Playlist
* Winter Solstice Song - Rosemary Beland - 1:11
* Solstice Evergreen - Spiral Dance - 4:49
* Light is Returning – KIVA - 3:13
* Gaia’s Grace - Penny Sidor - 0:55
Music notes
Winter Solstice Song A winterborne is a seasonal stream that dries up in the summertime. That is also the name of an all-instrumental album recorded in 1996 by Victoria BC musicians Rosemary Beland and the late Mark Bracken (1947-2014). This is a hammer dulcimer solo by Rosemary.
The tune is a Hungarian folk song that was collected by Béla Bartók. Bartók is primarily now remembered as having been one of the most important early 20th century composers, but he was also an important collector of Hungarian, Slovak and Bulgarian folk music. He was one of the pioneers of comparative musicology, which later became known as ethnomusicology. The great American folk music scholar Charles Seeger (who I tend to think of as Ruth’s husband, rather than as Pete’s father) described him as “one of the greatest field collectors of the first half of the 20th century.”
Bartók was a good friend and colleague of fellow Hungarian composer and music educator Zoltán Kodály, creator of the Kodály method of music education, who also was an important collector of Hungarian folk songs. The name of this piece is Regös ének (Winter solstice song). It is one of several practice pieces based on Hungarian and Slovak folk music that Bartók composed in 1908 or ‘09 specifically for Kodály’s teaching method under the title Gyermekeknek (For Children).
Bartók’s score for this piece includes the instruction that it be played molto vivace (very lively). You can see it being played on a piano by a student here.
Solstice EvergreenI just discovered the pagan folk-rock band Spiral Dance this year. They are based in Adelaide, Australia so the winter solstice that they sing about occurs on June 21. The group was formed in 1992 and their membership has evolved quite a bit over the years, but they have always had Adrienne Piggott as their songwriter and lead singer. This is one of her compositions. It comes from their 2006 album The Quickening, but I got it from their having posted it on YouTube. But if you want to watch a well-done slideshow while listening to it again, I recommend this independent fan video posted by Denise Kelsey which also has the same high-bitrate quality of sound.
It came as a scene from an old picture postcardOf Victorian ladies with skates on their feetOf ponds frozen over and boughs hung with ice tipsAnd through frosty panes watched the snow and the sleet
And the smoke ventured out from the soot-blackened chimneysAnd shimmered beneath an icy-cold moonBut inside an evergreen stands in the cornerAnd a bright blazing fire to keep out the gloom
[Chorus] There’s holly and ivy and white mistle berry The sun is in hiding, his face he can’t show So, fill up your glasses so we can be merry While rosy-red cheeks by the fire light glow
Under the street lights, they’ll gather togetherTheir shivering voices will ring out with songTo sing in the Yule regardless of weatherAnd brighten the darkness all the night long
And the mummers perform their plays from the agesIn comes King George, a man of courage boldWhile out in the orchards, we’ll go wassailingAnd sup on spiced cider to keep out the cold [Chorus]
The holly and oak king are now changing placesAnd Jack Frost is wearing his new winter vestWhile out in the wood pile, old Jack Green is sleepingTo awaken in spring from his long dreamy rest
So on this Yule tide, we’ll gather togetherBeneath the sign of the ancient god’s hornsAs the new year beckons through cold misty weatherWe’ll raise a toast as the sun is reborn [Chorus]
It came as a scene from an old picture postcardOf Victorian ladies with skates on their feetOf ponds frozen over and boughs hung with ice tipsAnd through frosty panes watched the snow and the sleet
And the smoke ventured out from the soot-blackened chimneysAnd shimmered beneath an icy-cold moonBut inside an evergreen stands in the cornerAnd a bright blazing fire to keep out the gloom [Chorus]
Light is Returning This song, which is eminently suitable to be a spiral dance chant, was written by the late singer-songwriter and social activist Charlie Murphy (1953-2016). Charlie lived with his husband on Whidby Island in Washington State. According to his obituary in the Seattle Times: “He was a pioneer of the men’s movement and sang openly about gay rights, making him one of the few out and proud gay singer/songwriters of his day.” He was also life-long social activist and an out-and-proud pagan.
Light is returningEven though it is the darkest hourNo one can hold...Back the dawn
Got to keep it burningGot to keep the light of hope aliveMake safe our journey...Through the storm
Our planet is turningCircle on her path around the sunEarth Mother is calling...Her children home
I first learned this song as a member of Victoria’s Gettin’ Higher Choir when Charlie was the guest performer for a 2002 benefit concert that we gave as a fund raising event for Power of Hope. That is an organization he and Peggy Taylor co-founded which organizes summer-camps to empower youth to become social activists through the arts. At that concert, I and a couple of hundred other singers backed him up when he sang a jazzy rendition of the song. (A recording of that performance was included on my Bill’s 2010 Solstice Sampler CD. I’ll post it here someday.)
Light is Returning has become a familiar song on Winter Solstice music recordings. One measure of its success is that it is included in the songbook Rise Up Singing – being included there is like making it into the Folk Music Songwriter Hall of Fame.
It is sung here by KIVA, a Washington DC based group that was founded 35 years ago. They do not describe themselves as pagan or neo-pagan, but they: “weave a rainbow tapestry of ancient cultures and natural imagery into energizing mystical folk music for all ages.” It is from their 2014 album Yuletide. They got this feedback about their version of the song from Charlie himself:
Wow! It’s wonderful and such a creative rendition of the song. I love the rhythm, the vocals... Wow.
Gaia’s GraceThis mealtime grace songwas written by the late Becky Berson (1953-2000) who was born and raised in Salt Lake City, but moved to the Pacific Northwest by way of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and then to Victoria where she became a leader in our local folk music community. It is sung here by Penny Sidor and is from a posthumous tribute album to Becky that was self-produced by her widower Denis Donnelly with performances by a Who’s Who of Vancouver Island and the adjacent small islands’ folksingers.
I already posted this song on my Dec 8, 2021 posting, but although it is a pre-meal grace song I thought that its message is the best way to end today’s Winter Solstice set.
