Who would have thought that an Abbott & Costello movie would birth a popular jazz standard? Or that John Coltrane would would turn a cheerful, light-as-air song from ‘The Sound of Music’ into a modal, Middle-Eastern-flavored masterpiece? Or that a Gershwin tune—built around a 5-note scale, almost totally devoid of rhyme and discarded from the musical for which it was originally written—would become one of the most iconic jazz chord progressions ever, spawning hundreds of new melodic compositions?
Such are the wild origins of the Great American Songbook, from which we’ll be performing selected works Wednesday night, April 17th, 7-9 pm, at the Liberty Bar. KRTU’s Kory Cook will accompany us on drums in a celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month. Please join us for this free performance.
You are cordially invited to join us this coming Saturday evening for a house concert at the Ron Yates Winery. Hosted by the Texas Music Heritage Foundation, the performance will include several new song collaborations, with music by Joël and lyrics by Bett, some springing from our shared gospel roots.
You’re welcome (but not required) to bring an appetizer to share, and wine will be available for purchase. It’s free for Texas Music Heritage Foundation members and $25 for non-members. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the music starts at 7:15. To reserve your seat, email Kevin Heady here or call him at 214.769.0660.
The Ron Yates Winery is in Hye, Texas, about 6 miles west of Johnson City, in an area rich in bed-and breakfasts for a great weekend getaway.
We hope you’ll come.
Saturday, February 24, 7:15-9:15 pm Texas Music Heritage Foundation presents A House Concert with Bett Butler & Joël Dilley Ron Yates Winery 6676 Hwy 290 West, Hye, Texas 78635 (map & directions) $25 (TMHF members free) Doors open at 6:30 RSVP: email Kevin Heady here or call 214.769.0660
As I write this in the studio office, I look out at my car, where patches of white are slowly dissolving in the San Antonio sun. Winter finally came to South Texas last night with an surprise snowfall that blanketed the ground and sent us all into little kid mode, scurrying through the flurries with cameras and cell phones and posting on social media. Mingus was totally puzzled, snoofling the tiny patches of snowdrift and doing the boxer bunny hop as he tried to figure out just what exactly was that cold stuff underneath his toes. (Temperature was in the mid-eighties just a few days ago. Welcome to Texas.)
What a beautiful beginning. It’s time again to think of sharing gifts and stuffing stockings, and we hope you’ll consider the gift of music.
“A cast of top-notch musicians….Fresh new arrangements….A great jazz vibe… Bett’s vocals are simply beautiful, Joël Dilley’s soft accompaniment on guitar is perfect, and the lyrics excel….WINTER LULLABY fits as the soundtrack for a serene winter evening, lights dim, where one can enjoy the stillness and tranquility of the night.”
Order physical CDs directly from us on www.dragonladyrecords.com; or download or gift it from Bandcamp (your best price—and they treat musicians well). It’s also available on iTunes and all other digital outlets; and you can stream it on Spotify.
WINTER LULLABY CDs make great host or employee gifts. If you live in the San Antonio area and would like to purchase three or more copies, I’ll meet you at the nearest Starbucks with my credit card swiper. Just email me from here, send me a private message onFacebook, or email from our online store at www.dragonladyrecords.com. I had a great time meeting up with folks from all over the community this way last year, and I look forward to doing it again.
Shop early, shop local, and thanks for supporting indie artists!
Bett on KRTU’s “The Jazz Voice” Saturday, December 9
Saturday at 11 am, I’ll visit with Joan Carroll as we play tracks from WINTER LULLABY, talk about their origins and history, and share our favorite Christmas songs. An accomplished jazz vocalist, Joan is the most gracious host ever; we laugh a lot and always have a terrific time.
Saturday, December 9, 11 am-1 pm Tune in to JAZZ 91.7 FM or listen live here.
Joël w/ Cool Blue Steel at JazzTX Thursday, December 14
Joël joins saxophonist Rich Oppenheimat Jazz, TX for a trio with pedal steel player Kenny Grohman. There’s no cover for this early evening show. Enjoy these skilled and talented musicians playing a unique fusion of jazz and trad country; and the great food and atmosphere at this jazz jewel at the Pearl.
Joël w/Cool Blue Steel at Jazz, TX featuring Rich Oppenheim and Kenny Grohman Thursday, December 14, 5:30-7:30 312 Pearl Parkway, Bldg 6 Suite 6001, San Antonio TX 210.332.9386 No cover
The Stories Behind the Songs
I’ve been researching the fascinating origins and histories of the carols on WINTER LULLABY. Check out the blog posts below, and check back with our blog’s home page as we add more.
Autographed photo of Pietro Yon at console of Casavant Frères organ, ca. 1919
Venite Adoremus
In 1907, 21-year-old virtuoso Pietro Yon (1886–1943) immigrated to the US to take the position of organist in Manhattan’s St. Francis Xavier Church. Ten years later, he wrote “Gesu Bambino,” with its chorus derived from “Adeste Fideles” (O Come All Ye Faithful). The original Italian lyrics, translated:
In the humble hut / in cold and poverty / the Holy infant is born / who the world will adore. Hosanna, hosanna, sing / with a joyous heart / your shepherds and angels / O King of light and love O beautiful baby, do not cry / Do not cry, Redeemer! / Your mother cradles you / kisses you, O Savior. Hosanna, hosanna, sing / with a joyous heart / your shepherds and angels / O King of light and love
It’s the most well-known work of the prolific composer, who wrote extensively for organ, piano, orchestra, and solo instruments. His long and distinguished career included appointments as Titular Organist at the Vatican and Music Director of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City
Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican, Rome
In 1943, six months after suffering a stroke, Pietro Yon died at the age of 57. The date was November 22—the feast day of St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians.
When Blossoms Flowered ‘mid the Snows
The English lyrics owe their existence to a poem by writer, translator, and librettist Frederick Herman Martens (1874–1932). His other works include translations of fairy tales from China, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and more; lyrics for popular, patriotic, and religious songs; writings on religion, philosophy, and history; method books on vocal and violin mastery; librettos of operettas and cantatas; A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS OF OPERA, an overview of plots and music of some 1500 operas and operettas; and THE BOOK OF GOOD MANNERS: A Guide to Polite Usage for All Social Functions, published in 1924.
“Gesu Bambino,” English lyrics by Frederick H. Martens:
When blossoms flowered ‘mid the snows /upon a winter night / was born the Child, the Christmas Rose / the King of Love and Light. The angels sang, the shepherds sang / the grateful earth rejoiced / and at His blessed birth the stars / their exultation voiced.
Again the heart with rapture glows / to greet the holy night / that gave the world its Christmas Rose / its King of Love and Light. Let ev'ry voice acclaim His name / the grateful chorus swell. / From paradise to earth He came / that we with Him might dwell.
The Christmas Rose
The flower mentioned in the first line of Martens’ lyric is probably the helleborus niger, an evergreen perennial in the buttercup family popularly known as the Christmas Rose.
An interpretor of fairy tales, Martens was no doubt familiar with the legend of the young shepherdess Madelon, who was tending her sheep when the magi passed by with their lavish gifts for the Baby Jesus. Living in poverty, she had no gift to give, so she wept. A hovering angel brushed the snow from where her teardrops fell, and there bloomed a profusion of small white flowers, which Madelon joyfully picked and presented to the Child. Further legend has it that when Jesus touched the blossoms, they became tinged with pink, symbolizing the blood later to be shed. (The plant is toxic and was used in traditional medicine as a purgative and sedative.)
Martens later refers to Christ as the Christmas Rose, probably alluding to the Rose of Sharon; and perhaps, borrowing from the traditional mysticism of many cultures, the symbol of unfolding human consciousness.
Joël first introduced me to this heart-touching Christmas carol from Catalonia with a video of Andrés Segovia, who played it regularly in concert as a solo encore.
The melody appears in a notebook of organ variations––probably dances––with the title “Mañaguet mother,” dated 1820––
––and in an 1866 collection of Catalan folk music, SONGS OF THE EARTH. A Spanish translation is popular in Argentina, where it was probably introduced by Catalan immigrants.
In a more rhythmic jazz version with Johnathan Alexander on drums and Nina Rodriguez on percussion, we channel the song’s possible early origins as a Muiñeira, a playful, lively Galician dance form in 6/8. We are beholden to Austin vocalist and Barcelona native Sarah Riesner for her gracious help with Catalan pronunciation.
An exquisitely beautiful melody and sweet, simple lyrics tell a universally human story of love and care.
EL NOI DE LA MARE
Què li darem an el Noi de la Mare? Què li darem que li sapiga bo? Panses i figues i nous i olives, panses i figues i mèl i mató
What shall we give to the son of the mother? What shall we give for the baby to please? Raisins and figs and the ripest of olives, figs and sweet raisins and honey and cheese.
Què li darem al fillet de Maria? Què li darem a l'hermós Jesuset? Jo li voldria donar una cosa que l'abrigués ara que fa tant fred
What shall we give to the child of Mary? What shall we give to the baby just born? Shelter to shield from the cold of the night, the softest of cover to keep the babe warm.
Angels del cel són els que l'en breçolen, angels del cel que li fan venir sòn, mentres li canten cançons d'alegria, cants de la gloria que no són del món.
Angels of heaven are now in the cradle, making sleep come with their sweet lullabies, while we sing carols of joy and gladness, hymns of the glory beyond the skies.
Bernardino Butinone, MADONNA WITH CHILD, 1490, 11″ x 13″ tempera on panel, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy.
To Joël and me, music has always been about bringing people together, exploring commonalities: how the sounds of voices and instruments express the human emotions we all share; how we recognize our own experiences in the stories told by song; how we find our heartbeat in music’s pulse, and how our heartbeat joins there with the heartbeat of others.
We had two goals when we set out to make this Christmas album: to freshly interpret the songs we’d heard and loved since childhood, and to explore more deeply what those songs have to say to us at this time. We’re discovering that within the Christmas story are many stories, both human and divine, that transcend the canon of a particular religion or culture. On some level, there is something here for everyone.
I didn’t have a clear picture of what I was looking for in the search for album artwork. The exploration through hundreds of images of madonna and child—seeing how individual artists interpreted this familiar theme over the centuries—was educational, fascinating, and joyous. In the midst of many masterpieces, this small painting by early Italian Renaissance painter Bernardino Butinone immediately jumped out.
Created around 1490, it is strangely contemporary. No matter where in the world one calls home, this Mary could be the teenaged mother next door. She has been interrupted in her reading (studying?) by the precocious toddler Jesus tugging at her lapel, wanting her attention while smiling mischievously at the viewer. Her gentle half-smile (with a little eye rolling, perhaps?) is patient and resigned, capturing a very human moment every young mother knows well. Skin tones vary from dark to light; culture and ethnicity are ambiguous. This mother and child could be anywhere in the world. They—and their actions captured by the artist at this moment—are universally human.
Information about Butinone is sketchy. Born in Lombardy twenty-odd years before Leonardo da Vinci, he was a successful painter of religious subjects and frescos. His early work showed the more formal influence of classicism; but by mid-career, his paintings had become more original and authentically human, as evidenced by this portrait of mother and child. The humanity of the picture transcends place and time, drawing us into the familiar (from the Latin word familiāris: “of a household”), reminding us that we are all “of a household” on this earth, the human family. These beloved carols do the same; that’s why we still sing them centuries later.
(Georges de La Tour, THE NEWBORN CHRIST, 1645-48, oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes)
If you’re in Provence this Christmas eve, you might witness a local tradition: a parade of children on their way to midnight mass, dressed as milkmaids and shepherds, carrying candles and singing this lively, infectious melody rooted in 14th century dance music.
“Un Flambeau, Jeanette, Isabella,” with words by an anonymous lyricist, first appeared in written form in a 1553 book of French Christmas carols.
Its popularity was immediate and long lasting, and it’s said to have inspired several paintings by Georges de La Tour.
(Georges de La Tour, NATIVITY, 1645, oil on canvas, Louvre Museum)
The melody was later used by French Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643––1704) for his song “à boire Qu'ils sont doux, bouteille jolie (How Sweet to Drink, Pretty Bottle)” from a comedy by Molière satirizing the 17th century French medical establishment. Charpentier––famous for his work in both religious settings and musical theatre––may have been the George Gershwin of his day; and the 3/8 meter rooted in traditional Provençal dance rhythms may have been that era’s swing music.
(Anonymous, Portrait of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, 1700s, French)
It’s no wonder that this song, with its interesting harmonic possibilities and unusual form, is a favorite of jazz musicians. (The interludes between the verses in this track are little conversational dances between bassist Joël Dilley and drummer Johnathan Alexander.)
The lyrics switch character and point of view from verse to verse, painting a nativity scene that’s local, familiar, and wholly celebratory. It begins with the news of the baby’s birth and a call for village girls to fetch light to illumine the mother and child. Boisterous guests bring food and demand entrance, drawing an admonishment to lower their voices lest they wake the baby. Finally, we are all invited to quietly draw near and watch the little one napping peacefully, “laughing in his sleep.”
A sweet story for all ages, devoid of shadow, with a universally human message both simple and profound.
“Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.” ~ Albert Schweitzer
We are so grateful for the opportunity to make music, and so grateful to you for listening. We wish you peace, prosperity, health, happiness, and love. ~ Bett & Joël
painting: Nicholas Roerich, MONHEGAN, MAINE, 1922, International Centre of the Roerichs, Moscow
“Imàgenes de Artemisia” celebrates the ground-breaking painter who rose from scandal to become one of the most famous artists in Europe during the Baroque era.
