Thursday, December 15, 2011

COLLECTION #120: Mid-Century Christmas Piano Music

 

This small collection of piano music is from my own pathetic days as a piano student, as well as my Mother-in-Law, and her mother's collections.




The two music books: Let Us Have Music for Christmas by Carl Fischer, and Christmas Cameos by John W. Schaum, were my books from the early '60s. I tried playing a song or two from Christmas Cameos, and I can see now why I quit piano lessons... it was really hard! I love the cute late '50s artwork on the front... it's very retro, and still looks awesome today!


The sheet music belonged to my Mother-in-Law Betty, and her mother Evelyn Gore. They had a lot of sheet music in the home. Bruce's Grandpa (Evelyn's husband) was quite an accomplished pianist. I never heard Evelyn play (she died only a few years after we were married), but I remember hearing  Lawrence play.

I love all the different styles of artwork of Santa and the reindeer. Very cute!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I used to love teaching the 'Christmas Cameos' all 3 books! You are right: the songs are 'early advanced.' My piano students who DID work out one or 2 of the songs per year, really struggled with the timing. WE still have our 3 Cameo books in our Christmas collection! Thanks for showing all the Christmas sheet-music covers: we have ALL of them too & enjoy them. So many NEW editions of Christmas music are out now, and lie easily under a pianist's hands. They look DO-able & therefore aren't as frightening as the music of 60 yrs ago. I'd suggest Alfred Publishers which has holiday music for ALL levels. By the way, I started piano lessons at6, have a Bachelor of Music Ed/Piano, & taught 46 years till I retired a few years ago. Call a music-store, talk to the person in charge of piano-music, & try again! YOU can do it! Good luck! Mary Ann in Butte, MT