Today marks a moment in time of stillness and reflection, the longest night of the year before the gradual return of light. There is a wealth of music about winter, night, darkness, and light, and I tried to select pieces that captured the ideas of cold December nights, the knowledge that the sun and warmth will return, and the small lights that both sustain us in the meantime, as well as the small lights that we put forth to try to sustain others.

The prelude opened with “Once Upon a December”, which comes from the 1997 movie Anastasia, a beautiful animated fairy tale loosely based upon the legend of Russia’s Grand Duchess Anastasia. Written by Broadway veterans Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (who also penned “Ragtime” and “Once on this Island”), the protagonist’s words are full of wistful nostalgia:

Far away, long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Things it yearns to remember

And a song someone sings

Once upon a December

The well-known and beloved Clair de lune followed, by French Impressionist composer Claude Debussy. Clair de lune – which translates to “the light of the moon” – is a luminous musical portrait of moonlight spilling over a quiet landscape. In the context of a Winter Solstice service, Debussy’s shimmering harmonies suggest the reflection of the winter moon on snow or ice, as well as a sense of calm, wonder, and the peaceful magic of a winter night.

I was originally planning to play Don McLean’s “Vincent“, which is so wonderful and a personal favorite…or Eric Whitacre’s less-known but exquisite “Glow“. But after the youth performance and the activities that Skyla King-Christison had planned, it felt like the service called for the quiet warmth and intimacy of Jim Brickman’s arrangement of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” instead. The gentle piano lines and soothing childhood melody evoke the comforting glow of starlight on a dark, quiet evening. Even in the depths of winter, small points of light – hope, love, and connection – persist and guide us forward.

For today’s postlude, I played Charles Murphy’s “Light Is Returning”, a song we’ve sung at past solstice services. This musical celebration of the light’s return couldn’t be more fitting for the longest night of the year, and the lyrics serve as a promise of new beginnings:

Light is returning
Even though this is the darkest hour.
No one can hold back the dawn.

Let’s keep it burning;
Let’s keep the light of hope alive!
Make safe our journey through the storm.

One planet is turning
Circle on her path around the Sun.
Earth Mother is calling her children home.