Our 6th Ode to Lotta song – my setting of Victor Hugo’s heart-wrenching 1847 poem “Demain, dès l’aube” – again resonates deeply with the life of Lotta Hitschmanova.

The horrors of World War II were never far away from Lotta. When she learned the devastating news that her beloved parents had both perished in the Holocaust, she wrote the following: “I have lost the beings who are most dear to me.”

Lotta’s profound grief is reflected in our 3rd and final Victor Hugo song, “Demain, dès l’aube.” The poem describes a slow, grief-stricken walk that Hugo is planning to take “Tomorrow, at dawn.”

It ends with Hugo placing a wreath on the grave of his beloved daughter Léopoldine, who had died tragically in a boating accident, which also took the life of her husband Charles who had tried to save her.

“Demain, dès l’aube” is dedicated to my dear friend Lillian Holowka and her partner Donald Bergen, who died less than a year apart in 2013 and 2014.

Lillian was the first person to welcome me, when I started working for Lotta’s organization (USC Canada), and we became close friends during our 15 years working together.

Lillian was also a big fan of Lotta’s and was instrumental in having Nov 28 declared Lotta Hitschmanova Day in Ottawa in 2009, which was the 100th anniversary of Lotta’s birth.

On Nov 28, 2026, the 117th anniversary of Lotta’s birth, the Vancouver Chamber Choir led by Kari Turunen will sing the world premiere of “Demain, dès l’aube.”

Stay tuned for the next instalment on the Road to #OdeToLotta…..

And for tickets to the Nov 28 Ode to Lotta concert in Vancouver, click here.