Dear Friend of Sacred and Profane,
Two years ago, my husband Pete and I spent the holidays in Stockholm with my family and friends. We had three reasons for going – we had been to Sweden the previous summer and were itching to go back, we wanted to see what it’s like to be there at the darkest time of year and take in the holiday charm, and Karin Rehnqvist, the composer who Sacred & Profane and I champion regularly, had an opera premiering at the Royal Opera. The trip was wonderful – I loved how everyone lit their windows with Christmas decorations, it was lovely to spend time with people I love and rarely see during the holidays, and hearing Karin’s opera, Strandad (Drifted in English) remains among the most profound artistic experiences of my life. Even though there wasn’t a ton of snow when we were there, the long walks with my cousins and close friends in the country as the snow reflected the light gave me the opportunity to experience what I’ve been told: the holidays in Scandinavia are magical. I’m excited to share that feeling of warmth, charm, and some mystery with you in Sacred and Profane’s upcoming concert.
True to S&P’s style, our concert will be filled with a broad mix of music, featuring household name composers (Grieg, Sibelius), arrangements of traditional music (There is a Rose, Silent Night), Scandinavian classics (Jul, jul, strålande jul; Nu er det jul igen, Sikken voldsom trængsel og alarm), folk songs (Et lydet barn from Norway and Tomten from the Swedish woman’s folk quartet, Kraja), haunting modern music by Rautavaara and Leifs, and charming music by young composers – the Canadian-Finnish composer Matthew Whittall and the Icelandic composer Finnur Karlsson.
The singers have been working hard for the past several weeks to get their mouths to mold to five complex languages – Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish and Icelandic, and they are sounding like natives! We have been grateful to our own Freddy, who is from Sweden and has studied all of the Scandinavian languages, and to the many native speakers who sent recordings of the texts and coached us in person. All of it has been making me feel like I’m back in Sweden, soaking in the traditions and warmth of the holidays. Writing this on Thanksgiving, I’m forever grateful to have the opportunity to work with these gifted musicians and to then share their talents and artistic achievements with you! I hope we’ll see you at the concerts!
Happy Holidays!
-Rebecca