5 on Friday - Set 97

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Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

This week takes me on a little stroll down holiday memory lane.

These pieces are newer versions of those that were once on my Christmas cassette tapes, or are from tapes that I associate with Christmas because that's when I played them. And when I say tapes, I mean wa-a-y-y back in the 80s when I used to listen to them on my ghetto blaster, in my bedroom.

1 - Arioso by J.S. Bach - Noa Gabay and Megan Morris

I used to have this absolutely lovely tape of harp music. It was dark pink with an 18th century white-wigged lady on the front. I tended to play that tape excessively once Christmas rolled around.



2 - Yuletide Garland - Liona Boyd

My family used to have this collection of Christmas music by Canadian classical guitarist Liona Boyd. Somehow it seemed to make its way to Toronto with me when I moved out on my own in my early twenties.



3 - Sleigh Ride from Three German Dances by Mozart - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

This piece was on a classical music tape that wasn't geared toward the holidays, but I used to cue this one up when I was listening to Christmas music.



4 - Waltz of the Snowflakes by Tchaikovsky - Kirov Ballet Orchestra

Obviously, where would my Christmas be without The Nutcracker? It has been a part of my musical Christmas landscape since I was a small child, when my sister and I opened up a gift addressed to both of us--a double album of the full ballet score by the London Symphony Orchestra.





5 - Believe in Your Dreams and They'll All Come True - From the 1974 Little Mermaid soundtrack, composed by Ron Goodwin

Here in Halifax when I was growing up, the local TV station always broadcast a trio of Oscar Wilde-based animated specials at Christmastime:

The Happy Prince
The Selfish Giant
The Little Mermaid

These weren't Christmas specials in the literal sense, but each story revolved around the values of the Christmas season. In The Little Mermaid especially, the music has always stayed with me--so much so, that when I've needed a cheerleading boost for myself when things weren't working out, I've often turned to this song.

It begins at the 8:20 mark and runs to the 10:50 mark.