/Handout
“The Good Lovelies are like the Messiahs of pop music,” says the NAC’s Gibson. “Our orchestra has to do Messiah and I have to book the Good Lovelies. I think I would catch a fair bit of flack if I didn’t bring them in.”
Despite the demand for seasonal pop, it’s not as easy as decking the halls with retreads of Jingle Bell Rock and, with all due respect to Bruce Springsteen, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Both Good Lovelies and Barenaked Ladies mix in their own holiday-themed material with traditional chestnuts and covers. “It was important for us to write original songs,” says BNL’s Stewart. “With the complete saturation of the shopping environment today, by the time Christmas rolls around, you’re kind of done with hearing the same old songs.”
It’s hard to deny the bottom-line implications of putting out Christmas music. According to a 2017 report from The Economist, singer Carey, the self-branded Queen of Christmas, had earned more than US$60-million from All I Want for ChristmasIs You since its release in 1994. That big number doesn’t reflect touring income from seasonal concerts. With a pair of jingle-belled shows this month at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena and two more at New York’sMadison Square Garden, Carey is laughing all the way to the bank.
Other seasonal ventures are more organic. Hawksley Workman recorded Almost a Full Moon in 2001 as a mediation on his sentiments toward Christianity and as a nostalgic celebration of family. It was also a reaction to 9/11. “The songs were written at a time when the world was rethinking its position on religion and how these things play out globally,” said Workman, whose Almost a Full Moon tour this year hit 14 Ontario markets. “There were zero commercial intentions for the record.”
The album is tuneful and thoughtful, with such nose-nipping gems as First Snow of the Year, Common Cold and Let’s Make Some Soup. Workman tours the record every year now. As well, the songs were adapted by playwright Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman for a stage musical that premiered at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton this fall. Rather than a one-off holiday lark, Almost a Full Moon endures as one of the Juno-winning musician’s finest works.
“There’s nothing maudlin, which is what Christmas music is turning into,” Workman said. “All the songs came from my gut and my heart, which is why I think the music has fallen into people’s lives in a way that is meaningful enough that it has become an annual tradition. I mean, I’m not singing garbage.”
Do you think you have what it takes to complete The Globe’s giant holiday crossword?
Download the puzzle here. Share your progress with us on social media using the hashtag #GlobeCrossword.
The best country albums of 2022 have something in common: they were made with little regard for commercial success or record sales.
In some cases that’s because the artist didn’t have the infrastructure to run a song up to No. 1 on radio airplay charts. Three independent artists make this Top 10 list and a fourth album is the kind of album you’d expect from an indy. Only one artist found below notched a solo No. 1 country airplay hit this year.
Honorable mentions go to full length albums by Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett (EPs were not considered) but artists that valued creativity and a cohesive vision across nine, 11 or even 17 songs were rewarded with recognition. Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert are two hitmakers who did just that. Muscadine Bloodline and American Aquarium are two you may not have heard of that shaped country music in a big way this year.
The lesson is country fans need to look deeper for the most daring, creative music of 2022. Taste of Country’s list of the Best Country Albums of 2022 features 10 critically acclaimed albums, with only the slightest consideration given to sales success. A team of staff writers worked together to shape the list.
Best Country Albums of 2022 – Critic’s Picks
This list of country music’s best albums from 2022 separates artists who aim to make great albums from those simply looking to record great songs. Only one artist found below notched a solo No. 1 country airplay hit this year. Popularity doesn’t always equal quality.
It’s not that albums from country music’s most notable hitmakers aren’t any good. Count Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett as strong honorable mentions for this list but both were edged out by a group that in some ways didn’t have to worry about the confines of commercial success. Randy Houser and Muscadine Bloodline are independant artists. American Aquarium is too and Ashley McBryde released the sort of album you’d expect from an indy act.
The lesson is country fans need to look deeper for the most daring, creative music of 2022.
Top 22 Country Songs of 2022, Ranked
There are plenty of feel-good country jams on this list of the top country songs of 2022, but the No. 1 song is one of the best love songs of the decade. These 22 songs are ranked by critical acclaim, radio and sales success, and importance to the genre.
Seven of the 22 artists made our Top Country Songs list from 2021, as well, but there are no song repeats. If a song made a previous list (or didn’t spend most of its time on the charts in 2022), it’s not eligible. So, before you ask where your favorite song is (i.e. Cody Johnson, “‘Til You Can’t”), be sure the miss isn’t just a technicality.
For the past half decade, Lola Marsh have kept fans entertained with their warm brand of pop.
The Israeli duo consisting of singer Yael Shoshana Cohen and multi-instrumentalist Gil Landau have a new album, Shot Shot Cherry. The LP arrived with an engrossing video for the retro-flavoured title track.
“Shot Shot Cherry” is infectiously catchy. On the song, Lola Marsh said: “‘Shot Shot Cherry’ was written in a time of global uncertainty. In the middle of our European tour, we had to stop everything and return home because of the covid outbreak. We were feeling depressed, helpless and like the rest of the world, all we could do was wait. So we wrote this song, and it was like the lyrics wrote themselves.”
The album carries 11 beautiful tracks.
Listen to the whole project via Spotify and remember to follow Lola Marsh on Instagram.
Alex Whorms is the Hamilton-based singer-songwriter and score composer behind the newly released single Christmas Morning — which is included in CBC Music’s Best New Holiday Music list.
Whorms — pronounced warms, like warming by the fire, she noted — sat down with CBC Hamilton and CBC Music to chat about holiday music and fun facts about the songs heard this time of year.
“Did you know that Jingle Bells wasn’t even written about Christmas?” Whorm said.
“It totally still counts as a Christmas song, but there isn’t a single mention of Christmas time, the month of December or of Christmas trees. It was actually written around Thanksgiving by James Pierpont in 1857 about an annual sleigh-riding event, and was originally published as The One Horse Open Sleigh before being retitled.”
Whorms loves discussing Christmas music history.
“Many Christmas songs are actually written in the summer in order to be ready in advance of the winter season,” she said. “Justin Bieber’s Christmas album Under the Mistletoe was written in August, and to get into the spirit, he ordered boxes and boxes of Christmas cookies to the recording studio.”
Whorms laughed and said she felt jealous. “Where do you get Christmas cookies in the summer, I would like to know.”
Whorms stayed in Hamilton after moving from Pickering, Ont., in 2015 to study at McMaster University. (Michael To/CBC)
Whorms’s research also found some songs have had a polarizing love-hate history. They include Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime, and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer by Randy Brooks.
“People were really divided over those songs. Some listeners didn’t like the instrumentation of Christmastime and its departure from tradition, but I love how interesting it sounds,” Whorms said.
“With Grandma, I think a lot of people thought the image of a drunken grandparent during Christmas wasn’t appropriate, but the dark humour resonated with the people who loved it.”
Whorms said that when she thinks of Christmas music, she envisions sleigh bells, string quartets, choirs or carollers — musical clues that represent the Christmas season and can clue you into what makes a song, even if it isn’t about Christmas.
“A good Christmas song will suck you into the holiday spirit and make you feel excited for the season — the songs that you can spin on a record player and listen to while enjoying hot tea in front of a fireplace.”
University student turned musician
Whorms moved to Hamilton from Pickering, Ont., in 2015 to study at McMaster University, and has remained in Hamilton. Like a true Hamiltonian, she prefers to call the escarpment “the mountain.”
“My favourite thing to do for Christmas is to shop on James Street and Locke to find unique gifts,” Whorms said. “I really enjoy the Christmas markets that happen in the city, the arts and the events that happen year round.
“There were many turning points for me before becoming a musician. I tried to have a band and get into medicine, and started to get more music work before that tour at [the University of Toronto].”
She said she realized the medical field didn’t appeal to her while touring the biophysics department at the U of T, and through some help from the music department at McMaster, she began her new career.
“Over time, I just broke off and took a course [at Humber College] for music composition. People were hiring me to play music and they were paying me more than any entry-level undergrad science job would.”
When asked about her inspiration for Christmas Morning, she said, “Music has been a huge part of my life … and I wanted to write a song about what the Christmas season means to me — the opportunity to go back home and spend time with my friends and family.”
This year all I really wanted for Christmas was Christmas. And not necessarily the presents or the parties or the plum pudding (whatever that is) but just that ambient Christmassy feeling you hear about in the carols — that unmistakable yuletide spirit that seems to have ghosted the past few years.
So deeply screwed-up was the Covid Christmas of 2020 that I spent the whole holiday numbing myself with nothing but Beethoven and an unfathomably slow remix of Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” The following year marked a slight increase in detectable public merriment levels — but most of us remained more concerned with the arrival of delta and omicron than Donner and Blitzen.
They say you can’t force the Christmas spirit. To that I say: Watch me. Determined to feel something festive this year, I decided to go all in on the “Messiah,” attending three full performances of Handel’s 1741 masterpiece by three orchestras in one week: the New York Philharmonic (Dec. 13 at David Geffen Hall), the National Symphony Orchestra (Dec. 15 at the Kennedy Center) and the National Philharmonic (Dec. 17 at Strathmore).
That’s nearly 8½ hours of concentrated exaltation!
Even in the hands of the most capable players, the familiar flavor and heft of the “Messiah” — a sprawling three-part oratorio alternating between recitatives and airs sung by four soloists and punctuated by colorful choral episodes — can land with all the delicacy of a fruitcake.
Meaning, in multiple aspects, keeping the mass (both senses) of the “Messiah” afloat is a group project: The orchestra and chorus must move between celebratory buoyancy and celestial bombast; the soloists must thread themselves seamlessly through its silken surfaces; even the audience must listen with a little more devotion than usual. Not to mention standing through the “Hallelujah” — a tradition allegedly started by King George II in 1743, possibly the result of His Majesty snapping awake.
The New York Philharmonic first performed music from the “Messiah” as individual arias in 1854 and 1855. It was the rival New York Symphony that performed the whole piece first in 1878 — and that would eventually merge with the Phil in 1928. Performances of the “Messiah” by the orchestra were sporadic through most of the 20th century, until 2002 when it returned and has endured as an annual staple.
This year marks the orchestra’s 53rd run of the “Messiah” and the first in its newly refashioned David Geffen Hall. And while conductor Masaaki Suzuki (founder of Bach Collegium Japan) brought seemingly boundless energy to the podium and shimmering detail out of the orchestra, he also struggled to grow the piece to fill the hall. There was a faintness to this first performance of the run (which concluded Dec. 17) — a closeness that sometimes read as too cautious. This was regularly remediated by the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus, 35 strong, who seized each verse with exciting attack and illuminated the music with fire and force through the evening.
Each soloist found a compelling path through the music: Soprano Sherezade Panthaki soared in her Part III air (“If God be for us, who can be against us?”), Swedish tenor Leif Aruhn-Solén lent distinctly steely colors to his invocation of the iron rod and Cree-Métis baritone Jonathon Adams, who identifies as two-spirit (a nonbinary identifier used within some Indigenous communities), impressed with a barrel-round sound and an arresting presence — especially in their Part III dialogue with Matthew Muckey’s pristine trumpet.
Countertenor Reginald Mobley was a particular highlight — his tone rich and generous, simmering and severe in his low register and pearl-smooth in the highs. It’s not often you get a countertenor singing this part — though the legendary Russell Oberlin sung it with the Phil in 1956, ’58 and ’59 (as well as twice with the National Symphony). Mobley brought lovely precision and expression to his airs in Part I (“Thou art gone up on high”) and Part II (“He was despised”), the latter revealing his talents as a storyteller in song.
As the New York Phil feels out this beautiful new space, it might consider ways to acoustically boost a Baroque-ified Phil (of just 32 players) — perhaps through some of its adjustable panels and baffles. If you can imagine it, even the seventh-inning stretch of the “Hallelujah” seemed somewhat shrunken in the wash.
Two nights later, lines from the New York Phil performance were blinking in my head like strands of lights as the National Symphony Orchestra took the festively bedecked Kennedy Center stage with the Choral Arts Society of Washington — an 80-40 split that consumed the available space.
My last encounter with the “Messiah” here was in 2021, when Gianandrea Noseda led the NSO, the University of Maryland Concert Choir and soloists from the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artists program. The program was constrained in number of performers and restrained to just “Part I” (paired with Bach’s “Magnificat”). Reduced as this presentation was, it marked a return to a work that the NSO has performed annually since 1953. (This most recent run of the “Messiah,” which concluded Dec. 18, marks 254 total performances.)
Whatever energy might have been stored up over the pandemic years was duly unleashed by guest conductor Fabio Biondi, who brought a windswept energy to his task. Stooping and springing, Biondi’s animated guidance of the “Messiah” infused it with fresh vitality — the violins and violas digging in hard through the night, as though the players were trying to spark kindling.
Like Noseda, Biondi knows how to negotiate energy and elegance while allowing neither to slide. This was a “Messiah” on fire — with a chorus that felt as combustible as the orchestra. They delivered a smoldering fugue in Part II (“He trusted in God”) and simmering tension in Part III (“Since by man came death”). But more than any other “Messiah” I took in this month, the chorus here felt like a true counterpart to the orchestra — a manifestation of divine symmetry.
The NSO’s crew of soloists, all making their debuts with the orchestra, were also superb — the beautiful fullness of tenor John Matthew Myers was a special treat, as was the unrelenting gusto of powerhouse bass-baritone Neal Davies. Soprano Liv Redpath and mezzo-soprano Hannah Ludwig each gave beguiling turns — Redpath offering an especially lithe reading of “Rejoice greatly” that had me rejoicing greatly.
Not listed on the program were the three or four neighbors around me in the audience who were staging their own unwittingly audible private performances. Grinchily, I sneered at first — but then caught myself and smiled politely. The “Messiah,” I intoned like a prayer, is a group project.
By the time I made it to Strathmore on Saturday for the last “Messiah” on my list and the first of the National Philharmonic’s string of performances (which concludes Friday at Capital One Hall), stretches of music from the previous evenings were swirling and overlapping in my memory — a mega-chorus singing a macro-fugue.
Conductor Stan Engebretson seemed to be facing a realer version of the same predicament — a 106-member National Philharmonic Chorale (for whom Engebretson is artistic director) loomed in the chorister seats over the 34-piece orchestra, which sometimes felt caught in the shadow of a massive crashing wave.
This top-heavy treatment of the “Messiah” isn’t uncommon — that centerpiece “Hallelujah” can justify just about any level of choral disproportion. But rising above the crash and froth of such a massive chorus does present a challenge for the musicians. Add to this the absence of harpsichord in this orchestration — and thus, the lack of that distinctive timbral tinsel that helped brighten the edges within the other two orchestras.
Still, the NatPhil fought hard to stay heard — finding exquisite leadership in concertmaster Laura Colgate, who brought intensity and intimacy to her lines, as well as limber expressiveness that authorized the rest of the players to lean in.
This “Messiah,” however, was all about the soloists — which even after a week of strong performances felt like something of a dream team. Soprano Kearstin Piper Brown and mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford were splendid surprises to me — the former’s tone bright but burnished, the latter’s rich and luxurious. The reliably solid tenor Norman Shankle was in particularly fine form, lending grace and humanity to lines that can easily land like announcements.
Insofar as one can steal the show of the “Messiah,” the commanding baritone Jorell Williams did so — a rock-solid singer with a keen understanding of his own expressive depths. But perhaps most enjoyable was observing the visible pleasure the singers took in listening to each other — like a little gift exchange onstage. And this time I may have joined the under-the-breath chorus.
In undertaking this “Messiah” marathon, I’m pretty sure I felt something beyond the customary palette of concert-going pleasures. I didn’t come to any critical determination about the one true “Messiah” (as clickable a headline as that would have made), but like recurring dreams, these repeat listens blurred into their own indistinct delight — a Christmassy spirit, if you will. (Halleloo!)
You could feel it in the lobby after each performance as we milled toward the exits, strangers holding the doors, smiling and singing little snatches of the oratorio to each other — everyone oddly charged up for 11 p.m. Done correctly, the “Messiah” can fill your memory with glorious music; but perhaps more critically, it can also top off your heart’s supply of goodwill — the only gift that’s better when you return it.
What does a choir once described as “trail-blazing” do when it’s approaching its fiftieth birthday, and the world is full of younger choirs who want to steal its thunder?
The answer, as last night’s concert from the Tallis Scholars showed, is that you Keep Calm And Carry On. The choir’s founding director Peter Phillips realised all those years ago that the great church composers of the Renaissance were a neglected part of classical music, crying out to be revealed to the wider world. And the best way to reveal the music’s glowing beauty and expressive heat was with a smallish choir, no more than two singers to a part, striving always to achieve a perfect blend.
Phillips hasn’t wavered from those pioneering principles, but he’s been careful to constantly renew the brand with young singers, and last night the choir sounded as fresh and vibrant as I’ve ever heard it. The tenors in particular sounded so exuberant they sometimes threatened the choir’s famed blend, though their sound was so thrilling in itself one could hardly complain. Though the concert formed part of Saint John’s Christmas Festival, it was more concerned with the Mother of Christ than Christ Himself. We heard pieces in her praise from the English composer Robert Fayrfax, the Flemish composer Nicolás Gombert and the crazed Italian wife-murderer Carlo Gesualdo, plus Gombert’s setting of Mary’s own prayer the Magnificat. Alongside these we heard William Byrd’s five-part setting of the main Catholic liturgical form, the Mass.
Phillips and his singers were super-alert to the telling differences between these composers and made them so vivid it seemed as if they belonged to different worlds. The endless cantilevered melodies of the sopranos in Fayrfax’s O Maria Deo Gratia and Tavener’s O Splendor Gloriae, floating high above the other voices, seemed as lofty and otherworldly as the vaulted ceiling of an English cathedral, and miles away from the anguish of Gesualdo’s Ave Dulcissima Maria. And both were hugely distant from the luxuriant richness and astounding ear-bending dissonance of Gombert. The serenely “classical” balance of Byrd’s Mass was sung with a glowingly beautiful tone, but thanks to Phillips’s way of responding to the words with subtle changes of speed, beauty was always animated with feeling. In Byrd’s Mass when the choir sang “on the third day He rose again”, even this confirmed agnostic couldn’t help but be thrilled. IH
Most Christmas music evokes the joyous daylight of redemption: it’s all blazing drums and trumpets and sturdy carols. Last night at the Barbican, however, the rapt audience was treated to a different sort of Christmas music: luxuriantly sensuous yet dimly lit, like a brocade of gold thread seen by candlelight, suffused with a sorrowful awareness of sin. The redemption of the new-born child is hoped for, but hasn’t yet arrived.
This was the world of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, the late 17th-century French composer who spent most of his life in the service of a melancholic and deeply pious Duchess who preferred to keep the rich drapes of her palace closed. It was brought to life by Les Arts Florissants, a 40-strong group of singers and instrumentalists who are so immersed in the droopingly melancholic and exaggeratedly artificial world of French Baroque music they can actually make it seem natural.
Presiding over all this was William Christie, the American-born conductor who founded Les Arts Florissants more than forty years ago, and who yesterday spent his 78th birthday immersed in the music he has done more to popularise than anyone else. Often he sat to one side, knowing the violins and soft-toned flutes and recorders could summon up the gently swaying pastoral interludes between the vocal numbers without his help. At other times he would take over as director, and we would become aware of the passion in that lean, dapper figure as he coaxed out a sweetly agonising “wrong” note from the singers. Sometimes he even used a nervily rotating-hand gesture – as if trying to turn a recalcitrant doorknob – to emphasise those “sighing” feminine endings that make French Baroque music so utterly different to Italian or English.
After the dark first half of the Antiphons O of Advent, with the hall lights down, things brightened literally and metaphorically in the second, with two cantatas on the Christmas story. The instrumental interludes became more sprightly, and there was even a touch of comedy between the two shepherdesses as they discussed the mystery of the Virgin birth – “Wasn’t Joseph jealous?” asked one – sung with tender yet lively grace by Emmanuelle de Negri and Julie Roset. But in the end, it was the way Christie and the performers caught the sense of quiet rapture at the Christmas miracle that really told. It was a joy to witness something so impossibly aristocratic and remote come so movingly to life. IH
Most artists who appear at the Wigmore Hall betray some nerves, but last night, on strolled the American jazz pianist Jason Moran, supremely confident and relaxed, and chatted to the audience as if we were a bunch of friends he’d invited round for a jam session. “I’m going to play what the piano tells me,” he said, suggesting that the evening would be a freewheeling affair – yet, as soon became clear, it was anything but. Moran’s enthralling 90-minute set was a carefully laid-out sequence of eight numbers, artfully varied in mood and sound.
That’s only what we should expect: like all his peers in contemporary American jazz, Moran is a long way from the streetwise popular artists who created the form. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music, he’s a recipient of a MacArthur Genius Award, and has exhibited his own mixed-media artworks at galleries across America. His art is self-consciously sophisticated, and calls on all manner of things from jazz history. During a performance of an untitled number by his teacher Jaki Byard, a tentative, searching introduction led to a spry moment of stride piano, an antique style Moran recreated with superb stylishness but with harmonic kinks that set it at a distance.
That was one of few moments in the evening to say “jazz” loud and clear. More often, Moran’s art ranged far beyond the form, calling on a range of influences from classical music to the avant-garde, fused into a personal amalgam. One number began with a hectic hammering on just two notes, subtly changing in colour as Moran reached into the piano’s innards to muffle the strings. Soon this morphed into a vast, roaring sound that shifted slowly up the piano’s range – and unexpectedly melted into harmony. It recalled avant-garde improvisers such as Charlemagne Palestine and the repetitive patterns of Philip Glass, until at the end, in one of many subtle and touching endings we heard during the course of the evening, a gentle harmonic flourish gestured towards Ravel.
Described thus, it could all seem contrived, but the real delight of a Moran recital – and he uses that classical term himself – is that it never loses touch with the spontaneity and fun of early jazz. His pungent accents, louchely decorated melodies and ecstatic foot-stamps see to that. At the end, he even persuaded the audience to sing one of his repeating harmonic patterns, and we were happy to oblige, because the act felt natural and true – like everything we’d just heard. IH
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Volkov, City Halls, Glasgow ★★★★☆
It might be the week before Christmas, but don’t expect an easy ride. That seemed to be the message behind conductor Ilan Volkov’s bracing, hardcore, all-20th-century programme with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. And while other Scottish ensembles are devoting their Christmas countdown concerts to snowmen and seasonal tunes, it was undeniably refreshing to encounter not a single Yuletide reference in this vibrant if uncompromising evening of Xenakis, Debussy, Ligeti and Bartok.
Volkov threw us in at the deep end with Xenakis’s Atrees, which made for an ear-cleansing opener, all craggy textures and towering accumulations of sound, seemingly with a logic all its own (it’s actually the product of some of the composer’s early computer experiments). Atrees made for testing listening, but you couldn’t have asked for a more focused, committed account than that from the 10 BBCSSO soloists (with particularly vivid contributions from principal trumpeter Mark O’Keeffe).
Volkov, too, approached the work with a cool, almost Boulez-like precision, but he traced its unpredictable trajectory expertly, even dwelling – almost imperceptibly – on the piece’s brief, fleeting moments of sonic beauty. It felt like a provocation, certainly a statement of intent, and it was all the better for that.
Debussy’s Jeux might have occupied the other end of the artistic sensuality spectrum, but Volkov drew some interesting parallels with Xenakis in the earlier composer’s restless, ever-changing material, Jeux’s elusive sense of musical reason, its apparently perpetual state of moving towards something less ephemeral while never quite daring to make the jump. The BBC SSO players took a short while to properly occupy Debussy’s soundworld – one of the disadvantages of assembling pieces for drastically different line-ups (rather lengthy stage-shifting was another) – but it was a luminous, supple performance when they did.
After the interval, Volkov delivered an equally light-suffused Ligeti Ramifications, which served as an upbeat to a hard-driven Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Ligeti’s compatriot Bartok. He wrung maximum intensity out of its opening movement’s endlessly intertwining lines, and played up the musical surrealism of the third movement’s ‘night music’ for all its worth, though there were a few moments in the two fast movements (taken very briskly) when the ensemble lacked a bit of crispness, despite the high spirits.
A difficult programme inevitably meant rather a thin crowd, but it was clear that everyone who was there was up for being prodded and challenged. Which is precisely what Volkov did in his appropriately serious-minded performances. DK
Let’s first dispatch the evening’s disappointment. The one-time wunderkind and now somewhat reclusive pianist Evgeny Kissin was meant to perform Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3, and it would probably have been tremendous. But illness prevented him from bringing this titanic piece up to scratch, so he had to substitute Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 23 – which was far from tremendous. It was strangely pedantic and sluggish, with not a trace of wit, and a slow movement that sounded as though it had lead weights tied around its feet. Only in the Chopin waltz he played as an encore did we catch a glimpse of the old Kissin.
Thankfully, it didn’t matter, because what followed was so enthralling. For a breathtaking hour, Sir Simon Rattle led the LSO and us through a Stravinsky journey of his own devising: fifteen short pieces, some fragments of larger pieces and some collections of miniatures, played without a break. The aim was to show the many sides of the most staggeringly protean composer in the history of music, though one could also detect the outlines of a life-story here, beginning with the brilliant student who composed an arrestingly sombre Funeral Song for his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov (only recently rediscovered) and an astonishingly lush setting of an unabashedly erotic poem.
Then, omitting the well-known ballet scores, came the Russian nonsense songs and miniatures of Stravinsky’s first exile in France and Switzerland, followed by a fragment of a Second World War film score and a ballet score for a troupe of young elephants from his second, American exile. Finally, we were given a glimpse of the diamond-hard modernist abstraction of his final years. Overall, it was a reminder that Stravinsky was a maker of divertimenti that dazzle, with their fractured, cubist reinventions of myriad styles from Bach to Offenbach.
They certainly dazzled in these wonderful performances from the LSO and Russian-born soprano Anna Lapkovskaja. And the prevailing tone of innocent delight meant the deep moments struck home: the ringing bell-sounds of Stravinsky’s final piece, Requiem Canticles, that sombre funeral song, and above all the Pas de deux from his ballet Apollon Musagète, which some would say is hardly deep at all, being a piece of perfumed French-flavoured neoclassicism.
But as this ravishing, fine-grained, tender performance reminded us, Stravinsky didn’t need to strike a solemn mood to touch the depths. It’s the mysterious appeal of his music, so aloof and yet so entrancing, which achieves that miracle. IH
The LSO and Simon Rattle perform their Stravinsky programme again tonight (Dec 15). Info: lso.co.uk
Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists, St Martin-in-the-Fields ★★★★☆
Handel for Christmas, Bach for Easter. That’s a rule-of-thumb many go by, as Bach was so good at striking an anguished penitential note, while Handel’s Messiah is the perfect expression of joy at the Christmas miracle.
On Tuesday night, veteran conductor John Eliot Gardiner, together with the two ensembles he founded, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, showed Bach could take on Handel and… well, not beat him exactly, because nothing beats the Hallelujah Chorus. But in his Christmas Oratorio, of which we heard the opening half, Bach showed he could certainly rival Handel in trumpets-and-drums glory, and in finding a whole range of emotions in the Christmas story, from awe to tenderness. And also that deeper, thoughtful note struck when the Evangelist (the singer who narrates the story) reminds us that the joyful beginning of Christ’s life will soon lead to sorrow.
All this flooded our hearts and minds with unusual force, because Gardiner is so alert to the meanings of the words, and urges the performers to make them shine out in such a way that they become pure music. At one point, the performers take up the Shepherds’ words “Let us See this thing which has come to pass”. The scurrying of the sopranos and violins and the agile hopping of the cellos conjured a mental image of shepherds practically tripping over their own feet in their eagerness to see the Christ child. But the music itself never tripped. It was perfectly lucid, the chorus enunciating the syllables like a string of pearls, every note in the orchestra crystal clear.
Like Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s oratorio contains an orchestral Pastorale in honour of those shepherds, and the English Baroque Soloists’ quartet of soft-toned Baroque oboes and flutes turned this into a moment of gentle, drowsy magic. Tender reflectiveness was a note often struck in the chorales (those sturdy German hymn-tunes that punctuate the action), but some were rumbustiously cheerful. In their meditations on the story, the eight soloists drawn from the chorus showed the same virtues of musicality mingled with attention to the music’s meaning. Only once did I feel Gardiner’s determination to alert us to the words slightly hampered the music’s flow, and that was in the exultant opening chorus.
Apart from that, the evening was pure joy. The oratorio’s second half comes on Thursday; if you’re within reach of Trafalgar Square, drop everything and go. IH
Hear the second half of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio on Thurs Dec 15; stmartin-in-the-fields.org
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hall, Birmingham ★★★★☆
The deepest musical experiences don’t always come on cue, when you’re listening with a solemn demeanour to a weighty masterpiece. Sometimes they come when you least expect them, during a piece that’s light and doesn’t claim to plumb any depths, and is even – heaven forbid – a bit showy.
I was reminded of that fact during the CBSO’s lunchtime concert yesterday, when the light and showy Violin Concerto by Carl Nielsen was sandwiched between two works which wore their serious intentions on their sleeves: Brahms’s Tragic Overture and Shostakovich’s bleak and terrifying Fifth Symphony. Nielsen’s concerto is a rarity on concert programmes for reasons that quickly became clear: it’s hugely challenging for everyone, above all the soloist, who has to negotiate not one but three cadenzas (solo spots of impressive finger-twisting difficulty). And the piece is an odd shape, cast in two movements which both take a while to find themselves, and then having finally hit on an ear-catching tune drop it like a hot potato and go scampering off in a new direction.
It can be a puzzling journey, but not on this occasion. The springy and alert accompaniment from the orchestra under conductor Alpesh Chauhan was a factor, but there’s no doubt most of the magic emanated from Eugene Tzikindelean, the dapper Romanian violinist who is also the orchestra’s leader. He has an effortlessly huge, burnished tone, as was demonstrated in the first two seconds of Nielsen’s concerto when the orchestra flung a massive chord at him, which Tzikindelean easily trumped with a different chord. He characterised the ensuing series of feints and false starts with such pert wit, and so convincingly stage-managed the emergence of the ear-catching tune, that puzzlement was very soon transformed into charm and delight.
The rest of the programme wasn’t always on such a high level. Brahms’s Tragic Overture quickly imposed its gravity on us, unfolding with an iron-grey spaciousness like the sea at dawn. In Shostakovich’s symphony the players responded to Chauhan’s very slow tempi with heroically sustained playing, and the bleached-out slow movement left an aftertaste of infinite sadness. But the piece’s overall narrative felt compromised, and the grim, agonised “heroic” ending was not as shattering as it can be. Chauhan’s epic approach was surely prompted by a sincere wish to explore Shostakovich’s tragic depths, but it robbed the piece of the vital energy which even the darkest music needs. IH
Handel’s Messiah: The Live Experience, Theatre Royal Drury Lane ★★★☆☆
At first glance this could have been a “normal” performance of the world’s most popular oratorio, apart from the fact that it was taking place in the gilded splendour of a West End theatre. Packed onto the stage was the English Chamber Orchestra, and behind them rising up in serried ranks was the London Symphony Chorus, all in black.
But as the lights came down and the urgent, darkly serious overture began, normality disappeared. A tall screen placed squarely centre stage glowed with an image of a burning sun, soon obscured by threatening black asteroids, while three dancers flitted down the aisles. Normality seemed to return when tenor Nicky Spence appeared on the narrow strip of bare stage at the front to sing the beautifully consoling aria “Comfort Ye”. But the dancers soon reappeared, followed by two actors (Martina Laird and Arthur Darvill) dressed like refugees from a militaristic dystopia. Between the musical numbers they conversed in a poetic dialogue which suggested they were mother and child, separated by a malign fate.
This dramatised version of the Messiah was the brainchild of Classical Everywhere, dedicated to creating classical “experiences, not concerts” as its founder and the evening’s conductor Gregory Batsleer puts it. Working with him on this show was a whole army of video and lighting technicians, a choreographer, and a spoken-word poet (P Burton-Morgan), all brought together by Immersive Everywhere, the team behind hit immersive theatre shows such as Peaky Blinders: The Rise.
You might think a multimedia enhancing of the Messiah would clarify the work’s religious narrative, but the creators chose to avoid the Christian specifics and instead teased out their underlying themes. The dancers acted out little scenes of struggle, oppression and joyful release, strikingly choreographed by Tom Jackson Greaves, that you could just about link to the Biblical narrative of Christ’s sacrifice and miraculous resurrection. And it became clear that Christ’s relationship to his mother was being evoked by those dystopian figures.
As for the musicians, they were driven hard by Batsleer, which was sometimes thrillingly expressive but just as often felt exaggerated, and the choral singers occasionally struggled with his fast speeds. Soprano Danielle de Niese was in very uncertain voice, but Spence, mezzo-soprano Idunnu Münch and baritone Cody Quattlebaum were stronger. Like everyone else they threw themselves with maximum commitment into this spectacle which, despite its obscurities and ragged edges, was always thought-provoking, and at times even moving. IH
Some orchestras want to edify us, or challenge us, or give us a political lesson. The Sinfonia of London only wants to give us a roaring good time, and if we’re edified along the way, well so much the better. That’s why this one-time humble studio orchestra, which numbers the score to Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo among its recording credits, is set fair to become Britain’s favourite orchestra.
Another draw was conductor John Wilson, who relaunched the orchestra in 2018 and before that created the John Wilson Orchestra, whose annual Proms performances of musical and film scores are invariably a season highlight. He has an unfussy but telling elegance of gesture – no sweaty “conductor’s ecstasy” for him – which had surprisingly huge effects, like throwing the stage light-switches in a theatre; a single flick of that forefinger, and we were flooded in aural dazzlement and colour and magic.
First up was the overture Scapino by William Walton. The title refers to the Italian stock comedy character Scapino, from whose name we get our word “escapade”. The piece capered and glittered brilliantly, though there were moments of calm when the sweetly lyrical violas suggested Scapino’s escapades were turning amorous.
Then came Ravel’s song cycle Shéhérazade, one of those pieces that will probably be banned soon as the text is a shamelessly “orientalist” picture of the mystic East, complete with smiling assassins, princesses with slender hands, and “pot-bellied mandarins”. But any qualms were instantly quelled by Alice Coote’s fervent performance. The way she made the heart-stricken disappointment of the final song melt into sensuous languor was a lesson in how a great performance can turn copper into gold.
Nothing else made the heart melt quite like that, but there was plenty to make it expand joyously, including a performance of George Gershwin’s American in Paris which seemed bigger and more sassy than ever – and also more musically interesting. This was partly because Wilson had laboured to restore the cuts and fix the errors imposed on the piece by an unscrupulous publisher, partly because trumpeter James Fountain gave such a sexy sway to that immortal trumpet melody.
What with all that, plus the mystery and drama of the ballet score Le Loup by the young Henri Dutilleux – a real rarity which sounded like a long-lost film score from the 1950s – the concert was already a triumph. We didn’t really need Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, that weird aberration of a normally wonderful composer, but it was performed with such irresistible swelling grandeur one could hardly mind.
Hear the Sinfonia of London at Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on 4 December trch.co.uk
It’s often said the symphonies of great 19th-century composer Anton Bruckner are “cathedrals in sound”, huge in effect and lofty in aspiration, and that creates a problem for programmers of symphony concerts. What short programme-filler can you put next to a cathedral that won’t seem small and insignificant?
The LPO solved the problem brilliantly by prefacing Bruckner’s Ninth and final Symphony with the Five Mystical Songs of Vaughan Williams, which as well as being a nod to “VW” in his 150 anniversary year also lifted us into the right contemplative frame of mind. As for Bruckner’s symphony, it was performed not in the unfinished three-movement form we normally hear but as a complete four-movement symphony, with a conjectural finale brilliantly stitched together from the composer’s sketches by a team of musical scholars.
So potentially much to savour and be inspired by, but the reality didn’t quite live up to expectations. The Five Mystical Songs were sung by baritone Simon Keenlyside, who makes a splendidly vengeful Italian count on the operatic stage (he recently played Count Almaviva) and was impressive in the more ecstatic moments, but completely missed the hushed rapt tenderness of “Love bade me Welcome”, the emotional heart of the songs.
By comparison with VW’s songs, so simple and lucid in their transcendentalism, Bruckner’s symphony is all restless searching, with a Scherzo that sounds positively demonic, and a slow third movement that leads from anguish to glowing stillness. In this new version of the symphony that glowing moment was no longer the ending; the finale launched off on a whole new journey, full of sudden emotional switchbacks and disconcerting references to the earlier movements.
British conductor Robin Ticciati reminded us what a hugely intelligent musician he is by giving shape and coherence to this inspired but frequently confounding piece. Urgency mingled with sensitivity were the key moments; this was a cathedral made of malleable feelings, not massive stone. But the huge agonised melody that begins the third movement lacked the intensity one expects, and there were some moments in the first movement when the violins seemed not quite sure of Ticciati’s aspiring but somewhat eccentric beat. It was hard to know whether my lingering feelings of puzzlement were due to the unfamiliarity of this new version of Bruckner’s last work, or whether the performers really needed another rehearsal to pull this vast structure together and make sure all the details were in place. IH
The LPO and Vladimir Jurowski perform Mahler’s Ninth Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall on Dec 3. Tickets: 020 7840 4242; lpo.org.uk
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