SYSTIR, meaning “sister” in Icelandic, has emerged from the legendary ANÚNA to forge a distinctive and eclectic musical identity focused on the female voice. Featuring six or more performers on stage, Systir combine contemporary performance techniques with ancient traditions, crafting an ethereal and immersive soundscape. Their repertoire draws heavily from indigenous European songs, including sean […]
(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66
“(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” is a popular rhythm and blues song, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. The lyrics relate a westward road trip on U.S. Route 66, a highway which traversed the western two-thirds of the U.S. from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California. The song became a standard, with […]
In Dulci Jubilo
“In Dulci Jubilo” (Latin for “In sweet rejoicing”) is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J. M. Neale’s arrangement “Good Christian Men, Rejoice” have increased its popularity, and Robert Pearsall’s 1837 macaronic […]
Of The Father’s Heart Begotten
“Of the Father’s heart begotten” alternatively known as “Of the Father’s love begotten” is a doctrinal hymn based on the Latin poem “Corde natus” by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius, from his Liber Cathemerinon (hymn no. IX) beginning “Da puer plectrum”. The ancient poem was translated and paired with a medieval plainchant melody “Divinum mysterium”. […]
I Wonder As I Wander
“I Wonder as I Wander” is a Christian folk hymn, typically performed as a Christmas carol, written by American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. The hymn has its origins in a song fragment collected by Niles on July 16, 1933. While in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, Niles attended a fundraising […]
Huron Carol
The “Huron Carol” (or “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime“) is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada’s oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people; the song’s original Huron title is […]
I Saw Three Ships
“I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)” is an English Christmas carol, listed as number 700 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The earliest printed version of “I Saw Three Ships” is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by William Sandys in 1833. The song was probably traditionally known as “As […]
Driving Home For Christmas
“Driving Home for Christmas” is a Christmas song written and composed by the British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the B-side to his single “Hello Friend” in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded version served as one of two new songs on Rea’s first compilation album New Light Through Old […]
Britten – A Ceremony of Carols
A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 is an extended choral composition for Christmas by Benjamin Britten scored for three-part treble chorus, solo voices, and harp. The text, structured in eleven movements, is taken from The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems, edited by Gerald Bullett. It is principally in Middle English, with some Latin and Early […]
Vivaldi – Griselda
Griselda is a dramma per musica in three acts that was composed by Antonio Vivaldi. The opera uses a revised version of the 1701 Italian libretto by Apostolo Zeno that was based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron (X, 10, “The Patient Griselda”). The celebrated Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni was hired to adapt the libretto for […]