Merry Christmas 2016

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My double basses in Christmas

Double bass

The double bass is typically constructed from several types of wood, including maple for the back, spruce for the top, and ebony for the fingerboard. Double bass is very sensitive to changes in heat and humidity, which can cause cracks in tops.

It is uncertain whether the instrument is a descendant of the viola da gamba or of the violin, but it is traditionally aligned with the violin family.

All of the Viennese classical masters used this instrument in non-orchestral works. Beginning with the concerto by Joseph Haydn (cir. 1763, now lost), concertos followed by K. Kohaut (1765), D. J. Kneissel, B. R. Roslaub (Burgsteinfurt, Concerto No. 3), Dittersdorf (2), W. Pichi (2), A. Zimmermann, J. K. Vanhal, F. A. Hoffmeister (3), L. A. Kozeluch, and J. M. Sperger (18). The most important representatives of the Viennese school were: Josef Kämpfer (1734-after 1796); Friedrich Pischelberger (1741-1813); and Johannes Mathias Sperger (1750-1812). The playing of these musicians did not go unknown to Leopold Mozart, who (after his first visit to Vienna) added the following remarks to the double bass article in the second edition of his Violinschulë: “One can bring forth difficult passages easier with the five-string violone, and I heard unusually beautiful performances of concertos, trios, solos, etc. (on this instrument).” W. A. Mozart also added a contribution to the classical concert literature of the double bass. The obligato part of the concert aria K. 612 marked the high point of the solo music for the double bass of the classical period and at the same time, marked the end of this genre.

In addition, it is used in other genres such as Jazz, 1950s-style Blues and Rock and Roll, and Tango. Because an unamplified upright bass is generally the quietest instrument in a jazz band, many players of the 1920s and 1930s used the slap style, slapping and pulling the strings so that they make a rhythmic “slap” sound against the fingerboard.

Jack Lesberg

Jack Lesberg (February 14, 1920 – September 17, 2005) was a jazz double-bassist. He performed with many famous jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, and Benny Goodman. Lesberg played violin in clubs before switching to the double bass in the late 1930s. He also performed with the New York City Symphony Orchestra, under Leonard Bernstein, and later with the Sydney Symphony. Orchestra.

Portrait of Jack Lesberg, Max Kaminsky, and Peanuts Hucko, Eddie Condon’s, New York, N.Y.

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My antique Christmas postcards

The Postcards are captivating and can be collected in many different ways. Each example is a moment of the past. The message, picture, address, postmark and stamp are part of the life of two people in the past. I’m not a collector, actually, though I have an interesting accumulation.

Antique Santa Claus Postcards

Christmas Snow Scenes

Other Christmas postcards

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My old Christmas ornaments

These antique ornaments were used for my Christmas tree: five wonderful miniatures glass with beautiful detailed molding, twenty-five electric light bulbs in milk glass hand painted (1), many glass balls, one cardboard bell with mica, and the little red horse in hard plastic.

(1) In the 1920s and 1930s Japan began offering these figural milk glass bulbs after switching from the clear glass bulbs in an effort to control the problems with paint peeling on the clear glass.

Japanese milk glass Christmas light bulbs

The bulbs made in Japan were milk glass, which showed less flaws than the earlier clear glass. Japanese bulb production ended in the 1940s and resumed again briefly in the 1950s. Most of the bulbs of this era are clearly marked, although not generally dated.

Glass Christmas Ornaments

Glass Miniatures

Mistletoe & Wine

by Cliff Richard

The child is a King, the Carollers sing,
The old has passed, there’s a new beginning.
Dreams of Santa, dreams of snow,
Fingers numb, faces aglow.

Christmas time, Mistletoe and Wine
Children singing Christian rhyme
With logs on the fire and gifts on the tree
A time to rejoice in the good that we see

A time for living, a time for believing
A time for trusting, not deceiving,
Love and laughter and joy ever after,
Ours for the taking, just follow the master.

Christmas time, Mistletoe and Wine
Children singing Christian rhyme
With logs on the fire and gifts on the tree
A time to rejoice in the good that we see

Silent night, holy night

It’s a time for giving, a time for getting,
A time for forgiving and for forgetting.
Christmas is love, Christmas is peace,
A time for hating and fighting to cease.

Christmas time, Mistletoe and Wine
Children singing Christian rhyme
With logs on the fire and gifts on the tree
A time to rejoice in the good that we see.

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