🎵 🎄 HOLIDAY MUSIC MONTH: Introducing Vince Guaraldi

The origins of some seasonal classics are lost in the mists of time, but for others, we know just when and where they arrived on the scene. That’s the case for Vince Guaraldi’s instant American classic “Christmas Time is Here,” one of the musical favorites from the TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” first broadcast on this day (December 9th) in 1965.

December is Homeschool Holiday Music Month in the River Houses, and throughout the month we’re sharing an assortment of seasonal favorites in a great variety of styles and genres — classical and modern, sacred and secular, serious and silly — along with a collection of easy educational notes that will let you teach little musical lessons all along the way.

The American composer and jazz musician Vince Guaraldi (1928–1976) was born in San Francisco and achieved early success in west coast music circles in the 1950s. Producer Lee Mendelson (1933–2019), who was developing the first Peanuts holiday specials in the early 1960s, heard Guaraldi’s music on the radio and invited him to write the score for “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and the rest is musical history.

Most of Guaraldi’s compositions were intended to be purely instrumental, but for the best-known piece, “Christmas Time is Here,” Mendelson himself wrote lyrics.

Christmas Time is Here

Christmas time is here,
Happiness and cheer,
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year.
Snowflakes in the air,
Carols everywhere,
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share.
Sleigh bells in the air,
Beauty everywhere,
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there.
Christmas time is here,
Families drawing near,
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year.
Sleigh bells in the air,
Beauty everywhere,
Yuletide by the fireside,
And joyful memories there.
Christmas time is here,
Families drawing near,
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year.

Jazz is a distinctly American genre of music, although it is now played all over the world. Guaraldi’s work for the Peanuts specials included not only fully original jazz pieces, but also new jazz arrangements of traditional Christmas carols such as the old German classic “O Tannenbaum” (often sung in English as “O Christmas Tree”).

Why not introduce your students to some of Guaraldi’s wonderful works this month and invite them to learn more about jazz and its rich history.

What marvelous musical discoveries will you and your students be making in your homeschool during this delightful Holiday Music Month? 🎄 🎵

❡ Musical memories: If you’d like to fill your homeschool with some beautiful background sounds during the holidays, why not tune in to the 24-hour Holiday Channel from WQXR, the famous classical music radio station in New York City. “Enjoy the sounds of orchestras, choirs, brass ensembles and more as we celebrate the sacred and secular sounds of the season.” I have it on as background music almost every day at this time of year. Won’t you join me? 📻

❡ Olden times and ancient rhymes: What did the Christmas season sound like a hundred years ago and more? Find out from this wonderful collection of historic recordings of American Christmas music, brought together by the Library of Congress. 🎵

❡ Lift every voice: This is one of our occasional posts on Homeschool Arts & Music. Add your name to our weekly mailing list and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 📫

❡ Homeschool calendars: We have a whole collection of free, printable, educational homeschool calendars and planners available on our main River Houses calendar page. They will help you create a light and easy structure for your homeschool year. Give them a try today! 🗓

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❡ Join us! The aim of the River Houses project is to create a network of friendly local homeschool support groups — local chapters that we call “Houses.” Our first at-large chapter, Headwaters House, is now forming and is open to homeschoolers everywhere. Find out how to become one of our founding members on the Headwaters House membership page. 🏡