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The Christmas Revels in Celebration of the Winter Solstice

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The Christmas Revels in Celebration of the Winter Solstice Washington Revels 30th annual The Christmas Revels in celebration of the winter solstice December 8–9 and 14–16, 2012 gw lisner auditorium, washington, dc Washington Revels presents the 30th annual production of In Celebration of the Winter Solstice Traditional and Early Music, Dance and Drama of Britain and Europe Featuring With Piffaro, The Renaissance Band Mark Jaster as The Fool The Washington Revels Brass Sabrina Mandell, Joan The Haddon Hall Wassailers Oran Sandel, Sir John Manners The Bakewell Teens The Manners Family The Derbyshire Children Morgan Duncan, Sir John Henry Cutting Edge Sword Dancers Katrina Van Duyn, Lady Kathleen Foggy Bottom Morris Men Mattias Lundberg, Charles Mira Cohen, Ursula 3 Roberta Gasbarre, Artistic and Stage Director Elizabeth Fulford Miller, Music Director Greg Magee, Production Manager Water for the It is expressly forbidden to use photographic or 2012 Christmas Revels sound equipment in the auditorium. Unauthorized persons found using such equipment in the theater provided by will be asked to leave. Revels® is a registered service Drink More Water. mark of Revels, Inc. of Watertown, Massachusetts, and is used by permission. drinkmorewater.com About Revels What is Revels? A nonprofit cultural institution in the Greater Washington area for almost 30 years, Washington Revels creates community celebrations and other events based on traditional music, dance, and drama, and from different times and cultures. Revels programs involve adults and children, professionals and nonprofessionals, and opportunities for audience participation. By engaging audiences as participants in traditional material, Revels seeks to provide a sense of the comfort and the joy that people can obtain from community celebrations that reflect universal themes. Revels organization. We are one of ten independent Revels organizations in the U.S., each with its own board, office and artistic staff, and finances. An umbrella organization, Revels, Inc., in Watertown, Massachusetts, maintains artistic standards and provides or approves scripts and music for Christmas Revels productions. Revels activities. The Christmas Revels is by far our biggest production, but we now have many other activities throughout the year, including informal celebrations, concerts, and other events. We have five performing ensembles, as well as a growing education program. Over the past year, Washington Revels presented 55 separate events, of which The Christmas Revels was only one. These activities are noted in the insert to this program. What is Revels-really? At one level, Revels is a vehicle for events that are fun and that also provide a sense of community and shared tradition. At a deeper level, Revels is about the importance of community celebration to all people. This deeper level is most evident in our seasonal celebrations, and in particular our celebrations of the Winter Solstice, which address the circle of the seasons and the cycle of life. Winter is followed by spring; dark is followed by light; individuals die, but others are born. Throughout, in times of sorrow and times of joy, humankind finds support in coming together in music and song. Exploring these themes through the prisms of different cultures, Revels performances not only illustrate specific customs that address universal human hopes and fears, but create “real-time” celebrations in which cast, crew, and audience members experience our common humanity. The essential message, and we hope the experience, is that all of us-adults, children, people from all walks of life-are part of a community that stretches across national and cultural boundaries and down through the ages. WASHINGTON REVELS 531 Dale Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20910 ◆ 301.587.3835 For more information on Revels events and activities or to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter, visit our website: revelsdc.org Follow us on: From the Director s Washington Revels heads into our 30th anniversary year, it seems appropriate that this Christmas Revels is about joy, family and, most of all, legacy. Sir John Henry Montague Manners, the 9th Duke of Rutland, is selling the old family home, A Haddon Hall. He doesn't feel like a duke. He's a modern man of the 1920s, with modern concerns. He doesn't want to deal with an empty old country house anymore, even one filled with memories and “by-gone grandeur.” But his wonderful, strange Winter Solstice family reunion makes him rethink his legacy. What does he really want his children to inherit? What should be passed down? What is it, finally, that all of us leave our children? It's tempting to look back and think that people had it easier in some earlier, golden era. But many of our troubles were regularly encountered by our ancestors. War and sickness are constants. Financial worries continue through the ages. Troublesome relatives have graced both ancient and modern tables. But at the turning of the year, if we heed the call of that special moment, we take time to consider the things that are most important to us. We gather with families and friends. Often, there's a reckoning. Children are taller. Some people are gone. We eat, drink, play a game (or watch one), perhaps sing . and recommit to each other. The memories we make at these special times of the year can help bring us through the times that have always tried men's souls. So, it's fitting to start our 30th anniversary year by thinking about Washington Revels’ legacy. In this celebratory year, we will be remembering where we came from and recalling the people who have been on the road with us these thirty years. In Revels, we gather in small groups throughout the year. We're thrilled with our new after-school programs, the community parades where we process and sing, the outdoor festivals where we create and meet our neighbors, and our newest jewels: our five performing ensembles that are engaging audiences all around the Washington area. All of these celebrate our legacy-the traditions of the past-and the joys of our future. It's hard sometimes to let go of the cynicism of modern life. We thank you for joining us to dispel the darkness and we hope you will take the spirit of this Christmas Revels home with you. What memories will you create? As John Henry tells the Spirit, “My family must have joy. I must have it!” Welcome Yule! -Roberta Gasbarre, December 2012 From the Director Reveling in Haddon Hall This year’s Christmas Revels is in two respects a return to familiar territory and in two respects a production different from all its predecessors. Revisiting Haddon Hall. Our set for this year’s Christmas Revels is the great Banqueting Hall inside Haddon Hall, one of England’s oldest and most romantic manor houses (and the setting for numerous BBC and other film productions, including three versions of Jane Eyre). The Banqueting Hall itself is highly prized architecturally; part of the original 12th-century building, it contains one of the finest examples of a medieval minstrels’ gallery in all Europe. Although our set is new, the Revels association with this great room is a long one. A lithograph of it by artist Joseph Nash, filled with “reveling” figures, graced the cover of the very first Christmas Revels record (now CD) and songbook (and is on the cover of this program). Many productions in the ten Revels cities across the country have been set in the room, including Washington Revels’ second annual Christmas Revels in 1984 and one later production. Revels Greatest Hits. Of the 36 poems and songs you will hear tonight, 16 were performed in our 1984 “Haddon Hall” Revels, and some of these songs have also been sung in other Christmas Revels productions. Thus, this 30th annual Washington Revels production provides a nostalgic reprise of some of what Revels veterans refer to as “Revels’ greatest hits.” Another article discusses the music in greater detail. A “True” Story. All Christmas Revels contain true expressions of the importance to humankind of community celebration, but this may be the first Christmas Revels that tells-well, elaborates on-a true story. It is true that by the 20th century Haddon Hall was in ruins, and also that it has now been expertly restored due in large part to the efforts of Sir John Henry Manners, the 9th Duke of Rutland. What Revels added to this history is an imaginative dramatization of how and why the Duke decided to restore the property. The Power of Community Celebration. Finally, this story itself contains an unusually explicit presentation of the themes that permeate all Christmas Revels. In other productions, the characters eagerly prepare for and engage in a community celebration. There are statements about the celebration’s meaning-expressed, for example, in Fra Giovanni’s "Salutation" and in "The Shortest Day"-but the transformative power of such celebration on specific characters is not shown. In the current story, however, the protagonist is a serious businessman who at first sees no value in tradition or in celebration; he has no time for such “frivolous pastimes.” He is transformed by lessons learned in community celebration and in a Dickensian encounter with Revels Past; he reconnects with his “inner fool” and learns that he is able to “take joy.” -Terry Winslow Musical Treasures and Traditions As we celebrate this 30th annual production of The Christmas Revels in Washington, D.C., it is a wonderful time to reflect on Washington Revels' “musical history.” Although the theme of The Christmas Revels changes each year-from medieval England or Europe to Appalachia, French Canada, or Andalusia-there are always certain core musical elements to draw us together in song and dance. We always sing “The Lord of the Dance” to literally dance both Revels cast and audience into the lobbies (and sometimes even outside!) for intermission.
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