🎵 🎭 TWELFTH NIGHT and the End of Holiday Music Month 2022–2023

Today is the Twelfth Day of Christmas, which means tonight is Twelfth Night, an evening traditionally given over to disorderly irreverence. Just as rowdy Halloween (All Hallows’ Evening) precedes the Christian holy day of All Hallows (All Saints’ Day), so rowdy Twelfth Night precedes the Christian holy day of Epiphany.

Shakespeare’s slapstick-ish comedy Twelfth Night was written as entertainment for a night such as this, when the world is upside-down and a woman disguised as a man falls in love with a man who is in love with a woman who is in love with the woman disguised as a man, and when, as usual, the Fool is the only one with any sense. For homeschool entertainment this evening, why not listen again to the great countertenor Alfred Deller (1912–1979), who we featured also on New Year’s Day, singing the Fool’s song “When that I was and a little tiny boy” from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in true Renaissance style:

Deller was a key figure in the twentieth-century revival of authentic early music performance, and he recreated for new audiences the popular singing styles of the Shakespearean era. For an ideal little homeschool lesson on this Twelfth Night, why not sing along and learn a verse or two of this famous Shakespearean song:

When that I was and a little tiny boy,
 With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
 For the rain it raineth every day.

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came to a man’s estate,
 With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
’Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate,
 For the rain it raineth every day.

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came, alas! to wive,
 With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
By swaggering I could never thrive,
 For the rain it raineth every day.

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
For the rain it raineth every day.

Long, long ago the world begun,
 With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
But that’s all one, our play is done,
 And we’ll strive to please you every day.

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
For the rain it raineth every day.

And in case you and your students have forgotten the plot of Twelfth Night (or never could figure it out in the first place), cartoon artist Mya Gosling has got you covered:

Four weeks ago our music month begun, with hey, ho, the wind and the rain. But that’s all one, our month is done. We strive to please you every day. 🎄 🎵 🎭

❡ Who will find the beans? To properly celebrate Twelfth Night, you’ll want to be sure to bake a proper Shakespearean Twelfth Night cake, complete with three hidden beans inside. The Folger Shakespeare Library has a complete recipe for you. 🎂

❡ Literary lives: The website of the Poetry Foundation includes biographical notes and examples of the work of many important poets (including William Shakespeare, of course) that are suitable for high school students and homeschool teachers. ✒️

❡ Musical memories: If you’d like to fill your homeschool with some beautiful background sounds during the holidays, why not tune in to the 24-hour Holiday Channel from WQXR, the famous classical music radio station in New York City. “Enjoy the sounds of orchestras, choirs, brass ensembles and more as we celebrate the sacred and secular sounds of the season.” I have it on as background music almost every day at this time of year. Won’t you join me? 📻

❡ Olden times and ancient rhymes: What did the Christmas season sound like a hundred years ago and more? Find out from this wonderful collection of historic recordings of American Christmas music, brought together by the Library of Congress. 🎄

❡ Lift every voice: This is one of our occasional posts on Homeschool Arts & Music. Add your name to our weekly mailing list and get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🗞

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