by Daniel Hathaway
IN THIS EDITION:
. Today is the Winter Solstice
. Holiday music at the Atrium, a Winter Solstice Concert, and WASSAIL! from Apollo’s Fire
. Piano Cleveland Social Club
THE WINTER SOLSTICE is scheduled for today at 4:47 pm in the Northern Hemisphere. Despite a recent run of blazingly sunny days, this moment marks the point when we northerners are tilted as far away from the sun as possible, producing a Wednesday with the shortest daylight and longest night of the year. Just the thing to warm our hearts as the latest episode of the COVID-19 saga unfolds.
Given no alternative, we might as well enjoy our mutual planetary experience today, and as usual, music comes to the rescue.
Click here to listen to the carol commissioned for the 1998 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge. Gile Swayne set his own English text in his Winter Solstice Carol (it alternates with familiar Latin phrases from the Christmas Day antiphon to the Magnificat):
Now, at the dead end of the year,
The nights are long, the days are cold;
We cry for help, but who will hear?
The sky is dumb: our gods are tired and old.
Hodie Christus natus est:
Hodie Salvator apparuit…
Our world spins round its dying star,
Poisoned by folly, fear, and greed;
And in our darkest hour of need
We dream sweet dreams of rescue from afar.
Hodie in terra canunt Angeli,
Laetantur Archangeli…
But now the old year is reborn:
The withered tree springs new and green.
A baby’s laughter greets the dawn:
Today love’s oldest miracle is seen.
Hodie exsultant justi…
Gloria in excelsis Deo,
Alleluia.
Or if you’d like to spend more time contemplating the Solstice, click here to watch Sting’s A Winter’s Night, broadcast live from England’s Durham Cathedral in 2009. The comments are exuberant, and “magical” is the most-used word to describe this 90-minute concert. The playlist and cue times follow:
Intro (Sting/A Winter’s Night Concert) 00:00 02. The Snow It Melts The Soonest 01:54 03. Gabriel’s Message 05:42 04. Soul Cake 09:15 05. There Is No Rose Of Such Virtue 15:21 06. Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming 20:10 07. Christmas At Sea 24:53 08. Now Winter Comes Slowly 30:42 09. Cold Song 33:54 10. The Burning Babe 38:24 11. Ghost Story 42:34 12. Team Spirit 47:38 13. The Hounds Of Winter 51:40 14. Cherry Tree Carol 58:37 15. Balulalow 01:02:56 16. Bethelehem Down 01:07:08 17. Coventry Carol 01:10:41 18. Lullaby For An Anxious Child 01:14:10 19. I Saw Three Ships 01:20:46 20. You Only Cross My Mind In Winter 01:25:41
TODAYS EVENTS:
From 5:00 pm – 6:15 pm, harpist Stephan Haluska plays Holiday Music in the Atrium of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd. It’s free and he’ll perform again on December 28, same time.
At 6:00 pm, The Music Settlement will present its annual Winter Solstice Concert with Ida Mercer, cello, Mari Sato, violin, and Anne Wilson, piano. Offering a broad range of styles, the program will include works by Vivaldi, Brubeck, Ravel, and Piazzolla, a brief presentation of the science behind the solstice, and film footage of deep outer space and satellite travel throughout the solar system. Tickets available online.
And at 7:30 pm, Apollo’s Fire presents the first of two performances of WASSAIL! – An Irish-Appalachian Christmas. Irish singer Fiona Gillespie joins with fiddlers, Medieval harp, hammered dulcimer, and bagpipes in this communal celebration of the American immigrant experience. Limited ticket availability. Cleveland Play House, Playhouse Square. Tickets available online.
IN THE NEWS:
If you’re a pianist looking to expand your professional network but don’t know where to start, the new Piano Cleveland Social Club might be the right group for you! The goal of the Club is to gather together pianists of all genres and walks of life in a welcoming and supportive space designed for professional growth and social outings. Mark your calendars for the launch of the Club on Tuesday, January 24 at 6:30 PM at Forest City Brewery. Food and drink will be provided. The event is intended for pianists ages 21 and over. Click here to receive more information.
ALMANAC — DECEMBER 21 IN MUSIC HISTORY:
Birthday anniversaries: Frank Zappa (1939 in Baltimore) and Michael Tilson Thomas (1944 in Hollywood).
First performance best forgotten: Sergei Prokofiev, Zdravitza ‘A Toast,’ commissioned for the 60th birthday of Joseph Stalin. Sviatoslav Richter called Zdravitsa unplayable today due to its subject matter, but, nevertheless, declared the cantata an “absolute work of genius.”
