I’ve spent the last two blogs writing about Chanukah in
preparation for Master Chorus Eastside’s upcoming December concerts. It’s been a good way for me to acquaint
myself (and probably a fair portion of our audience as well) with the festival. But we have lots of familiar Christmas carols
on the program too. And, like Chanukah,
many of them revel in light; how fitting for festivals that occur at the
darkest time of the year.
For instance, two of our carols, the Provençal Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella, and Torches, an old Galician carol set to
music by the modern English composer John Joubert, were sung to accompany Christmas
torchlight processionals that made their way to the village crèche. I can imagine these fire-lit processionals,
glowing with warmth and radiance, wending their way through the darkened town, singing
these carols that call neighbors and friends to relive that night in Bethlehem
long ago.
Other carols in our concert, such as Angels We Have Heard on High and
We Three Kings of Orient Are, refer to “glory”: the glory of the angels,
the glory of the star, the glory of Mary with her Child, all arrayed against
the surrounding nighttime. “Glory” means
honor, praise, admiration, but it also carries a sense of splendor, of
transcendent beauty, of light that surpasses darkness. In fact, in Provence, Epiphany processional celebrations,
illuminated by the rays of the setting sun, heralded the arrival on January 6 of
magnificently costumed three kings in all their glory, with bright pennants,
blazing torches, and a beautiful star suspended above the church altar. It was a glory of light as light faded from
the day!
Perhaps our most touching number is a choral arrangement
of the modern American classic, Have
Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, unforgettably sung by Judy Garland in the
movie Meet Me in St. Louis. Her family is about to move from their beloved
St. Louis home to distant, cold New York City, and, in the midst of their
sadness and loss, Judy Garland sings it to her little sister, Tootie, played by
Margaret O’Brien. The lyrics skillfully suggest
light threatened by darkness: “make the yuletide bright, next year all our
troubles will be out of sight;” “happy golden days;” “hang a shining star upon
the highest bough” (if the fates allow!)
Notice, in this clip from the movie, how darkness and
light play against one another: the dim bedroom, Judy’s scarf sparkling in the
gloom, the subdued light from the house spilling obliquely across the snowy evening
lawn, the brightly lit window of The Boy Next Door surrounded by blackness, the
shadow that falls across the face of the two girls as he slowly pulls down his
window shade.
Of course, a happy ending prevails, and the family remains
in St. Louis. Light triumphs!
Christmas and Chanukah are seasons of light, resplendent
in the midst of darkness. So in the
spirit of both seasons, raise your voice in carols or Chanukah songs, attend concerts
and services, savor traditional commemorations, and celebrate the light!
Dr. Linda Gingrich
Artistic director and conductor
Master Chorus Eastside
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