As shadows move and change (away from the sundial each day), and the nights get longer, listen to music of the season from Jeremiah Lockwood's 2021 new record of old traditional Hanukkah songs and the John Fahey album of Christmas songs that inspired him. Plus, Hanukkah tunes arranged by Athens, Georgia-based guitarist Shane Parish and by chamber orchestra, The Knights. 

Jeremiah Lockwood is the leader of the band Sway Machinery, a group that blends both West African pop and Hebrew prayers. (Lockwood’s grandfather was the famous cantor Jacob Konigsberg (1921-2007).) With his 2021 record, A Great Miracle: Jeremiah Lockwood’s Guitar Soli Chanukah Record, the musician who got his start as a blues guitarist (studying with Carolina Slim) offers a solo guitar tribute to the holiday. The title is an overt nod to the 1968 record, The New Possibility: John Fahey’s Guitar Soli Christmas Record. Hear several acoustic blues-rooted selections from Lockwood’s Hanukkah album.

Then, there’s also more acoustic guitar tunes from the aforementioned John Fahey record of Christmas song arrangements and Fahey's Volume two of those holiday-themed works, along with selections of Hanukkah tunes from the album, December, by Shane Parish “for people who love holiday music, and for people who hate it.” Parish is one half of the instrumental avant-math-prog punk duo Ahleuchatistas, who has also recorded fingerstyle acoustic guitar records of fractured folk songs and traditional melodies. Plus, music for Hanukkah by chamber band The Knights, from their holiday-themed album, Before Christmas. – Caryn Havlik 

Program #4567, Seasonal Songs of December (First Aired 12/02/2021)

ARTIST: John Fahey
WORK: Joy to the World [:40]
RECORDING: The New Possibility: John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album
SOURCE: Takoma Records 8912
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify, YouTube Music

ARTIST: Jeremiah Lockwood
WORK: Little Dreydel [:48]
RECORDING: Great Miracle: Jeremiah Lockwood's Guitar Soli Chanukah Record
SOURCE: Reboot Records
INFO: rebootrecords.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Jeremiah Lockwood
WORK: Al Hanisim [3:55]
RECORDING: Great Miracle: Jeremiah Lockwood's Guitar Soli Chanukah Record
SOURCE: Reboot Records
INFO: rebootrecords.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: John Fahey
WORK: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Fantasy [2:40]
RECORDING: The New Possibility: John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album
SOURCE: Takoma Records 8912
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify, YouTube Music

ARTIST: Jeremiah Lockwood
WORK: Al Hanisim Izhar Cohen [2:53]
RECORDING: Great Miracle: Jeremiah Lockwood's Guitar Soli Chanukah Record
SOURCE: Reboot Records
INFO: rebootrecords.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Jeremiah Lockwood
WORK: Mi Yemalel [3:03]
RECORDING: Great Miracle: Jeremiah Lockwood's Guitar Soli Chanukah Record
SOURCE: Reboot Records
INFO: rebootrecords.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: John Fahey
WORK: Hark the Herald Angels Sing O Come Let Us Adore Him Medley [3:11]
RECORDING: The New Possibility: John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album
SOURCE: Takoma Records 8912
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify, YouTube Music

ARTIST: John Fahey, Richard Rushkin
WORK: Carol of the Bells [2:41]
RECORDING: Christmas with John Fahey Vol. II
SOURCE: Takoma Records 7045
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify, YouTube Music

ARTIST: Jeremiah Lockwood
WORK: Maoz Tzur [3:13]
RECORDING: Great Miracle: Jeremiah Lockwood's Guitar Soli Chanukah Record
SOURCE: Reboot Records
INFO: rebootrecords.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Shane Parish
WORK: I Have a Little Dreidel [2:28]
RECORDING: December
SOURCE/INFO: shaneparish.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Jeremiah Lockwood
WORK: Drey Dreydl [2:40]
RECORDING: Great Miracle: Jeremiah Lockwood's Guitar Soli Chanukah Record
SOURCE: Reboot Records
INFO: rebootrecords.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Shane Parish
WORK: Hanukkah, O Hanukkah [1:45]
RECORDING: December
SOURCE/INFO: shaneparish.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: The Knights
WORK: Haneros Haluli (arr. Colin Jacobsen) [7:24]
RECORDING: Before Christmas
SOURCE: Bright Shiny Things
INFO: brightshiny.ninja

ARTIST: John Fahey, Richard Rushkin
WORK: Russian Christmas Overture (based on Prokofiev) [6:49]
RECORDING: Christmas with John Fahey Vol. II
SOURCE: Takoma Records 7045
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, AppleMusic, Spotify, YouTube Music

ARTIST: Classical Sundays
WORK: Maoz Tzur (Winter Tales Version) [1:00]
RECORDING: Winter Tales
SOURCE: Deutsche Grammophon
INFO: hdeutschegrammophon.com