The spirit of community

Christmas with Thomas Hampson; The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Hugh Wolfe, conducting

One of the greatest charms of the upper Midwest is the great sense of community. The community in which my sisters and I grew up in South Dakota encompasses a tiny town with a population of about two hundred and fifty people. The larger community may have six to seven hundred folks and probably takes up more square mileage than Manhattan. It’s interesting to note that communities around the world may be similar in size population-wise, give or take a thousand. But they vary wildly in square footage.

There’s no hiding in a farming community. And quite often any farmer’s level of success has everything to do with his or her relationship with virtually everyone else. In a major city, it seems that you only move a block or two and you have to embrace a completely different community. I like to tell how my mom moved from the farm into a house on the far side of town and only moved about a mile and a half. In states where agriculture is the leading industry, community seems to be the default mindset. Case in point: Minnesota.

They have the Minnesota Vikings, the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Orchestra. Minnesota Public Radio is one of the largest cross-sections of National Public Radio. The Minnesota State Fair is advertised as “The Great Minnesota Get-Together”. Having been to that fair, I can vouch for the accuracy of that slogan. I got a sense, while I walked around the grounds, that everyone knew everybody else; they just hadn’t necessarily met each other yet. My cousin says that the Minnesota State Fair is one of the largest state fairs in the country; second largest in fact. The Texas fair is larger. Freaks.

The Twin Cities area is one of the few major metropolitan areas to have two internationally recognized professional orchestras. I would guess that the sole reason for not calling the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra the Minnesota Chamber Orchestra is to avoid confusion with the names. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra is an outstanding orchestra under the baton of Hugh Wolff. And the pairing of them with Thomas Hampson is fantastic.

After having to lift his voice above the quality din of an opera orchestra in a monumental opera house, it must be a relief to sing with an ensemble that is more intimate by design. I hear a lot of delicate nuance here, subtle differences in dynamic and ample opportunity to try things that are difficult to accomplish with a huge orchestra. This CD offers the occasion in which to hear how huge Mr. Hampson’s voice is but without his having to put out so much volume. The repertoire is classic and very formal, harkening back to the type of Christmas album that might have been made in the 50’s or the 60’s. I especially like “Alleluia”.

I enjoy winter time in South Dakota and Minnesota. The hearty folk who live in these close-knit communities know the temperature-based burden they bear. It’s kind of like living in a house full of people with only one bathroom; the millstone around each person’s neck weighs the same; nobody’s situation is really any worse than anyone else’s.

Credits: To the people of Minnesota, who live the life of community.