2020 has been a chaotic year here on Earth, but in the sky above us magic is happening; solar eclipse, a new moon, the winter solstice – and when Jupiter and Saturn aligned on Dec. 21, the planets had their closest encounter in nearly 400 years. On her new single “Rare Christmas”, Constance Hauman says that this is the time to ask ourselves: “What do we value? Who do we value?” December 2020 is a time when the answer is, as they say, in the stars.
Constance Hauman is a soprano. She is credited with having the only live recording of Alban Berg’s Lulu (Chandos) in the title role, recorded in Copenhagen 1996 at the Queen of Denmark’s Castle. Shifting from her longstanding classical career, Constance Hauman’s first full-length release of original songs, “Falling into Now”, was released in 2015. In 2020, she released “The Quarantine Trilogy”. Hauman also founded the indie label Isotopia Records, which over the last five years has released music by Miss Velvet and The Blue Wolf, Kandy Apple Redd, The Brown Goose, and most recently, Paul Natural.
Rare Christmas
“Rare Christmas” is an incredibly beautiful and well-made single. It is not meant as background music; its philosophical nature requires something from you. But when you give it seven minutes of your time, you will be greatly rewarded. Hauman meditates on the values often sung in traditional Christmas carols, encouraging us to hold the values of Christmas all year – and especially now in 2020 while the world is in turmoil.
“What do you value?
Who do you value?
There’s only love.
Who do you miss, who do you run to?
That’s what Christmas is…
It’s not just one time of year.
That’s the cosmic message here…”
When you press play, you will immediately pick up on the single’s Christmassy sound. The ambient bells are magnificent. I’m also impressed by the mixing and mastering. There are different levels; the quite muffled analog synths, arp and bass are the backdrop, while Hauman and the piano are center stage and very clear sounding. Hauman’s voice is, as usual, incredible; she has the best vocal on the New Age music scene. But perhaps the most important part is the build-up; notice how everything leads up to the euphoric “Merry Christmas”.
Constance Hauman has delivered an important and hopeful single when we needed it the most. Just as the planetary symmetry above, “Rare Christmas” will last well into the new year – and beyond.
For more information and music samples, visit constancehauman.com