Thoughts on The Many Worlds of Christmas

This year in our December 3 and 11 concerts Master Chorus Eastside is sharing the world, as well as the power, of choral music, and in keeping with our theme The Many Worlds of Christmas tours the globe, savoring diverse holiday songs and carols from cultures all around the world.  These musical expressions showcase a kaleidoscopic array of rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and modes of thought unique to each culture.  Many of them spring from folk idioms that may seem simple on the surface but are solidly rooted in the earthy wisdom of the everyday lives of their creators.  Others are sophisticated compositions and carol arrangements by trained musicians.  But all tell a story of joy in song, comfort in the cyclic ritual of times and seasons and traditions, and the very human need to celebrate.

We begin with calls to “come,” the first directed toward heaven through an ancient French plainchant, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, the second directed earthward in O Come, All Ye Faithful.   From there we travel the world: from summer-in-December Australia to snowy-in-December Austria: from the ancient mountains of American Appalachia to the modern syncopated rhythms of a parang from Trinidad:  from the robust rhythms of Nigerian Africa to an African influenced villancico from Renaissance Spain: and perhaps most surprisingly, from pre-Communist China via an Advent carol found in an old Chinese hymnal to unsinkable, exuberant Haiti. 

There are plenty of familiar European and American carols to delight your ears: I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In, Jingle Bells, Silver Bells; Deck the Halls, and a most delightful wassailing song from England.  There are mummer’s songs from Latvia, an African American Christmas spiritual, and plenty of sing alongs to nurture your holiday spirit.  And then we close the circle back home in the United States with a musical commentary on our travels, Some Children See Him—black, brown, white, almond-eyed—like themselves!  Our journey through the many worlds of Christmas reflects those varied visions back to us as fellow travelers on this planet.  So come and enjoy—and celebrate!

Dr. Linda Gingrich, D.M.A
Artistic Director/Conductor

Master Chorus Eastside

A Un Niño Llorando: An Under-Rehearsed Reverie

“A un niño llorando” does not really mean an under-rehearsed reverie. It means “To a child crying in the freezing cold”-- Also translated as “A child crying in the ice” or “A child crying on ice” on YouTube.

Source: ErinNoiePhotography.com

“A un niño” will be performed by MCE in our winter concert as edited from a 16th century Spanish carol by Artistic Director, Dr. Linda Gingrich. I imagine her descending into the depths of a dusty archive, poring over an ancient manuscript and emerging, radiant, with an edited version of this piece, brought to new life for our era. So far, she has told me nothing to contradict this fantasy. 

As for the “under-rehearsed reverie”, do not worry. At this stage, the chorus has adequately rehearsed the piece, so that previously disjointed, raggedy fittings of the complex polyphonic parts have smoothed out. As we sing, each word and note falls into its inevitable groove.  As with many pieces that we rehearse, I enjoyed some aspects of the “under-rehearsed” stage even more than the adequately rehearsed version. 

Our first sing-through of an unfamiliar piece often has a soft, gentle, unfocused, tentative, tender, innocent, searching, exploring quality that appeals to me. It seems to me that in this early stage of rehearsal, there is  maximum potential and possibility alive in the music. No firm interpretation has been formed, and the piece could go in almost any direction. At this stage, I feel the most open to fanciful impressions -- So here we go!

“A un niño llorando” traditionally begins with a solo voice which introduces the melodic theme and makes a surprising announcement --"To a child who is crying in the freezing cold, three kings go to worship . . . ” Then the message passes to a chorus of voices which excitedly repeat and expand upon the good news --"The child can give us kingdoms, life, glory, and heaven!”

It is easy for me to imagine this message passed along from voice to voice in the manner of village gossip. The villagers do not completely understand the message, but that does not prevent them from repeating it to each other with increasing enthusiasm. Their exclamations and conversations develop into a polyphony of boisterous rejoicing.

When the chorus of voices fades at the end, a solo voice continues the pure line of the melody and floats above the joyous tumult as a reminder of the divine aspect of the scene. In our earlier stage of rehearsal this solo voice had, for me, the effect of a beam of light projected through the cloudscape of a darkened sky.

Source: rhyno214, deviantART

Rehearsal Magic

There are magical moments that sometimes happen in rehearsal. They come unlooked for, which makes them all the more wonderful. One of those moments came at our rehearsal last week. We rehearsed John Jacob Niles haunting arrangement of the Appalachian carol, I Wonder as I Wander. It begins with a soloist singing the first verse while the choir hums background accompaniment:

I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,

How Jesus the Savior did come for to die,

For poor on’ry people like you and like I…

I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

Two choral verses then follow, describing the Christmas story. Then the soloist sings the first verse once more to close. The piece is plaintive and beautiful, and seems to touch something basic in our American soul. This was our first run through so we sang it, worked on various musical aspects, then sang it through one more time. Magic happened. Our tenor soloist sang it as simply and naturally as a child, yet with a grownup’s artistry and sensitivity to the mood of the text. The MCE singers reflected that mood back to him and to me, and for a few moments we seemed to transcend time and place. It was breathtaking.

There are still a few rough places to smooth out, it isn’t quite performance ready, but what happened in those moments touched something beyond mere notes and rhythms; we made music! It is impossible to describe. We know it when we experience it, but those are the moments conductors live for. It makes all the hard work of rehearsal worthwhile.

Dr. Linda Gingrich, D.M.A
Artistic Director/Conductor

Master Chorus Eastside

Mummer? What’s a mummer? Huh? Wha..?

Gentle Musical Readers,

Artist: Unknown

MCE will be performing a Latvian carol, The Mummers’ Song, for the 2011 Winter concert. When the piece was first introduced to us in rehearsal, a wave of interrogative murmurs passed through the chorus (“Mummer?”, “What’s a mummer?”, “Huh?”,“Wha..?”). 

I did some research and was thrilled to find an authentic specimen of modern mummery on YouTube which seems to illuminate our distant pagan European roots.

Mumming, mummering, or mummery seems to be a seasonal tradition in which masked, costumed revelers go from door to door, disrupting Christmas celebrations or quiet evenings at home with uproarious antics. They request food and drink in payment for providing entertainment. The mummer’s appear to have the same relationship to a well-ordered society as the Seafair Pirates or trick-or-treaters gone wild.

Source: Mummersartist.com

The setting of the YouTube mummers’ performance appears to be a family-oriented, community Christmas celebration somewhere in Eastern Europe. There is an atmosphere of eating and drinking conviviality in the hall, when suddenly from outside, there is a fearful roaring of male voices and rhythmic beating of drums. The masked mummers invade the hall wearing outlandish costumes. They sing and perform an oafishly graceful song and dance. 

The children appear to be slightly anxious and wary of these menacing intruders, but soon even the youngest children understand that these roaring, dancing men will not harm them. So they become more bold and curious;  some even challenge the mummers in various child-like ways. These guys are less scary to kids than department store Santa’s or circus clowns. 

The mummers’ performance appears to be a traditional ritual in which everyone knows his part and at the end (climax), it includes some vulgar physical humor. However this European gathering is not fazed by the mummers’ bawdy antics. They appear to lack even the slightest tinge of Puritanism. They take it all in stride even when tastelessly moistened by the mummers. 

This clip is R-rated, or at least requires Parental Guidance. Hah! Got your attention now! Please check it out and let us know what you think.

For a more gentle, whimsical Newfoundland evening of mummery, check out this YouTube clip (This one is hilarious and heartwarming):

Roberta DeBruler

Musical Correspondent

Master Chorus Eastside