Wintergrace

Appalachian Carols
Appalachian Carols was written in celebration of the Capitol Hill Chorale’s 25th anniversary. The work is a tribute to the musical legacy of Jean Ritchie (1922-2015), perhaps the best known and most respected singer of traditional ballads in the United States. The youngest daughter of one of the most famous American ballad-singing families—the Ritchie family of Perry County, Kentucky—Jean Ritchie is often referred to as the “Mother of Folk.” Music had come to her by tradition, and she maintained an impeccable but down-to-earth authenticity throughout her storied career.

The five movements of Appalachian Carols are drawn from Ritchie’s repertoire for the Christmas season. I began by transcribing the melodies from Ritchie’s recordings to capture her unique interpretations as closely as possible. Adding choral harmonies to the original melodies, I tried to stay true to the essence of the tunes as she performed them. Throughout the five movements of Appalachian Carols, echoes and reverberations of the Appalachian folk style abound: unison singing, the use of drones, open sonorities evoking the mountain dulcimer, and allusions to the three-part vocal harmony of 19th-century American tunebooks. The resulting work is a meditation on the interweaving themes of winter, Christmas, family, music, and nature.

Wintergrace
Wintergrace is based on an original composition of Ritchie’s, a haunting ode to the peaceful and reflective qualities of the winter season. Ritchie is famous for her dulcimer playing, and she often sang Wintergrace while performing a countermelody on the dulcimer. In creating this choral setting, I imagined Ritchie’s original dulcimer melody being magnified in a “symphony” of voices.

This is the time so well we love,
The time of all the year;
When winter calls with chilling breath,
For fireside and good cheer.

A time for men and beast to stand,
And feel the season turn;
To watch the stars for secret signs,
And God’s true lessons learn.

The time when the corn is all into the barn,
The old cow’s breath’s a frosty wine,
And the morn along the fallow field
Doth silver shine.

And when cold morning’s radiant star,
Shines over hill and plain;
We know anew that little babe
Is born to us again.

And man and beast and bird and tree,
Each one in his own place;
We bow our hearts and thank our God
For winter rest and grace.