Eine kleine Weihnachtsmusik

Today’s Advent piece may be a bit of a surprise—a reworking of two traditional carols by a composer you might not ordinarily associate with something calm or Christmassy.

As I said last year, Michael Praetorius’ “Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen” is my all-time favorite carol. And I’m quite the traditional purist when it comes to it. Also, I’m not a huge fan of Arnold Schoenberg’s atonality.

So this is a step out of the traditional, perhaps a step into the uncomfortable, but it’s not bad. Have a listen; see what he’s put together for us:

Although born a Jew, in 1898 Schoenberg converted to Lutheranism as both a cultural and defensive move—turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century Vienna had strong strains of anti-Semitism flowing through it. In 1933 he reverted back to Judaism, but he enjoyed celebrating Christmas, and he liked the music. Ergo this and other pieces that don’t entirely rip the top of your head off with musical clashes.

Schoenberg had held a teaching post at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin since 1926. With Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, he left Europe for the United States, teaching at both the University of Southern California and at UCLA. He remained there until his death, and it breaks my heart to think that in our current anti-Semitic and xenophobic political climate, it’s likely that refugees like him could be refused entry to this country.

But Germany would welcome him.

Anyhow—set all that aside for now and just listen to something familiar and unfamiliar.