Polzonetti expounded on the various ways in which cultures and musical genres affect the expression of winter in song
By JONAH BERMAN — arts@theaggie.org
As UC Davis students approach the holiday season, an extensive list of rich musical traditions awaits them. Both classical and modern holiday tunes will reverberate throughout family gatherings, grocery stores and shopping malls alike, adding a flair to the season that would be cold and dreary without these melodic bundles of joy.
Music associated with the holidays and the winter season draws on a rich array of histories and cultural traditions. UC Davis Professor of Music Pierpaolo Polzonetti, who focuses on the nuances of Cuban music, jazz and opera, discussed the state of Christmas music in modern-day America, where individuals are inundated with massive amounts of holiday songs.
“We are bombarded by Christmas songs,” Polzonetti said. “The soundtrack is almost unavoidable.”
Most of the holiday music heard in malls or stores is queued with the goal of appealing to the broadest possible audience, rather than focusing on any particular niche or group, according to Polzonetti. Much of this modern American holiday music, however, is rooted in older traditions.
“There’s a lot of ancient folk tradition that ends up [in Christmas music], often evoking the bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy or other instruments,” Polzonetti said. “Traditionally, the street musicians were playing those [instruments], trying to make a buck. Now everything ends up in the big melting pot of the Christmas playlist.”
Polzonetti also discussed the variety of techniques that classical composers would use to relay to listeners a sensory feel for the winter months. For example, in the works of Antonio Vivaldi and Fanny Mendelssohn, both composers sought to recreate the darker, psychological effects of winter.
“Music can’t lower the temperature, it can’t be wet, but it can trigger a reaction in the psyche,” Polzonetti said. “What you hear is not so much a rendition of the stormy weather of winter, but the effects of cold on the skin. It’s really about the suffering of the human body.”
However, some classical composers took a different approach, such as in Franz Schubert’s “Winterreise,” according to Polzonetti.
“Schubert doesn’t represent anything that has to do with cold, or snow or temperature,” Polzonetti said. “It’s all a metaphor for the loss of love.”
Jazz and holiday music also have a unique relationship, and Polzonetti explained that historically, the two often intertwined in novel ways.
“During the swing era, songs like ‘Jingle Bells’ were set for jazz orchestra and used in dancehalls for Christmas parties,” Polzonetti said.
Furthermore, many might musically associate the holiday season with the relaxing jazz piano work of Vince Guaraldi, who provided the score for the “Peanuts” animated special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965). However, Polzonetti explained that this appropriation of jazz can, in some ways, be in conflict with the genre’s founding goals.
“We need to think of the adapting functions of jazz in society,” Polzonetti said. “All of this is unfortunately removed from the origins of jazz as African American music, Afrocentric music, that was developed to fight against extreme injustice. When it’s associated with comfort, we might forget that the roots of this music are in injustice and inequality.”
Polzonetti also remarked on how the physical conditions of a place influence what’s depicted in the music of that culture. For example, in Cuba, winter temperatures remain comparatively high, so Cuban music is less likely to discuss frigidity as an aspect of the holiday season.
“The songs associated with winter [in Cuba] are more about eating Christmas food, like stuffed turkey,” Polzonetti said. “But it doesn’t sound any different than the songs that they have for other periods of times.”
Polzonetti also pointed out how the effects of climate change may impact the music we listen to.
“One thing I can say is that global warming has changed the way winter is perceived — even in places that traditionally produce a lot of winter music, like Italy,” Polzonetti said. “‘Winter’ by Vivaldi was felt differently in the 18th century than it is now.”
Ultimately, each new piece of holiday music can be seen as akin to a falling snowflake, splendidly intricate in its own unique way, according to Polzonetti. The season’s sounds can range from relaxing to rapturous, varying from decade to decade, but regardless, will always be a part of the winter memories we hold so dear.
Written by: Jonah Berman — arts@theaggie.org
