A message from conductor Karen P. Thomas

Welcome to Northern Lights, a celebration of the winter season as heard in the music of Nordic and Baltic countries.

The aurora borealis (northern lights) was named in 1621 by the French astronomer Pierre Gassendi after Aurora, theRoman goddess of dawn, and Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind. The Old Norse word for the aurora borealis is norðrljós (northern lights), and these lights have fascinated and sometimes terrified all who have seen them from the beginning of time. Many cultures have tried to account for this remarkable and beautiful sight, some seeing it as threatening, others as benign. Latvian folklore, for example, tells that the northern lights are the restless spirits of fallen warriors, still fighting their battles in the sky. 

In Norse mythology, the northern lights were caused by the Valkyries galloping across the night sky on their horses, equipped with helmets, spears, and armor that would glow and shimmer in the darkness. These red, blue, violet, and green lights would spread in curtains from horizon to horizon, amazing the mortals below. In Finnish, the word for the aurora borealis translates as "fox fires." The name comes from an ancient Finnish myth in which the lights were caused by a magical fox sweeping his tail across the snow, sending sparks up into the sky. In Norwegian folklore, the lights were the spirits of old maids dancing in the sky and waving. In some Scandinavian traditions, the northern lights were believed to enhance the earth’s fertility.

The Sámi, who live north of the Arctic Circle in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, traditionally believed that the lights were the energies of departed souls. When the fires blazed in the skies, people were to behave solemnly, and children were admonished to quiet down and be respectful toward the fires. It was believed that whoever disrespected the fires incurred bad fortune, which could result in sickness and even death. The Sámi believed these fires to have magical effects; Sámi shaman drums often have runes depicting the fires in order to harness their energy. The lights were believed to have a mellowing effect on arguments, and the time of the fires was beneficial to conflict resolution. Today we think more often in scientific terms – the auroras are collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. Less fanciful, to be sure, than Valkyries, foxes, and the spirits of fallen warriors. For these concerts, we invite you to enter the ancient mindset and allow your imagination to conjure the resplendent imagery of the northern lights 

Karen P. Thomas

Karen P. Thomas 

Artistic Director and Conductor 

Seattle Pro Musica

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Program in brief

Notes, texts, and translations

Personnel

Acknowledgments

These performances are supported in part by ArtsFund, Classical KING FM 98.1, 4Culture, and the City of Seattle, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.
Free and reduced cost access is supported by 4Culture.

Please mute all cell phones and electronic devices. No photography during performances. Thank you.