Congratulations to Brittney Benton, Hannah Nacheman and Roslinde Rivera.
Keep watching for announcements of the 2024 Gena Branscombe Project scholarships!
#BringingBackBranscombe
Chrystmasse seasons filled with joy, sadness, melancholy, sentimental
remembrances, thankfulness for gifts received, gatherings of friends and family
are what nearly every person experiences during their lifetime of Holie-dayes.
“There is a foretaste of what the years will bring – this Christmas – a poignancy that has never existed before. And just now we are waiting for later news of my cousin Gerald – who was severely wounded and gassed a few days ago. I wish you could have seen the two older babies frolicking in the snow – this afternoon with their cheeks like peonies. They’re both so huge that they can hardly both sit on their used –to-be capacious sled – and when their wicked mother would give an unexpected pull – one or the other would roll merrily off. They are great fun.”
Miss Branscombe wrote of her cousin who was fighting and was
wounded in Europe during World War I.
Concern, worry, sadness turns to her recounting of the joy she
experienced playing in the snow with her two oldest babies, Gena and
Vivian.
In various other letters to Schmidt she wrote of Chrystmasse
travel to Methuen, MA to spend the holie-dayes with her husband’s family. Or a Chrystmasse trip to Methuen was thwarted
due to “Gena had Grippe – and while she was able to be out a day or so before
Christmas – we didn’t dare risk it …”
(December 26, 1915 letter). Another
letter explains she had no time to send out cards or have a picture taken of
daughter Gena because she was out of town playing concerts.
Now why the two different spellings of the word
Christmas/Chrystmasse or the word Holie-dayes?
“Hail Ye Tyme of Holiedayes” published by the Arthur P. Schmidt Co. of Boston sold well and was performed frequently by famous singers David Bishpham, Laurence Tibbett, Norman Joliffe, Penelope Davis and many others. Miss Branscombe arranged the solo song for women’s chorus, SATB and TTBB. Even more sales were made. Royalties to help with Chrystmasse expenses were received with glee and thankfulness.
Enjoy the sentiment of the Holie-dayes poem
Hail Ye Tyme of
Holie-Dayes (A Song of Chrystmasse)
Kendall Banning,
poet, dedicated to David Bispham
Hail Ye tyme of holie-dayes,
Mistletoe and Hollie;
Love and laughter,
feastings after,
Beckon fun and follie.
Simple folke in humble
garbe,
Noblesse in their golde,
Hail to-day, in brave
array.
Chrystmasse as of olde.
Sing but songs of
happiness,
‘vaunt ye thoughts of
sorrow;
Troublings cease in tyme
of peace,
Cares will seare ye-morrow
Simple songs for lowlie
friends,
Madrigals for halle;
Reste ye, Chrysten
gentel-folke;
Chryst be with ye alle!
The Gena Branscombe Project has been in existence for five
years. In 2024 we will be awarding scholarships
to an up-and-coming arts administrator, conductor and composer for the fifth
consecutive year. It has been an honor
to follow the career paths of our winners.
This past Saturday our 2021 Conductor’s Scholarship winner, Micah Gleason, conducted her graduation concert at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Choosing a program of De Falla’s “Three Cornered Hat, Suites 1 & 2, Jessie Montgomery’s “Coincident Dances” and the Sibelius Symphony No. 1, Micah led the orchestra in a subtle and exciting performance of each of these works.
Below is the link to Micah’s concert. Listen and you will understand why she won The Gena Branscombe Project’s conductor’s scholarship in 2021.
Congratulations, Micah!
