I have been working on a Say Nothing project that went live yesterday evening. One Silent Night was a concept put together by Jonah Hagans. He had this idea to write about the 1914 Christmas Truce on the Western Front and to have people read some of the letters written at that time and to sing the carols they sang. Of all the Christmas ideas we talked about this one resonated with me. 2020 has been a difficult year and it seems important to remember other times in our history where people struggled and how they got through.
There is also something special about the traditions of Christmas and of carols that have been sung from long before I was born. During World War 1 there are accounts of soldiers from opposing sides singing together in German and English, and Latin and English. For me these carols highlight that things that make us alike. We sing the same songs, we share the same traditions, though we were separated by war and politics.
Carol singing was a big part of my childhood, but it's not something I do a lot of in Tokyo. Getting to write arrangements and to work with local singers and a couple of overseas singers was a Christmas treat. It was also enjoyable teaching people carols that were so familiar to me that they had never heard.
So far the response to the audio project has been very good and the project has been resonating with different people around the world. It will be available to listen to on the website until January 2021.
