This week, we put out the musical milk and cookies in preparation for a visit from the jolly old elf. Browse our playlist of Christmas, holiday and winter visitors from holiday lore and history. 

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) The Snow Maiden: Dance of the Tumblers The Russian fairy tale about the Snow Maiden, or Snegurochka has been adapted into a play, a ballet, and a four-act opera. Originating in Russian folklore as a literal maiden made of snow who was crafted by peasants and given life, she became associated with Christmas in the 20th century as the daughter of Ded Moroz, or “Grandfather Frost.” Ded Moroz is the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, complete with white beard, however he wears a round fur cap, a fur coat that is sometimes white or blue, traditional felt boots called valenki and carries a magic staff. His daughter is similarly clad in blue or white robes and a fur hat, or wears a silver crown decorated with pearls. She is one of the few female helpers who traditionally accompanies a legendary gift bringer.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Album for the Young, Op. 68, 12. Knecht Ruprecht, 38. Wintertime  “Knecht Ruprecht,” the twelfth miniature piece from Schumann’s Album for the Young, is often translated in English to “Saint Nicholas”. This is a mistake, because in German folklore, Knecht Ruprecht is a specific Christmas figure apart from St. Nicholas. Germany has one of the most expensive Christmas traditions in Europe, with a variety of Christmas visitors bringing treats or punishments to children depending on the era and region.  Alongside the Christkind and Weihnachtsmann, Saint Nikolaus is one of the oldest in Germany, said to travel from home to home on December 6th, blessing and rewarding children for good behavior. He is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, one of several formidable companions who might appear with the saint, whose job is to dole out punishments to bad children. Usually depicted as a grizzled old man in brown robes, Ruprecht carries a long walking staff and a bag of coal or ashes. When visiting a family home, if he sees that the children’s habits are untidy or hears that they misbehave, he gives them coal and a smart rap of his staff, instead of presents. 

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) Feste romane [Roman Festivals] IV. la Befana The final movement of Respighi’s Roman Festivals is named for the feast of Epiphany, or Three King’s Day as it is also known in the Christian tradition. Celebrated on January 6th, the holiday commemorates the visit of the Magi to the christ child, bearing gifts. In Italy, Epiphany marks the official end of the Christmas season, and on the night before the feast, Italian children are visited by La Befana, who comes down the chimney and rewards good behavior with presents and bad deeds with coal. Sound familiar? Well La Befana has some major differences from Santa Clause. To begin with, she is much older, appearing in Italian folklore as early as the 8th century. She is also a witch! Though not an evil one. Using a magic broomstick to fly from house to house, she is said to have a big grin as she comes down the chimney. In Italian Christmas lore, Befana was visited first by the journeying Magi and told of the birth of Jesus. She chose not to accompany them, having too much housework to do, but later changed her mind, hence her delayed visit after Christmas.

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) Two Songs, Op. 43: 1. Noel Santa Claus was introduced to France from America sometime after World War II, where he is known as Père Noel. He has many similar characteristics as Santa Claus, except that instead of a hat he wears a red fur-trimmed cloak with a hood. Before Père Noel was popularized, French children (like those in Germany we visited earlier)  expected a visit from St. Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated on December 6. St Nicholas leads a donkey named Gui (which is the French word for mistletoe) who helps transport gifts. The children leave out their shoes with carrots for Gui, and in exchange St Nicholas fills the shoes with treats. St Nicholas Day is still celebrated in certain parts of France, however over time he has become conflated with Père Noel. He is accompanied by a sinister figure in a black cloak known as Père Fouettard, or “Father Whipper.” Père Fouettard whips and beats the children who misbehave and leaves coal in their shoes.

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) On Christmas Night: Marley's Ghost, The Spirit of Christmas Ralph Vaughan Williams is no stranger to Christmas music, as we heard last week with his arrangement of the Gloucester Wassail. His Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Fantasia on Greensleeves are some of the most popular classical Christmas arrangements today. We just heard an excerpt from a much less well-known work by Vaughan Williams: a ballet he composed that is loosely based on Dickens’ Christmas Carol, titled On Christmas Night. The English Masque, as Williams called it, tells the story of Scrooge through dancing and singing, and mixes well-known carols with the composer’s unapologetically English style. We just heard the moment in the ballet where Scrooge receives Jacob Marley, the first of four spectral Christmas visitors. By the end of the ballet, they give him the greatest gift of all: a second chance to change his miserly ways.

Roy C. Bennett, Sid Teppe (pub. 1951) Suzy Snowflake Suzy Snowflake was made famous when it was released as a single by Rosemary Clooney on Columbia Records in 1951. The whimsical lyrics celebrate the fun of the season through a personification of winter and snow. However if you grew up in the greater Chicago area in the 50’s you might know her better through a black and white stop-motion animation that was frequently played on the local cable station WGN-TV every December. The short feature was originally filmed by Chang and Centaur productions in 1953, with Norma Zimmer providing the solo voice of Suzy Snowflake. The choral score of the animation was a cover sung by the Norman Luboff Choir, who are probably most well known as background singers for Frank Sinatra.

Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007) Amahl and the Night Visitors: Three pieces Amahl and the Night Visitors goes down in history as the first opera specifically composed for television. It debuted on December 24th, 1951 on NBC’s Hallmark Hall of Fame program, and the first staged performance took place right here in Bloomington in 1952. Menotti’s inspiration for the libretto came from the HIERONYMUS BOSCH painting “The Adoration of the Magi,” which depicts the Biblical tale of the Three Kings traveling from the East to present their gifts to the infant Jesus. For center of the action, Menotti created the character of Amahl, a shepherd boy who can no longer look after his sheep because he must use a crutch to walk. Amahl is inspired by the example of the kings to offer his crutch as a gift for the Christ child. After this act of generosity, Amahl’s leg is miraculously healed.

William Henry Fry (1819-1864) Santa Clause Symphony William Henry Fry was the first American composer to write grand opera, and also the first to write large symphonic works. The most famous of these is his Niagara Symphony, a tribute to the sublime American landscape, however in Fry’s time the Santa Claus Symphony was also very popular and performed often. This dramatic work is really more of a musical fantasy than a symphony. Written more than 20 years after the notable poem Twas the Night Before Christmas, The programmatic composition follows a similar but much more elaborate plot, describing the coming of angels, a snowstorm, a Christmas Eve party, and the arrival of Santa Claus to dispel the winter doldrums and bring holiday cheer.

Glenn Crytzer (b. 1981) The Krampus If you thought Knecht Ruprecht or Father Whipper were a little scary for Christmas time, you’d better cover your ears for this fellow. Krampus is the darkest of the companions who accompany Saint Nicholas during the winter season. Originating in Alpine folklore, Krampus appears on Krampusnacht, the night of December 5th to punish bad children. Blurring the line between animal, demon and man, Krampüss (that’s the plural, as Saint Nicholas is known to appear with more than one of them in some festivals)  are usually depicted as cloven hoofed, upright creatures, with giant horns, goblin faces and shaggy coats. They are often bound in chains, as servants of Saint Nicholas, and carry bundles of switches they use to swat their victims. Sometimes the Krampus is depicted with a large sack or backpack, into which he stuffs the baddest children and spirits them away. The character’s popularity has exceeded its alpine boundaries, recently in the United State, where he has become somewhat of a counterculture symbol. Bloomington, Indiana, home of WFIU, has publicly celebrated Krampusnacht with a parade and festival for the last decade, with folklorist Al Ridenour believing Bloomington’s celebration to be the biggest in the country.