We're Digby-bound tomorrow, if it doesn't snow too badly, so I'm enjoying my last night with the little Advent candles I have in my bedroom. I should really get some sleep because there are a million things to do in the morning before we leave, but this last week before Christmas always feels so special and goes by so quickly that I don't want to sleep through it. That and I picked a stupidly time-consuming hat pattern for my cousin Rod that has thrown the last possible finished-by-Christmas knitting schedule out the window.

I think I'll use this last week to go through the standard carols, the ones that have the congregation singing and descants. I did all of these to death a few years ago and so I never really feel like listening to them until the end of Advent. This O Come, All Ye Faithful isn't my favorite arrangement, since it doesn't have the Willcocks descant on the third verse, but it's still nice. And I love the shot of the organ right at the beginning. I think it embodies everything that drew me to the organ in the first place: there's a real dignity to it.

It now officially feels like Christmas: Karen's home, the gingerbread houses are assembled, and I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm NOT going to have all of my knitting done for Christmas morning. I say coming to terms with because I never fully resign myself to not finishing until the last minute on Christmas Eve. Ah well. I could have it done if I did absolutely nothing but knit from now until Christmas, but I don't really want to. There are so many other things I want to enjoy while I have the chance, like sleeping, and reading, and then sleeping some more in the middle of the afternoon.

And by the way, I finished the first non-school related book I've read since September today, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and I would highly recommend it!

This is the carol that - I think - I will be singing Christmas Eve, though in a solo arrangement.

I was kind of hoping that I might get to bed a little earlier over the holidays, but I suppose that doesn't happen when you decide to make eight hats a week before Christmas... just finished Hat #3 at 1:30am.

I think I already posted the other version of In the Bleak Midwinter, but this one is just as lovely.

Ah.... vacation. I read today (not a textbook!), knit, went out to lunch, practiced a bit for Christmas Eve, baked panforte, and curled up with Amber to watch The Polar Express (I know, it's not as good as the book, but it gives me warm fuzzies). It was perfect.

Last year I knit mittens for all of the family, nine pairs in a few weeks, so this year I decided to do hats. I have a week left. And still 5.75 hats to make. Wish me luck. Anybody know any fast-moving patterns?

Amber leaves tomorrow, Karen comes on Saturday, and then we all head for Digby on Monday. I can't believe how fast everything goes by at this time of year!

Dad and I also watched a bit of our Carols from King's DVD (more fuzzies), and I rediscovered this Berlioz.

How many times on how many different networking sites can I post this and with how many exclamation marks?

I'M FINISHED FIRST TERM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seven more like that and I'll have my degree. First degree. Meh, it wasn't too bad. It just feels good when it stops for a few weeks.

Here's more Britten, A hymn to the Virgin, which I could tell you all sorts of things about, but won't because it's all SO LAST TERM!

Sooooooooooo close... this time tomorrow I will be done first term. Satisfying and scary all at the same time.

You know what else is scary? Watching all sorts of videos of last year's Carols from King's and being able to recognize some of the choral scholars as boy choristers from nine or ten years ago. What's really funny is one of the countertenors who still shapes his vowels in exactly the same way. And yes, I watched my Carols from King's DVD enough to recognize all these people.

This is an absolutely beautiful piece by Bob Chilcott, which I think was written for King's Choir about ten years ago.

I think all musicians go through various favorite-composer phases. I certainly do. The Composer of the Term for me was Britten – I wrote my Music History term paper on him, read large chunks of a biography, and listened to Rejoice in the Lamb obsessively for a few weeks. But since it's Christmas I'm coming back to the first Britten I ever knew, the Ceremony of Carols, and somebody seems to have uploaded a few selections from the recording I got to know when I was little. I always thought it was Westminster Abbey... the video says Westminster Cathedral... who knows? It's lovely, anyway. I remember the Christmas when I was thirteen, waking up on Christmas morning a few hours before everyone else, and listening to this in bed. It's been special ever since.

The piece starts off with the choir processing in to the Gregorian chant, Hodie Christus natus est, and then they go into a bunch of different carols, mostly settings of old English words. In this video, after the chant, there's Wolcum Yole and Balulalow.

I vaguely remember something about posting the Sussex Carol on Karen's Birthday last year, because, although she probably didn't see it, I knew she liked the carol anyway. So here we are on her birthday again (for one more minute, that is), and since it generally suits my festive we-have-a-tree-and-it's-snowing-again (!!!) mood, I thought I'd post the Sussex carol again. It's a slightly different arrangement than last year.

And is it just me or does that organ scholar look really young? About my age, actually. What I wouldn't give to be in his cassock. Look at all those stops!

I've been studying Gothic art all day so... check out that Late Gothic architecture! You can tell by the arches and the windows and the particular type of vaulted ceiling. Four days till freedom!

I seem to be all about carols I haven't heard before this year (maybe I did the regulars to death over the last few years), so here's another one: Hodie by James Whitbourn.

One exam down! Four to go. Music History was almost ridiculously easy this morning (hoping that'll be trend-setting), and the weekend ahead seems to be mostly free to study for Art History and English, so I'm feeling good about life in general at the moment. It also helps that I spent the evening with Amber and Liz watching It's a Wonderful Life, which filled me with warm fuzzies.

Here's a carol that, for all it's Rutter cheesiness, has always had the warm fuzzy effect too: