Santa Lucia
Se, på vår tröskel står, vitklädd med ljus i hår
This sentimental is a barcarole, made popular by the great Italian Tenor, Caruso. A barcarole is a romantic song sung by gondoliers on the canals of Venice. Barca is the Italian word for boat. Santa Lucia, or Saint Lucy in English, is the patron sight of the blind and symbolises light where there is darkness.
For Scandinavian communities around the world, Santa Lucia is the tune that marks the shortest day of the year, when there is not much daylight. Santa Lucia (or simply ‘Lucia’) is now an annual festival of light with a special form of fancy dress. You can see this in the video clip.
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia
Santa Lucia day falls on the 13th December each year, when Scandinavian children dress up and celebrate mid-winter. A church service also takes place on the nearest Sunday, when the highlight is a procession of candle-bearing choristers, dressed in white robes. A young girl representing Lucia leads the procession, wearing a crown of candles.
Santa Lucia has become an integral part of the Christmas Season and in Sweden it is accompanied by delicious saffron buns (lussekatter), ginger snaps or ‘pepper-cookies’ (peppar kakar), dancing and traditional songs. It’s a magical time. Let’s find out how to play Santa Lucia on our harmonica. Here’s how the song sounds:
Listen, Sing, Act, Play
When we learn new songs at Harp Academy, we like to follow a simple routine. First we listen to the song. Then we sing it. Next we add actions to the words or move to the rhythm. And finally we play along on our harmonica. Listen to the track above a few more times and see if you can hum or sing along. Can you think of some actions to go with the words? Can you move to the rhythm? Great! Let’s learn to play it on our harmonica.
Då i vårt mörka hus, stiger med tända ljus
Santa Lucia uses a range of notes that would be difficult on a 4 hole harmonica, so we’re tabbing it in Orange for the 10 hole harmonica in C major. As usual, the number tells us which hole to play, D is draw (breathe in) and B is blow (breathe out). Here’s how the whole piece sounds:
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia
You’ll see a green note in the tab below. This is because we have simplified things to avoid a note that isn’t easily available on the 10 hole diatonic harp. Over the lyric vinternatt (winter’s night) in section A, and sia in section B, the music descends in semi-tones, or half notes. To play the green note more accurately, you’d need to use an advanced key skill called over-bending. This is a way of bending a note upwards, rather than downwards. There’s no harm in you attempting this however.
Section A
6B 6B 7B 7B 7D 7D
San – kta Lu ci – i – a
http://www.harpacademy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Santa-Lucia-Practise-Clip-2.mp3
5D 5D 6D 6D 6B
ljus – kla – ra häg – ring
5B 6D 6B 6B 5D 5D [ 5B# ]
sprid i vår vin – ter – natt
5D 5B 4D 6D 6B
glans av din fäg – ring
Section B
8B 8D 7B 7D 6D 8D
Drömmar med ving – e – sus
8D 7B 6D 6D 6B 7B [ 5B# ]
un – der oss si – i – a
tä – nd di – i – na – a vi – ta ljus
8D 8B 8D 8D 7B
San – kta Lu – i – a
Song structure
When it comes to performing Santa Lucia, you don’t have to play section A followed by section B every time. Depending on the backing track you decide to use, or who you play with, you can adapt the song structure. As an example, you might choose something like AAAB AABB, adding space for an intro, middle break and outro.
Chord structure
You could play Santa Lucia to one of our backing tracks, or else find another musician who can accompany you on a chord instrument such as the piano or guitar. Whoever accompanies you will need to know the key of the song and its chord structure. We’re playing in C major and the chord information they’ll need is below. Ask your Harp Academy teacher to explain this aspect of structure and performance.
C G7 G7 C
A7 Dm G7 C
C Dm G7 C
C Dm G7 C
Key Skills
- Waltz time
- Song structure
- Chord structure
- Accompaniment
- Overbending