Do you have that “cincing” feeling? Then it must be almost Cinco de Mayo!
May 5 is the anniversary of the day in 1862 when the Mexican army routed the superior forces of the French at the Battle of Puebla, quite possibly saving the United States’ bacon. You see, Napoleon III was not entirely unaware of a little something raging here in the U.S. called the Civil War. It was Napoleon’s idea that by moving in while the nation was compromised he might strike an alliance with the Confederacy and then sweep across the country. If not for the events of Cinco de Mayo, we could all be wearing berets right now and saying things like “mais oui.” Think about that the next time anyone talks about building a wall.
Join me in hoisting a glass of tequila to our brothers and sisters to the south, tomorrow morning on WPRB, as we listen to music mostly by Mexican composers and some by composers of the United States who wrote music on Mexican themes. Two in particular fell head-over-heels for the country: Aaron Copland and Conlon Nancarrow.
We can expect two visitors:
Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider will drop by around 9 a.m. to talk about her new work, “Hiraeth,” which will be heard on a concert of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium on May 15 at 4 p.m. The PSO will host a performance of her song cycle “Penelope” at Princeton High School Performing Arts Center on May 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Snider will be joined by PSO assistant conductor John Devlin at Princeton Public Library tonight at 7 to discuss Penelope, a central figure from Homer’s “The Odyssey,” her influence on the creation of the piece, and preparations for the performance of Snider’s work. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.
Then at 10 a.m., Lyn Ransom, artistic director or VOICES Chorale, will join us to tell us a little bit about the group’s season finale, which will include a performance of Gabriel Fauré’s heart-melting Requiem. Dr. Ransom is an advocate of performing the work in the French style. We’ll find out exactly what that means during the course of our conversation. The performance will take place at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Princeton on Friday at 8 p.m.
Since Mexico’s victory at the Battle of Puebla, acquisitive European forces have thought twice before trying to invade any country in the Americas, I can tell you. We’ll do our best not to spill our margaritas all over the equipment tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. We’ll be up to our wrists in guacamole and salsa, on Classic Ross Amico.
#CincoDeMayo
