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V.com weekend vote: When it comes to holiday music, would you rather play, sing, listen or stay away from it?

December 2, 2012 at 11:00 PM

It's that time of year, when holiday music fills the air -- at the grocery store, on the street corner, in great wonderful concerts in churches.

No doubt you'll get your fill, whether you'd like it or not!

As easy as it is to overdose, I still love holiday music. I adored playing in the pit for the Nutcracker the many years I did that. I love to play selections from Handel's Messiah.

I also get a lot of gratification from singing; back when I lived in Omaha and worked at the newspaper there, a group of us musically-inclined reporters would drive from house to house, visiting retirees from the paper and singing them carols in four-part harmony. What a happy memory!

Lately, with my son singing in the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, my favorite holiday experience is to simply enjoy being in the audience for their winter concert.

What kind of holiday music experience actually warms your heart? Or are you not a fan of holiday music?

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To paraphrase a bassist friend, there's nothing like sawing your way through a load of carols.
I like playing pieces that are not overly Christmassy such as Nutcracker and the Messiah.
I will sing and play it. :D
I'm excited for our annual Prism concert where we play Christmas pieces! I'm second violin for Sleigh Ride and the finale with everybody, Leroy Anderson's 'A Christmas Festival.' I'm also playing a few piano pieces a little later in the year.
I like the old stuff--traditional carols, medieval music, Renaissance things. The pop-schlock leaves me chilled to the bone.

Nutcracker and Messiah are both still beloved.

Listening...depends. hard to beat really good choral music in the vaulted space of a cathedral in the late dark of December night.

Try to keep it out of your repertoire for all but the last three weeks of the year. As my voice goes, my violin playing (seems to) improve. As for playing Holiday Music?--I love to dust it off and roll it out- then put it back "in the piano bench" for next year.
We had a glorious (and exhausting) weekend of 3 Messiah performances, followed by my sons' choir concert. I get much more out of performing than just listening.
play it, irish music in a pub with a pint of guiness, not christmas tunes....
I grew up listeing , singing, and playing Christmas music. I don't think I could overdose on them, since I personally associate them to happy times, the melodies are as familiar and comforting as a loved one that has traveled a long distance.
So I guess I like to play it, sing it , and listen to it ;)