Category Archives: Musical

Posada

Nationality: Colombian
Age: 54
Occupation: -
Residence: Mexico City
Performance Date: 03/16/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Informant: Maria Clara Williamson. My mom who is originally from Colombia but has lived in Mexico City for 25 years.

Informant: “In México we have Posadas. A posada is a celebration to commemorate the story of Jesus. It is the journey that Joseph and Mary took in Bethlehem. Half the people act as the inns and the rest of the people act as pilgrims. Everyone holds candles and sings. At the end of the singing there is a big party. At the party, there are traditional Mexican piñatas. The piñata has colorful peaks representing the Catholic capital sins. The party is decorated very colorfully and it is a great celebration!”

 

Song:

Los Peregrinos…

En el nombre del cielo,

yo os pido posada,

pues no puede andar,

mi esposa amada.

Los Hosteleros… 

Aquí no es mesón,

sigan adelante,

no les puedo abrir,

no vaya a ser un tunante.

……..

TODOS…

Dichosa la casa

Que abriga este día

A la virgen pura

La hermosa María.

Entren Santos Peregrinos,

Reciban este rincón,

que aunque es pobre la morada,

os la doy de corazón.

 

Translation:

The Pilgrims…

In the name of the heavens

I request lodging from you,

Because she cannot walk,

My beloved wife.

The Innkeepers…

This is not an inn,

Go on ahead

I cannot open up for you

In case you’re a crook.

………

Everyone…

Happy is the house

That shelters today

The pure virgin,

The beautiful Mary.

Enter holy pilgrims

Receive this haven

That although it’s a poor dwelling

I offer it to you from the heart.

 

Thoughts: Posadas are very traditional in Mexico. I have not attended one since middle school but I vividly remember the experience. I enjoy this celebration because it combines Joseph and Mary’s journey with a fun party. Posadas are geared more towards families but there are many people in Mexico who do not miss these posadas as it really is part of their tradition and religion.

 

For the full version of the song: “http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=ss&p=2111”

 

Deerfield Evensong

Nationality: Senegal
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Brussels
Performance Date: 04/23/17
Primary Language: French
Language: English

Informant: Mamy Mbaye. 20 years old. From Senegal, attended Deerfield Academy (a boarding school in MA) with me. Student at Pomona College.

Collector: “What was your favorite part about Deerfield?”

Informant: “One of my favorite experiences at Deerfield was singing the Deerfield Evensong.

Collector: “Could you explain the experience as if I didn’t attend the school with you?”

 

Informant: “Of course! Okay, so at Deerfield, all the students and faculty gather for a sit down formal dinner every Sunday. We have assigned tables and the table is made up of ten students from every grade as well as one faculty member. Once dinner is over, the dean announces on the microphone to “please rise for the evensong.” A faculty member plays the piano and we all stand-up and sing in unison. The second to last verse is reserved for seniors and all the other students join in for the last verse. Once the song is over we all clap and leave the dinning hall. This song is very meaningful to me because it was part of my life for three formative years. When I was a senior during my last Sunday dinner, I cried while singing the senior verse. This song is so much more than a shared experience. It truly emphasizes my love for Deerfield. I really have such fond memories from there and I will forever cherish that bond.”

Song:

Words by Richard Warren Hatch
Music by Ralph Herrick Oatley

“Far beyond each western mountain
Gleam the fires of dying day;
Softly from each hidden fountain
Flows the river on its way.

All the valley lies in splendor
Hushed before the coming night;
From a hundred ancient windows
Flashes back the sunset’s light.

Now the meadow-wind’s soft whisper
Stirs the old elm’s silhouette,
Bends each leafy tower above us,
Caught in evening’s dusky net.

Now the day is done with striving;
Let the heart hold memory bright;
Soon these halls and fields we’re leaving—
Raise we song before the night.

Senior Verse:

Let the circling night be softened
By the ember’s last faint glow;
In the firelight we will gather
Bound by song before we go.

Deerfield Days are days of glory,
Memory lives in every one;
Let no other name be spoken
Till the even-hour is done.”

Thoughts: Mamy and I graduated from Deerfield at the same time. As she mentions, this song is very meaningful in our lives. I didn’t cry while singing the senior verse, but it was a very emotional experience to sing it one last time. The song is beautifully written and encompasses the shared spirit of pride.

Fraternity Song

Nationality: USA
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Chicago
Performance Date: 04/25/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: Jimmy Lonergan. 21 years old. From Chicago. Student at USC and member of a fraternity.

“When I joined a fraternity this song really spoke to the values I hope to live and abide by. When I came to USC, I really wanted to join a fraternity due to the powerful experience of brotherhood. I come from a big family—five siblings—and I really wanted to have brothers throughout my college career. We sing this song after Monday Dinner and during chapter, all the brothers stand in a circle, lock their arms together, and sing in unison while moving from side to side:

Our strong band can ne’er be broken

Formed in ole Phi Psi

Far surpassing wealth unspoken

Sealed by friendship’s tie

Chorus:

Amici, usque ad aras

(“Friendship, ongoing until death”)

Deep graven on each heart

Shall be found unwav’ring true

When we from life shall part

 

College life at best is passing

Gliding swiftly by

Let us pledge in word and action

Love for old Phi Psi”

 

Thoughts: The lyrics really emphasize the importance of friendship, pledging, brotherhood, and a sacred bond. Truly, a fraternity tries to emulate these values and as Jimmy said it is the brotherhood that drew him to the fraternity. This fraternity song reminds me of the Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration of Independence, it says: “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” Fraternities are very old American organizations whose founders were inspired by the same values this country was founded upon. Truly, the song encapsulates a similar sentiment that is portrayed in the Declaration of Independence.

An Extra Birthday Candle

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Advertising Sales Assistant
Residence: Yonkers, New York
Performance Date: March 17, 2017
Primary Language: English

Informant: The informant is a twenty-two-year-old named Samantha. She graduated from Providence College last year and is currently working in New York City as an Advertising Sales Assistant for VERANDA Magazine. She lives in Yonkers, New York with her parents and has lived there for her whole life. She is of Italian, English, and Russian descent.

Context of the Performance: We sat next to each other on the living room floor at her house in Yonkers, New York during my spring break from college.

Original Script:

Informant: I learned that you when celebrating someone’s birthday, you always need to have one more candle than necessary on the birthday cake. This candle has to be left unlit. I learned this from her grandma. For kids, this extra candle is one to grow on, so it symbolizes the hope that they will grow big and strong in the following year. On the other hand, for adults, this extra candle is for a long life and luck.

Interviewer: Why do you like this piece of folklore?

Informant: I like it because it’s a family tradition. It reminds me of my childhood because I always had an extra candle on her birthday cakes. Also, this concept always excites children who want to grow and become big and strong. As an adult now, I likes the idea of having this candle to promise a lucky year. I definitely plan to pass this tradition on to my children one day.


Personal Thoughts: This tradition is interesting to me because it highlights the fact that superstitions and traditions in general are not only for children; they are important to adults too. While kids love the idea of growing up to be big and strong, adults do not easily forget such traditions they celebrated growing up. They keep the tradition alive by changing its meaning to something which they want in their lives no matter how old they are- good luck in the next year.

There’s No Seder Like our Seder

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Nationality: American
Age: 76
Residence: FL
Performance Date: April 11
Primary Language: English
Language: Yiddish

Informant is grandmother, currently living in Florida having lived most of her life in New Jersey. The following is printed on a series of old, twice-photocopied documents which she stores in a closet in a large bin. These are a familiar sight for the family during Passover, in which the entirety of the song is sung together before beginning with the dinner service.

 

There’s No Seder Like our Seder

(sung to the tune of “There’s no Business like Show business”)

There’s no seder like our seder,

There’s no seder I know.

Everything about it is Halachic

nothing that the Torah won’t allow.

Listen how we read the whole Haggadah

It’s all in Hebrew

‘Cause we know how.

There’s no Seder like our seder,

We tell a tale that is swell:

Moses took the people out into the heat

They baked the matzoh

While on their feet

Now isn’t that a story

That just can’t be beat?

Let’s go on with the show!

 

Of course this song is not traditional jewish canon, as it’s inspired by the song “There’s no Business like Show business.” Somewhere down the line, at a time she does not remember, these papers were copied and it was decided to sing it before opening the Hagaddah (Passover prayerbook read at dinner). I think this song, to her, is a fun family activity which gets all ages singing together and warmed up for the night.