Carol Ragnarok Week 2 did not disappoint. Here’s the recap in case you missed anything.
The week began with me testing John with a Ralph Vaughan Williams Rhosymedre where the main melody was replaced with O Tannenbaum.
John, seeing the rocky terrain, chose Bonetti’s defence against me, and parried with a Randall Thompson Alleluia Frosty the Snowman.
Suspecting that he would attack with Capa Ferro, I took advantage of the fact that I was recording George Crumb’s Vox Balaenae this week and set in with a Crumb Jingle Bells.
John expected the Capa Ferro, and countered with an Eric Whitacre Seal Lullaby Jingle Bells.
Knowing that Thibault cancels out Capa Ferro, I raced backward 500 years and did a William Byrd Coventry Carol
I of course hadn’t anticipated that John had studied his Agrippa, which he has. He responded with a Dave Brubeck Take 5 What Child is This with Take 6 style backing vocals.
At this point, I resorted to openly cheating. I did this for two reasons. Number one, I’m clearly getting bested. Number two, it was the first night of Chanukah. I can’t play klezmer piano, so I used an orchestral arrangement I did last year with my friend and former student Bonne Kramer singing.
John was unphased and came back with a very clever interpolation of Sebastian Bach’s Jesu Bleibet Meine Freude and The Holly and the Ivy.
I wasn’t quite ready to conceed the victory, so I started into the deep Carol Ragnarok with a Gershwin Sleigh Ride that uses the chord progression from Nice Work if You Can Get It and textures from Rhapsody in Blue.
Undaunted, John came back with a virtuosic and hilarious 12 days of Christmas in the style of Phillip Glass’s Knee Play.
And so the deep Ragnarok ensues. Can’t wait to see what week three will bring.
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