It’s so good to be with you this afternoon! We’re delighted you’ve chosen to celebrate the holidays with us through music. As I noted at our November concert, after a year and a half spending more time than ever before sequestered in our homes, we’ve been especially keen to return to our musical home: the concert. And what better way to resume than with a concert of holiday music?
Our program reaches back across the ages to some of the first melodies ever written down and presents them alongside familiar carols and the spirited music of Handel and Bach. You’ll hear timeless tunes sung by heart by untold millions over hundreds of years as well as new arrangements on which the ink is barely dry. The texts of these pieces don’t precisely delineate the stories of the holidays so much as trace their outlines and highlight several moments and key themes: the yearning to be lifted out of darkness and gloom into light and hope, the joy of sharing good news, and the potential for renewal portended by a newborn (and latent in us all). These are touchstones for any ear and every era, acutely poignant in our present predicament. I hope that some combination of word, melody, and space conjures for you a doorway into a precious place we haven’t been able to enjoy for many months—a realm of reflection, even reverie, where you can marvel at the beauty of music.
And while I hope you enjoy your experience as an individual listener, I hope you’ll also take a moment to appreciate the uniquely communal experience of attending a concert. After so much time apart, and so much time alone, listening only to digital signals buzzing metallic speakers, the joyful, comforting, familiar music of the holidays, born of breath and body, enjoyed together, resonates more deeply than ever. Just as the global community has, our Princeton Pro Musica community has experienced loss, of cherished singers and audience members who have passed or moved away. And at the same time we’ve welcomed new musicians and listeners. It is the love of music that begets that community and communion.
I sincerely hope that some musical moment experienced today reminds you, palpably, happily, of what a joy it is to be human, alongside others, and what a gift it is to be able to surrender ourselves to one of the most meaningful manifestations of humanity: music. It is in this spirit that our penultimate selection will remind us all how precious it is that music, like the holidays themselves, can bring us together in the present and give an occasion for future reunion. Auld Lang Syne bids us lean on one another, take a cup o’ kindness, and raise a glass for auld lang syne—for the sake of old times—while we turn toward the next chapter. Thank you for choosing to join us this afternoon as we look back and look forward to our next time together. “For there’s a trusty hand, my friend, and give me a hand o’ thine, for we’ll take a right good-will draught for auld lang syne.”
