The debasement of Christmas songs
Dec 21, 2015 | By ANDREW FERGUSON
"To convey her depth of religious feeling, Christina borrows her mentor's signature vocal trick, using several notes to sing a single syllable. Musicologists call it melisma. It is an old technique, common to Gregorian chants from long ago, but it's more familiar to contemporary audiences through the vein-popping exertions of the late Whitney Houston and countless singers who have kneecapped our national anthem before televised sporting events. As the singer slides around in search of the note to match the syllable, melisma can sound to the amateur ear—mine anyway—like someone handed a pennywhistle to a meth-head."
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