Back in the late 1800s Christina Rossetti wrote a long poem, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” and then later Gustav Holst (of The Planets fame) wrote a melody that is usually associated with the piece. Though occasionally found in some hymnals, the song is not as familiar as other Christmas carols. Here is a short version, with my friend Ilze Akerbergs playing the wonderful guitar interlude. Happy Winter Solstice.
Thanksgiving 2020 is going to be a much-reduced affair for most of us, but here is a little reminder of how it has been in years gone by.
My thoughts flicker back to the characters I had in my head when writing The Handel Letters. Every now and then they seem to want to speak up again. I expect I will be giving them that chance fairly soon. Meanwhile, here is one more video—this one about dreaming, or not dreaming.
A decade ago the Dream Act offered immigrants who came to the United States as minors the opportunity to enroll in classes and work toward permanent residency. While the Dream Act is an acronym (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), the notion that these young people were inspired by a dream for the future—that they were dreamers, in the best sense—has come to be a part of their identity. Nighttime dreams, on the other hand, can often be troublesome, even frightening. Then there are the dreams we cast as fantasy, fiction, or heartfelt desires—the stuff of fairytales, novels, movies, and plays. I’ve indulged in some of this last sort of dreams as they serve to distract me from the months of isolation and inactivity associated with Covid-19. Some years ago I wrote a song that I include here as a backdrop for a little survey of some of the many such “dreams” that have helped me weather the pandemic.