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Welcome to Intermezzo from Interlochen Public Radio, where we take a few minutes to bounce some ideas around about classical music.
This week on Intermezzo, Christy L'Esperance and her co-host Daphne dive into the stories behind some popular Christmas tunes. We've explored "Jingle Bells," "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and "Silent Night" so far.
Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the most streamed modern Christmas song. But Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" is the best-selling single of all time. Today, we'll dream of a "White Christmas."
We don't have to imagine too hard in Northern Michigan, but this song was written in the desert. Irving Berlin wrote “White Christmas” in California — on a hot, sunny day — feeling homesick for the snowy winters back home in New York.
He supposedly told his secretary, “I just wrote the best song anyone ever wrote.” The song "White Christmas" premiered in the 1942 movie "Holiday Inn."
This week's Mystery Melody
It's time to test your ears. Each week we have a mystery melody that we have to figure out together. It relates to our topic. (We'll make the melody less mysterious each day.)
If you know the mystery melody, text your name and the title and we’ll give you a shout out on Friday. The number to text is (833) 490-4718.
