TWO CHRISTMAS CARDS have arrived on our desk, 'resonant' with the sounds of the season. And both, coincidentally, feature stringed instruments. One has Santa Claus, boots deep in snow, belting out First Nowell on a double-bass under a sky frosted with stars. The other is a tinted print of a famous Christmas party, Fezziwig's ball, from that most Christmassy of books, Dickens' A Christmas Carol. A fiddler scrapes away in a loft while couples swirl in merry dance in what is possibly the cosiest, happiest, most festive scene in all of English literature.
The two illustrations had us suddenly thinking about musical instruments as Christmas gifts. Only the other day we were wandering through a music store and glorying in the visual beauty of the goods in glass cases: the violins and cellos with their brandy, honey, and golden syrup hues, and the silver and gold splendour of flutes, horns and trumpets - what a festive sight.
We were prompted to call friends who played those very, or related, instruments, and ask for their thoughts on music-linked gifts for the season.
'I think it's a wonderful idea to give a musical instrument on Christmas Day,' said Jeremy Williams, principal viola player with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. 'Most people have a thirst for some sort of music, and it's important to satisfy this need, whether it be for classical music or pop music. Often, people discover their musicality only after receiving such a gift.
'I received a violin from my grandfather when I was five years old, and that pretty much fixed my future as a musician and string player. I believe a house with music is a happy one. It could be classics or the Beatles, what matters is that there is music,' he said. 'And I do think grandfathers make better givers of gifts than parents. Children tend to see presents from grandparents as genuine gifts, with no strings attached, so to speak.'
The Santa card had us dialling Hong Kong Phil double-bass player Todd Williamson. We joked, saying we could never picture anyone, even Santa, hauling a bass along to present as a gift. He countered, saying all string players should eventually graduate to the grand instrument, the grandfather of the string family, and that an 'ideal world is one where everyone ends up playing the bass!'