A Christmas Cantata

This 300-member choir and orchestra presented Hodie (This Day) by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The large group is Choral Union all college students from California Baptist University in Riverside which is the city just east of us. Many of my students plan to transfer to CBU.

When I saw the advertisement for this free concert, I asked Mr. Fun if we could go and he was willing. It was a very moving experience and we were both glad we were there.

Once we got inside, what caught our attention immediately were the words in the program: Ralph Vaughan Williams was 81 years old when he began work on "Hodie." After his first wife's death two years earlier, Vaughan Williams revealed to his new fiance, Ursula Wood, a reputable poet, that a major musical work for Christmas had not been composed for some time and that he was interested in composing such a work.

The Program Notes continue for several paragraphs, so I won't put it all here.

The musical is an anthology of poetry and musical style that revitalizes the celebration of Christmas. The concert lasted one hour and was wonderful.

Good night from Southern California.
Rosie & Mr. Fun), aka Carol