by Danny Wiser | Dec 21, 2020 | Advent Calendar
UKRAINE: Shchedryk – Crimean Chamber Choir… This well-known Christmas carol has its origins in the Crimean region of Ukraine, which tells the story of a swallow flying into a house to declare the prophecy of the prosperous year that lies ahead. Whilst not...
by Danny Wiser | Dec 18, 2020 | Advent Calendar
ISRAEL: סְבִיבוֹן סוֹב סוֹב סוֹב (Sevivon Sov Sov Sov) – Hana Laszlo… This charming Chanukah ditty is a kids’ favourite. It describes the traditional Jewish game of spinning the dreidel (known in Hebrew as a sevivon). The legend goes that in the times when...
by Danny Wiser | Dec 12, 2020 | Advent Calendar
GERMANY: O Tannenbaum – Ernst Anschütz… This carol is perhaps one of the most recognisable across the world. Whilst it is not explicitly about Christmas, it is about a fir tree and its evergreen nature, which is associated with Christmas. Different nations...
by Danny Wiser | Dec 3, 2020 | Advent Calendar
NEW ZEALAND: A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree – Kingi Ihaka… In some ways, this song is a perfect encapsulation of New Zealand today, celebrating its Maori culture, whilst also honouring its firmly Western identity. An adaptation of the popular English carol The...
by Danny Wiser | Dec 2, 2020 | Advent Calendar
LATVIA: Circeniša Ziemassvetki – Linda Leen… Armed with a beautiful maternal voice, and sung much like a lullaby, Linda Leen’s cover of Aspazija’s (Elza Pliekšāne’s) poem tells the rather sad story of a hungry boy living in poverty whose mother tries...
