Advent Calendar – 23rd December, 2020
Merry Christmas!
Danielle and Dave’s Advent Calendar
23rd December, 2020
Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer
Johnny Marks
arr for harp by Susann Mc Donald & Linda Wood Rollo
The tale told in this song was created by Robert L. May, the brother in law of Johnny Marks to enhance sales for a Chicago store in 1939. The story tells of the youngest of Santa’s reindeer who had a bright, shiny red nose which came into its own one Christmas Eve when the weather and visibility were poor. Rudolf led the way with the light cast by his nose and all was well.
This popular song became no 1 in the American charts in 1949 as sung by Gene Autry (The Singing Cowboy). Until it was eclipsed in the 1980s it remained the second best selling record of all time. Rudolf has even had a film made about him!
Susann Mc Donald & Linda Wood Rollo wrote much music together for aspiring harpists and their three volumes of Christmas harp arrangements are probably the most played harp arrangements of their kind.
For those harpists who are very familiar with the arrangement of this song I should explain that I don’t entirely ‘stick to the notes’!
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
“Rudolph, with your nose so bright
Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You’ll go down in history”
Recorded on Erat Grecian Harp (1830s)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_the_Red-Nosed_Reindeer