Daily Classical Music Post
Dave Brubeck: La Fiesta de la Posada
The decorations are up, the holiday music is blaring in the shops; there is no mistaking what time of year it is. This December, the Daily Classical Music Post will introduce you to music composed for or inspired by holidays that occur in the month of December. There will be a little something for everyone (I hope)!
Dave Brubeck - La Fiesta De La Posada: A Christmas Choral Pageant (Full Album)
Dave Brubeck (1920–2012) is best known as a jazz pianist and composer. He did compose some classical works, however. In 1975, he wrote La Fiesta de la Posada, a Christmas cantata depicting Mary and Joseph’s journey to find lodging before the birth of Christ. This journey is reenacted throughout Mexico and Central and South America from 16 December to Christmas Eve.
Brubeck said, “I was born in a California town founded by the Spanish, raised on a cattle ranch that had been a Mexican land grant, and have absorbed and observed Mexican folk music all my life. As a musician, I have toured Mexico six times and always enjoyed listening to the folk music of the various regions. The ethnic music reflects those qualities I most admire in people . . . dignity in moments of tragedy, infectious high spirits in moments of joy, and an unshakeable religious faith made evident in a strong sense of one’s own worth and a deep respect for the shared values of one’s own group—family, church, village. These qualities, I think, are universal to people with a strong communal sense—an increasingly rare attribute in urban culture. It is this sense of sharing in an event which I have tried to capture in the simple retelling of the Christmas story.”
La Fiesta de la Posada is composed for chorus, unison children’s chorus, soloists, and orchestra. People generally agree that live performances of this exuberant and uplifting work, Brubeck’s most-often performed choral piece, are much better than recordings, but that’s all I can offer you today.
My classical music post for today is Dave Brubeck’s La Fiesta de la Posada.