Bountiful

Released: December 21, 2022
Music: Esther Rhatigan
Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Esther Rhatigan
Artwork: Esther Rhatigan

My, how plans can change! The plan was to cover 'Carol of the Bells' for the holidays, one of my husband's favorite holiday songs. In researching, the history of the song was fascinating. It was originally a song composed by Mykola Leontovych in 1916 'Shchedryk' based on a Ukranian folk chant. Peter J. Wilhousky created the holiday lyrics we know today in 1936. But wait, there's more.

'Shchedryk' is a Ukranian New Year's song that sings of a swallow flying into a home with tidings of wealth to come in the following spring. This was primarily wealth from livestock who could be sold.

Learning the roots of the song changed my path entirely. Rather than a cover, I decided to compose a new instrumental piece incorporating pieces of the original music with my own.

Swallows are migratory, as any ornithologist and anyone who has watched Monty Python's Holy Grail well knows. It is highly unlikely you will find one sitting comfortably on a snowy day, as does the one in the accompanying image. Still, swallows are symbols of good luck, rebirth and positive change. As cold weather is setting in in the northern hemisphere and an unprovoked war continues to bear down on Ukraine, it felt necessary to ask a swallow to bring its hope to the winter. No swallows were injured in creating this image. They are all in their warm happy place, to my knowledge.

According to several sources, "shchedryk" translates to "bountiful". Google Translate returned "generous". Although both work technically, 'Bountiful' felt best to title this song and image. My wish for all is a bounty of peace, love and joy for the new year and beyond!