Arctic is a new release by Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing that asks questions, through music, about the effects of climate change on the Arctic region, and on the life that exists there. Ms. Hemsing, who grew up near the Arctic Circle, says “the Arctic is often misrepresented as stark and uninhabitable wasteland.” Yet Hemsing explains that “it’s a region of matchless beauty abounding in life, one that magically illustrates how all things cohere in fragile cycles.”
With new pieces by composers including Jacob Shea, Frode Fjellheim, and James Newton Howard, as well as Norwegian heroes of the past such as Ole Bull and Edvard Grieg, Arctic is a compelling compendium of musical ideas about a region that plays a vital role in the health of the entire planet.
Enjoy All Classical Portland’s Program Director John Pitman‘s conversation with Eldbjørg Hemsing below.
All Classical Portland is proud to share a diverse offering of music we love all year round. During Black History Month in February, we are shining a special spotlight on the extraordinary contributions to classical music by Black composers and performing artists. In this post, you’ll get to know some of the composers who will be featured in All Classical Portland’s programming this month and throughout the year.
Image courtesy of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
William Levi Dawson (1899-1990)
Composer and choral conductor William Levi Dawson was one of the most significant African American composers of the 20th century. While his formal studies primarily centered on classical music, he also immersed himself in jazz after moving to one of the country’s largest hubs for the genre – Chicago. Dawson played bass with renowned jazz performers such as Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines. Another integral element of Dawson’s music, African American folksong, was carried through from childhood. His arrangements of spirituals are as highly regarded as his original compositions.
Image courtesy of Indiana University Libraries Archives of African American Music and Culture Collections, No. SC 102
Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989)
Undine Smith Moore was an American composer and educator who primarily focused on writing choral and sacred works. Spirituals and Southern hymnody heavily influenced her compositional style. Among her many accomplishments was co-founding and co-directing Virginia State University’s Black Music Research Center, which brought leading Black musicians and lecturers to the campus.
Moore’s oratorio on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Scenes from the Life of a Martyr, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1981.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
George Walker (1922-2018)
George Walker was nothing short of a trailblazer and achieved considerable acclaim as a composer, concert pianist, and educator during his lifetime. His broad range of works, from large orchestral pieces to intimate songs for voice and piano, have been performed by virtually every major orchestra in the U.S. as well as abroad. His music was influenced by such classical heavy hitters as Debussy and Stravinsky, as well as Black musical idioms such as jazz, blues, and spirituals.
In 1996, Walker became the first African American composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for music for his piece, Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra.
Image courtesy of Pan African Music
Emahoy Guèbrou (b. 1923)
Emahoy Guèbrou (born Yewubdar Guèbrou) is an Ethiopian composer and nun whose music has been highly influenced by her religious vocation. Throughout her career, Emahoy has used her music to benefit underprivileged children. The Emahoy Tsege Mariam Music Foundation, which provides music education to disadvantaged children, is financially supported by proceeds from Emahoy’s compositional copyrights. Emahoy fled to an Ethiopian Orthodox monastery in Jerusalem in 1984 to escape religious persecution in her home country. She still resides there today.
One of Emahoy’s works that will be featured in All Classical Portland’s programming is a piece for solo piano called Homesickness. The recording was performed by Sophie Lippert, All Classical Portland’s 2022 International Arts Correspondent.
Image courtesy of Encyclopedia of Indianapolis
David N. Baker (1931-2016)
American composer and jazz cellist David Baker’s colossal oeuvre of 2,000 works ranges from jazz compositions to symphonic works and film scores. Baker credits Charles Ives and Béla Bartók as significant compositional influences. In addition to his many musical scores, Baker is remembered as a pioneer in using the cello in jazz ensembles and collaborated with artists such as Quincy Jones and George Russell. His work as a jazz pedagogue resulted in 70 books on jazz improvisation, composition, arrangement, and other related topics.
In 1968, Baker founded the Jazz Studies department at Indiana University, the first of its kind in the U.S.
Image courtesy of Discogs
Samuel Akpabot (1932-2000)
Samuel Akpabot was a Nigerian composer and ethnomusicologist whose music blended Nigerian folk elements and Western classical style. Interestingly, Akpabot’s music was almost exclusively written for orchestra. His studies brought him to various institutions around the world, such as the Royal College of Music in London, the University of Ife in Nigeria, the University of Chicago, and Michigan State. During his tenure in the United States, Akpabot became known as a revered scholar of West African indigenous music.
Image courtesy of Cedille Records
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004)
The music of American composer and conductor Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson captures a rich blend of traditional Western techniques and American popular styles, such as blues and spirituals. In addition to his wide range of compositions, Perkinson is known for co-founding the Symphony of the New World in 1965, the first racially integrated orchestra in the U.S. Did you know that Coleridge Taylor Perkinson was named after British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor?
One of the pieces by Perkinson that will be played on air this month is Sonata for Flute and Piano, performed by Adam Eccleston and Monica Ohuchi. The piece was recently recorded and released on AMPLIFY, the inaugural album from All Classical Portland’s Recording Inclusivity Initiative (RII).
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)
Over the past several decades, Adolphus Hailstork has been commissioned by major ensembles across the U.S. to write pieces for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and opera. His music is described in the New Grove Dictionary of Music as “postmodern and pluralistic,” meaning Hailstork integrates a wide variety of contemporary compositional techniques, including references to Black musical idioms.
Notable honors for the composer include the Ernest Block award for choral composition in 1971, and in 1992, he was named Cultural Laureate of Virginia.
Image courtesy of Crossing Borders Music
Justinian Tamusuza (b. 1951)
Ugandan composer and educator Justinian Tamusuza has been recognized as one of the leading contemporary African composers of our time. Tamusuza’s Afro-European music blends Western classical and Ugandan traditional styles and techniques. To the new listener, his works might resemble American minimalism in their use of polyrhythms while still evoking the spirit of traditional African music. As an educator, Tamusuza has taught at Makerere University in Uganda and Northwestern University. He’s known for inspiring his students to follow his lead in drawing on their own rich cultural heritage when creating new compositions.
Photo by Rachel Hadiashar, courtesy of the composer’s website
Damien Geter
Damien Geter is a multifaceted artist known for his work as a composer, actor, and bass-baritone. Additionally, he currently serves as Interim Music Director & Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera and Artistic Advisor for Resonance Ensemble. Geter has established a unique position as a leading voice both in his role as a performer and in creating meaningful classical works. As a singer, Geter has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, and Portland Opera, among many others. In his writing, Geter focuses on issues around social justice by infusing classical music with styles from the Black diaspora. His body of work currently includes pieces for orchestra, chamber ensemble, and stage.
Mark your calendars! On Thursday, February 16, 2023, at 7:00 PM PT, All Classical Portland will air an encore broadcast of Damien Geter’s powerful An African American Requiem. The world premiere performance was simulcast by All Classical Portland and WQXR in May 2022 from the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and cohosted by Suzanne Nance and Terrance McKnight.
For further reading, we recommend checking out some of All Classical Portland’s previous posts highlighting Black composers:
Thank you to KPTV Fox 12 Oregon host Tony Martinez for having All Classical Portland radio host Christa Wessel on Show and Tell with Tony, during Good Day Oregon!
The interview was filmed at All Classical Portland’s station. It features Christa sharing her French horn, which sparked her passion for music at an early age.
Sophie Lippert, concert pianist and All Classical Portland’s International Arts Correspondent, is currently living in Tel Aviv, Israel. In this edition of Musician Abroad, she takes us on a journey through Tel Aviv’s live music scene.
Moving from Portland to Tel Aviv has been an incredible experience. I’ve immersed myself in Israeli society—seeking out sights and sounds, flavors and tastes, places and spaces that have helped me engage with local culture and community.
One of the things that’s been most rewarding has been harnessing my background as a pianist and cellist to forge connections, make new friends, and expand my sensory horizons.
A stellar line-up of jazz musicians grace the stage at Shablul Jazz Club, during a night honoring women in music. Featuring Chen Levy (vocals), Hila Kolik (piano), Anbar Paz (bass), Hadar Noiberg (flute), and David Sirkis (drums).
Over the year I’ve been in Tel Aviv, I’ve been lucky enough to pursue several different paths of musical exploration:
Learning, recording, and performing music written by Israeli female composers,
Playing at several events in Israel, and collaborating with fabulous area musicians,
Attending a unique array of concerts, and reveling in the local live music scene.
In my last blog post as All Classical Portland’s International Arts Correspondent, I’m excited to paint a colorful picture of my recent musical high points, focusing on the three areas above.
1. Learning Music by Israeli Female Composers
Let’s rewind for a moment to March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic first began affecting Portland and my world. My performing career was temporarily suspended, and I was forced to cancel all upcoming shows in my concert series, Connections Concerts. I knew I needed to pivot my focus away from collaborative music, and toward solo projects for the foreseeable future. At that time, I took on two big musical projects: recording my first solo piano album, Time Travel, and revamping my repertoire while devoting myself to learning music written by female composers.
It turns out that I quite like playing music written by women and feel especially passionate about sharing music that’s not already in the common classical music vernacular. There are SO many great pieces that have rarely (if ever!) been performed and recorded. I find it a tremendous honor—and hugely exciting—to bring these underexposed composers and pieces to the ears of new listeners.
Sophie performs a line-up of repertoire by female composers at The Old Church in Portland.
Now, let’s fast-forward to late 2021. Upon arriving in Tel Aviv, jetlagged and navigating serious culture shock, I began to research Israeli female composers. I didn’t know exactly what might manifest with these new pieces, but I DID know it felt like an important and powerful way to forge connections with Israeli culture, and the local music scene.
I threw myself into the process, digging deep into the archives at the Israeli Music Library, contacting individual composers whose music intrigued me, and requesting score samples. Eventually, I ended up purchasing over 50 pages worth of sheet music, all written by Israeli women over the course of the last 50 years. And then, the fun really started: learning this magnificent music!
Sophie’s practice nook in her Tel Aviv apartment, overlooking the city skyline. Not too shabby!
From start to culmination, it’s been an utter joy. I’ve been in contact with two of the composers whose music I’ve learned, Na’ama Tamir Kaplan and Lotti Amit-Kalev, and it’s been great to correspond and exchange support and camaraderie. The learning process itself has been rich and rewarding, playing repertoire that’s never previously been recorded means I have the opportunity to develop a truly personal relationship with the music. I’m freed from referencing other interpretations, or feeling like I have to “match up” to tempos, phrasings, or other artistic decisions made by other pianists. Talk about freeing—and a bit intimidating, too!
I also deeply appreciate how much this Israeli music feels firmly of this place. Though each of the composers whose libraries I’ve explored have different ways of manifesting the cultural ethos here, I find them all beautifully representative of the complexity, color, vibrancy, and perpetual dance of contrasts that I experience in Israeli people and places. There is abrasiveness and intensity, alongside hearts of gold; an embrace of individualism, along with an orientation toward community and family. The music I’ve learned this year reflects all that, and more: it leans in to tension, and celebrates resolution; it doesn’t shy away from challenging dissonance and chord structures, while also finding places to release into blissful harmonic terrain.
During her trip back to Portland this summer, Sophie spent a fabulous summer afternoon performing live on All Classical Portland’s Thursdays at Three program.
When I traveled back to Portland this summer, I had the tremendous joy of performing a handful of my favorite Israeli pieces on All Classical Portland’s Thursdays at Three, hosted by Christa Wessel! During the month of October, I rented a beautiful Steinway at the Ra’anana Music Center, hired a stellar audio engineer, and recorded 22 minutes worth of repertoire by three different composers: Na’ama Tamir Kaplan, Lotti Amit-Kalev, and Sarah Feigin. I’m proud to share that the culmination of those efforts is a brand new EP titled Seaside, which is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms!
All set up for recording at Ra’anana Music Center, an amazing venue and music education center just north of Tel Aviv.
Learning this fantastic music by Israeli women was a highlight of my year; sharing it with a new audience is an even greater honor and joy.
2. Playing Music in Tel Aviv
During my time in Tel Aviv, my career as a professional pianist has been decidedly humble. I’ve performed in intimate venues and settings, rather than on big stages; my endeavors have been as a solo or small-group musician, rather than as a performer with an orchestra or a larger group of collaborators.
But there’s been no lack of richness. I’ve loved having the opportunity to perform in a slew of different settings. And, each time I’ve played live this past year, there’s been a guiding force: the desire to use my music to connect with individuals, families, or local communities.
Sophie performs live at a secret dinner party at a funky art gallery in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv.
I performed at a pop-up “Secret Dinner Party.” Local entrepreneur Charlotte Rehov stands at the helm of this brilliant endeavor. She finds different unusual venues around town, and invites small groups of people to eat an amazing 4-course meal, drink delicious wine, meet new friends, and hear music by a live musician. The evening I came and serenaded her attendees, the dinner took place at a wild and whimsical local gallery, which was covered floor-to-ceiling with bright art prints. I delighted in providing acoustic ambiance to the evening, and spoke to the group about the power of connection through music. What a treat!
I performed at a birthday party. A serendipitous conversation with a new friend led me to land this gig in central Israel, where a family of 20+ lively Israelis gathered to celebrate their matriarch’s 60th birthday. The family knew of her deep love for the cello, and so they hired me to play a small concert to kick off their festivities. The whole evening was absolutely memorable—especially when the matriarch was blindfolded, paraded in, seated directly in front of me, and then invited to take off her blindfold when I started playing a selection from Bach’s G Major Suite for Solo Cello. She was overcome with emotion for the entirety of my 40-minute set, and the group whooped and hollered with appreciation each time I finished a song. As an encore, I ended up taking a number of requests, and the whole room sang along with their favorite songs from musicals and pop culture. Again: what an opportunity to deepen in connection! I emerged with cherished memories.
I collaborated with a new friend, in support of an EP release of her original compositions. This was a particularly special experience for me, as it afforded me the chance to expand my musical horizons in several noteworthy ways:
My classical music training has led me to hold myself to a very high standard of playing; I rarely give myself space to free myself from perfectionism, and be unencumbered by expectations for “how things should sound.” Here, I was encouraged to be as messy and imperfect as possible, and it allowed me to create in a vastly different way than I usually do. My intuitive, improvisatory side was given a chance to soar!
I’m used to recording being a very formal and technical experience: working with high-caliber engineers in established recording studios, working out take after take with impeccably-tuned acoustics. Here, we were recording in the living room of an open-air home in Pardes Hanna—an Israeli city known for its support of alternative lifestyles and connection to nature—with an engineer who offered us fresh lychee fruits from his yard in between takes. Yes, please!
As a performing pianist, I often find myself “front and center”; asked to carry a full piece—or a full concert!—myself. Here, as a “back-up musician,” I had the privilege of playing a supporting role to someone else’s brilliance—and boy, was it a treat. I love using my instrument to weave a particular musical texture into a mix; to create one layer of many, that complements and enhances a musical vision.
I collaborated with a local violinist, and learned some gorgeous new duets! In late Spring, after a few months of settling in to my new Israeli life, I began itching to make music in a more traditional chamber music setting. Shyly, I posted in one of Tel Aviv’s most popular Facebook groups—introducing myself and putting out a call for musicians—and I received over 100 responses! A number of collaborative relationships emerged, including one with a fantastic local violinist, Eva, who shares both my musical ethos (an orientation toward inclusivity, innovation, connection, and eschewing convention in favor of fun!), and my passion for female composers. We had a blast sight-reading through a book filled with fantastic music written by women, and then settled on four pieces to really dig in with: music by Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, and Dora Pejacevic. The culmination of our efforts? A “Salon-style” performance, which we video recorded in my living room—featuring the looming skyline of Tel Aviv in the background. Forging this connection was a delight; Eva and I instantly meshed (both as players, and humans!), and our musical communication felt effortless. And in my book, there’s nothing better than playing great repertoire with a performer who listens keenly, is deeply expressive and responsive, and genuinely loves the process. Pure joy!
Sophie rehearses a program of fantastic music by female composers with violinist Eva Fabian.
3. Concerts and Live Music in Tel Aviv
The live music scene in Israel is vibrant, lively, eclectic, and community-oriented. Electronic clubs feature DJs every night (and all night!); pop bands draw large, raucous, dedicated crowds; folk and religious music plays a part in every national holiday, all of which are drawn from the Jewish calendar. There are several areas I’d like to shine a spotlight on:
Classical Music: The local classical music scene consists of well-established and high-caliber ensembles and musicians. The two largest established organizations are the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and the Israeli Opera, both of which are based in Tel Aviv; there are also several excellent early music groups, modern classical ensembles, and both traditional and innovative chamber music festivals and subscription-based series. A local and personal favorite is Orit Wolf’s On A Personal Note, which is housed at the stunning Tel Aviv Art Museum and features Wolf in collaboration with a fabulously diverse array of musicians. At one concert I attended, Wolf showcased a fiery and irresistible percussion ensemble, played a version of Bach’s Prelude in C accompanied by a handpan drum, and even got the whole audience clapping along to an unusual ⅞ time signature! Wolf narrates each themed concert with warm and welcoming dialogue, sitting with her guest musicians and conducting quasi-interviews during and after songs.
Orit Wolf performs at the Tel Aviv Art Museum with multi-instrumentalist Doron Raphaeli and the innovative percussion/movement ensemble Tararam.
Jazz music: The jazz music scene in Tel Aviv is robust, variable, and vitalizing. There are medium-sized jazz clubs that feature touring acts and more “mainstream” sound; Shablul Jazz, for example, is a dinner and drinks venue that feels like it could be equally at home in London or Nashville! There are smaller clubs, like the beloved Beit Ha’amudim, that feature exclusively local acts and a strong emphasis on inventive, improvisatory, convention-eschewing, boundary-pushing “free jazz.”
Saxophone player Eyal Talmudi leads musicians Nitai Hershkovits and Rejoicer in an intimate, colorful show at Beit Ha’amudim Jazz Club.
And then, there are the surprise outliers. The most memorable musical experience I had this year took place at a hidden gem of a venue, the Yung Yiddish Library, housed in Tel Aviv’s cavernous and mazelike bus station. Finding the venue was adventure enough (I wove through many a dark and winding hallway before discovering an unassuming door with a vaguely recognizable sound of clarinet wafting out); upon entering, I found myself in a space featuring well-worn Persian rugs, a strange assortment of mismatched furniture, a crowded and chaotic stage area (featuring, among other things, a huge Merry-Go-Round horse), and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with Yiddish books. The first concert I attended was more of a klezmer music workshop—so, after a short performance featuring a pianist, percussionist, clarinet player, attendees were invited to sing or play along for a few hours more of music. To pair with the music? Homemade local sweet treats and shots of hard liquor, or course! A few months later, I was lucky enough to catch Israeli’s beloved Nigun Quartet at Yung Yidish; this stellar jazz group generally plays at larger venues, so seeing them in such an intimate setting was a rare treat. Nigun Quartet is one of Israel’s best representations of a marriage of solid modern jazz in marriage with musical tropes influenced by klezmer music; their original compositions all weave in traditional Israeli sounds and melodies, and their leader—a tall, charismatic clarinet player—can really rip!
Nigun Quartet performs a dynamic jazz-meets-klezmer set at Yung Yiddish Library, Tel Aviv.
Street music: The street music scene is another vital and exciting part of the Israeli musical environment. On evenings and weekends, the busy Tel Aviv promenade is filled with local street performers; they sometimes collect modest crowds, and other times merely attract the attention of passerby’s who pause and listen for a few moments before continuing their beachside walks or runs. Since I walk the promenade nearly every day, I’ve come to recognize a handful of the most regular players: the handpan drum player, who accompanies himself with a boxy cajon drum, and uses looping to enhance and expand his sound; a peppy 20something colloquially known as “The Sunflower Girl” (due to the vase of sunflowers she always places next to her when she plays), with a killer voice and an uncanny ability to “shred” on her electric guitar; a saxophone player, who rips and roars over background jazz tracks that he broadcasts through an accompanying loudspeaker; a guitar duo who play American rock classics, weaving in beautiful instrumental and vocal harmonies. And on Saturday mornings, a quartet of four endearing old chaps play schmaltzy classical “greatest hits” without amplification of any type—in accordance with traditional rules of not using technology on the Sabbath.
Along with regular fixtures, live music abounds on weekends and local holidays, and there have been many occasions in which I’ve stumbled unexpectedly upon a show in neighborhood parks and cafes. The fact that the weather is generally sunny and hospitable all year round certainly helps cultivate a vibrant, ongoing street music scene.
Ran Shinar and friends perform a set of classic and modern jazz outside the Jaffa Cafe on a small street front just south of Tel Aviv.
To Close: Reflection, and Gratitude
Even before moving from Portland to Tel Aviv, I knew I had a strong desire to connect with Israeli culture through the avenue I love most: music! I’m so pleased that I’ve found so many fantastic, fruitful opportunities for exploration.
By learning music written by Israeli women, performing live at a slew of memorable events, and attending live concerts with local musicians, both my musical and connective cups have been filled way up.
On a personal note: I’ve also deeply appreciated the opportunity to connect with YOU, the All Classical Portland community. From sharing a program of Israeli music on Thursdays at Three in July, to taking over the station’s social media channels, to sharing pictures and stories on the Arts Blog, it’s been an immense joy to travel with you this year. I can’t thank you enough for joining me on my Tel Aviv adventures, and I can’t wait to share music and words with you again—from wherever that may be!
Until the next time: many well-wishes from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
A beautiful sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, with the Old City of Jaffa peeking out in the distance. What amazing beauty this country contains—in music, nature, and community alike.
On the January 8, 2023 episode of Sunday Brunch, host Suzanne Nance put out the call: what is YOUR word for 2023? The responses poured in, and we are so pleased to share some of these inspiring words from YOU, our listeners!
What’s your word for 2023? Gather inspiration below!
Thank you to KOIN-TV 6 and Portland’s CW host Ashley Howard for welcoming International Children’s Arts Network (ICAN) host Sarah Zwinklis and Metropolitan Youth Symphony (MYS) Music Director and All Classical Portland host Raúl Gómez-Rojas on Everyday Northwest. Sarah and Raúl talked about The Magic of Eric Carle, a collaborative concert event on January 8, 2023, featuring narrations by All Classical Portland hosts, live orchestral music performed by MYS, and a screenings of animations by Illuminated Films.
All Classical Portland and ICAN are proud Media Sponsors of The Magic of Eric Carle.
LISTEN ON ICAN!
Enjoy recent recordings from The Magic of Eric Carle on ICANradio.org! Join us Monday, January 30 – Friday, February 3, 2023, at 5:00 PM PT to hear one of Carle’s iconic stories per day, narrated by some of your favorite All Classical Portland and ICAN hosts.
Jan. 30th – I See A Song – Narrated by Christa Wessel
Jan. 31st – Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me – Narrated by Christa Wessel
Feb. 1st – The Very Quiet Cricket – Narrated by Sarah Smith
Feb. 2nd – The Mixed-Up Chameleon – Narrated by Adam Eccleston
Feb. 3rd – The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Narrated by Sarah Zwinklis
All Classical Portland’s Program Director John Pitman has long admired the artistry of Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, having featured his recordings regularly over the past 30-plus years. His newest release is especially exciting because it includes rare recordings of the complete Poetic Tone Pictures by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.
In his latest interview with John, Mr. Andsnes shares how he came to know this music as a young boy, when his father brought home an LP from London, and how it has always intrigued him. Andsnes highlights charming and highly inventive moments in Dvořák’s piano cycle. It is a neglected treasure that, hopefully, will now be heard more through this beautiful recording by Leif Ove Andsnes.
Each year, All Classical Portland’s Program Director John Pitman, selects twelve carols from our extensive Festival of Carols library for a deep dive look into their origins. In 2019, we explored holiday classics like “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” and “O Tannenbaum,” while 2020’s post delved into international favorites such as Riu, riu, chiu and Noël nouvelet. In 2021’s list of carols, we traversed centuries with Medieval pieces such as In dulci jubilo and Veni, veni Emmanuel.
This year, we’re expanding our celebration of the season to include a couple of Hanukkah favorites paired with a hearty assortment of liturgical hymns, 20th century standards, and an operatic favorite.
Originating from an anonymous 14th-century source, Gaudete! (Rejoice!) was discovered in a 16th-century Finnish songbook called Piae Cantiones. Comprising Medieval songs from both Scandinavia and around Europe, Piae Cantiones is home to several beloved Christmas carols today, including In dulci jubilo and Good King Wenceslas. Gaudete! is among the most frequently performed songs from Piae Cantiones, whose joyful text celebrates the birth of Jesus and the symbolic arrival of God in human form on Earth.
Fun fact – the carol had a substantial surge in popularity following a recording in the 1970s performed by the folk-rock band, Steeleye Span.
Hannerot Hallalu
The text of Hannerot Hallalu (“We Light these Lights”) emphasizes the purpose of the lights in recalling God’s miracles during the eight days of Hanukkah. In the ceremony for the occasion, these words would be sung immediately after the lights are ignited on the Menorah. The composer of this arrangement, Belgian-born composer Hugo Adler (1894-1955), emigrated to the United States amid the rise of Nazism in the late 1930s, where he continued his work as a cantor and composer of Jewish liturgical music. His choral setting of Hannerot Hallalu is a blend of beautiful counterpoint set against homophonic moments, making the text of the piece pleasantly transparent for the listener.
O Holy Night (Cantique de Noël)
Despite the immense popularity of O Holy Night today, the tune’s French composer, Adolphe Adam (1803-1856), is perhaps most famous for his tragic ballet, Giselle. In 1847, Adam wrote O Holy Night using a Christmas poem by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), which had been penned to commemorate the renovation of the organ at the local church. The carol premiered that same year performed by opera singer Emily Laurey. About a decade later, American minister and transcendentalist John Sullivan Dwight (1813-1893) translated the text into English. O Holy Night has since become a staple of seasonal repertoire and one of the most performed and recorded pieces of music. In France, the song is commonly referred to by the first line of the poem, “Minuit, Chrétiens” (“Mightnight, Christians”).
Several musicians have been inspired to set the anonymous 18th-century text from New England, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, to music, including English composer Elizabeth Poston (1905-1987). Written in 1967, Poston’s sensitive choral setting of the poem resembles a folksong and harkens back to choral traditions of the past. The hymn begins with a simple melody sung by solo voice, which is then developed into richer harmonies in subsequent verses. In the poem, the “apple tree” may allude to Song of Solomon 2:3, which is considered to be a metaphor representing Christ.
Caroling, Caroling
American musician Alfred Burt (1920-1954) contributed several Christmas carols to the holiday soundscape in the mid-20th Century, the best-known being Caroling, Caroling. With words by Wihla Hutson (1901-2002), Burt’s 1954 classic became famous after making its way onto Nat King Cole’s holiday album, The Magic of Christmas.
The story of Burt’s collection of carols is a particularly creative one. The composer’s father had a tradition of sending out Christmas cards each year to family and friends containing an original carol. Burt took over the tradition in 1942 and wrote annual carols until his untimely death in 1954. His collection of 15 “card carols” wouldn’t be published until after the composer’s death but subsequently became popular holiday tunes.
Three Kings of Orient was written by John Henry Hopkins (1820-1891), an American clergyman and hymnodist known for clarity and simplicity in his music. The classic carol was part of a collection by Hopkins called Carols, Hymns, and Songs published in 1865. Unfortunately, Three Kings of Orient was the only piece from the group to have retained its popularity in the following decades. The composer’s text depicts the three kings from the east described in the Nativity story, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn King.
I Have a Little Dreidel
The beloved Hanukkah song about crafting and playing with a dreidel is certain to make an appearance around the winter holiday. The game is a staple of the Festival of Lights, particularly among children. I Have a Little Dreidel was written by American composer Samuel Goldfarb (1891-1978) in the 1920s with text by Samuel Grossman. Goldfarb, along with his brother, Rabbi Israel Goldfarb, collaborated to promote Jewish music and published several books and pamphlets compiling songs used for various holidays. The popularity of I Have a Little Dreidel really took off in the 1950s with the increased commercialization of Hanukkah as a parallel holiday to Christmas.
In the Bleak Mid-Winter
You might be surprised to learn that English writer Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) did not intend her poem, “In the bleak mid-winter,” to be set to music. However, given the inherent musicality of her words, composers have long been drawn to set her writing to song. Gustav Holst (1874-1934) composed a choral setting of the poem for the first edition of The English Hymnal in 1906. The combination of Rossetti’s poetic text and Holst’s ethereal music is highly evocative of the season in the Northern Hemisphere. Though Bethlehem likely would not have been covered in snow at the time of Jesus’s birth, snow has long been associated with the event as a symbol of purity.
Shepherd’s Pipe Carol
Shepherd’s Pipe Carol is a contemporary Christmas carol written by English composer and choral director John Rutter (b. 1945). As a composer, Rutter has established himself as a prominent figure in choral music and is best known for his sacred vocal pieces, particularly his Christmas carols. The composer’s oeuvre of carols consists of a mix of arrangements and original works, the latter of which is exemplified in Shepherd’s Pipe Carol. Written in the 1960s, the carol depicts the piping of a shepherd boy on his way to visit Baby Jesus. Rutter suggests that his inspiration for the piece may have come from his experience singing in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors as a boy, noting: “I think the piping heard as Amahl heads for Bethlehem with the Wise Men may have stuck in my mind.”
A La Nanita Nana
The traditional Spanish Christmas carol (or villancico), A La Nanita Nana, is a gentle lullaby with a striking melody sung for Baby Jesus. While “villancio” is most often associated with Christmas carols today, the term historically had a much broader meaning dating from the Renaissance. Early villancicos were sung with or without accompaniment and varied in vocal texture with both solo and choral settings. A La Nanita Nana offers a tender example of the genre’s evolution towards Christmas subject matter. You can follow along with an English translation of the Spanish lullaby here.
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
If you asked a group of people to sing this popular Christmas carol, you might unknowingly conjure quite the cacophony. This is because there are two commonly sung versions of this Christmas hymn – one tune with American origins and the other with British ones. In this post, we’re going to discuss the American version written by Richard Storrs Willis (1819-1900). Willis’s original tune was conceived as an organ study, which was then arranged into the choral setting we know today by Uzziah Christopher Burnap (1834-1900).
The text for the carol was written by American Unitarian minister and author Edmund Sears (1810-1876). Interestingly, the poem doesn’t mention the Nativity but instead focuses on the message from the angels, “Peace on the earth, goodwill to men.” It has been suggested that the poem was inspired by the contemporary social tensions leading up to the American Civil War.
Once, in Royal David’s City
The poem, Once, in Royal David’s City, was one of many from an 1848 collection called Hymns for Little Children written by Anglo-Irish poet Cecil Francis Alexander (1823-1895). Alexander is remembered today for her hymnal contributions, such as All things bright and beautiful and There is a green hill far away. English composer and organist Henry John Gauntlett (1806-1876) was also a prolific hymn writer who, after discovering Alexander’s collection of poems, took an existing tune of his called “Irby” and set Alexander’s Christmas poem to music. Once, in royal David’s city tells the story of the Nativity and traditionally opens the Christmas Eve festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in the chapel of King’s College, Cambridge.
Thanks to your generous support, All Classical Portland has had monumental achievements over the past year—from brand new radio shows to innovative community collaborations, composer and artist residencies, and a groundbreaking album release.
All Classical Portland is community focused, and community supported. Your contribution today will help to keep the music playing, and ensure we can continue to entertain, innovate, and enrich our community in the months ahead.
Ranked in the top 3 in the nation as a classical public radio station (Nielsen)
All Classical Portland CEO Suzanne Nance named Woman of Influence by Portland Business Journal
Over 30 regional arts organizations featured on Fall into the Arts, All Classical Portland’s annual radio festival
First-ever live broadcast from the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton, OR
Live bi-coastal broadcast with NYC’s WQXR and national syndication of the world premiere of Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem
17,520 hours of outstanding programming on two networks, All Classical Portland and ICAN, serving millions across the region and United States, with listeners streaming in 100+ countries
Bilingual storytimes for children narrated by Artist in Residence María García broadcast on the International Children’s Arts Network at ICANradio.org
Named three Composers in Residence (as part of the award-winning Recording Inclusivity Initiative): Jasmine Barnes, Lauren McCall, and Keyla Orozco. All Classical Portland is one of the only stations in America to have composers in residence!
Brand new program Noteworthy, hosted by Lynnsay Maynard! (It’s like a library card and record player in one!)
Produced and released the station’s first-ever album AMPLIFY: Vol. 1 Changing America’s Playlist
16-year-old double bass player Maggie Carter, double bass
16-year-old Grant High School sophomore Noah Carr, violin
17-year-old South Salem High School junior Diego Fernandez, flute
18-year-old Grant High School senior Ben Price, oboe
18-year-old Oregon Episcopal School senior Nate Strothkamp, violin
Thank you for supporting All Classical Portland. Your tax-deductible contribution by December 31st will help to ensure the music continues in the year ahead, sharing comfort and inspiration with our community every day.
All Classical Portland Program Director John Pitman shares his latest review of a new album by violinist Hilary Hahn, which includes Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, the Violin Concerto by Alberto Ginastera, and Pablo de Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy for violin and orchestra. The album, Eclipse, is available now on Deutsche Grammophon.
As American violinist Hilary Hahn states, “Eclipse is not just when it goes down, it’s also when the lights come back on.” Ms. Hahn had been preparing for months to perform and record with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and its music director, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, when the Pandemic resulted in cancellations of all of their plans.
Hahn spent that time assessing her own relationship to music, and to performing it with colleagues, and now has emerged on the other side with a perspective that was earned through this shared, global experience.
How different do the works on Eclipse sound to her now, compared to before lockdown? Hear her answers in John Pitman’s conversation with this extraordinary musician:
