Our 4th Ode to Lotta song – my arrangement of “Ging heut’ morgen über’s Feld” by Gustav Mahler – occupies a critical, transitional moment in the Cantata, and in the life of Lotta Hitschmanova.

By 1935, Lotta had returned to Prague, still led a happy life, and was thriving professionally as a journalist. But dark clouds were emerging, with the rise of the Nazis, and their designs on the German-speaking parts of Czechoslovakia.

Lotta was an outspoken critic of the Nazis, and thus, when the Munich Agreement was signed in 1938, she was advised to flee for her safety.

“Ging heut’ morgen über’s Feld” – in English, “I walked across the fields this morning” – mirrors this jarring transition in Lotta’s life.

It starts off with the happiest music Mahler ever wrote (which went on to become the first theme of Mahler’s very first symphony). But towards the end of the song, the mood changes, as Lotta’s life did, and the search for happiness becomes ever more elusive.

In addition, Mahler and Lotta shared much in common. They were both born and raised in what is now Czechia, and they both grew up in Jewish families.

Mahler converted to Catholicism in 1897, shortly before he was appointed the Director of the Vienna Opera, a post he could not have held as a Jew at that time.

Of note is that after leaving Prague, Lotta changed her last name from the German Hitschmann to the Slavic Hitschmanova. It is said that this was done to disassociate her from the Nazis. In Canada, she became closely associated with the Unitarian church all her life, and is considered by some to be a “Unitarian saint.”

Historians have puzzled over whether she abandoned her Jewish roots or not. Perhaps future research will discover further information on this subject.

“Ging heut’ morgen über’s Feld” is dedicated to my friend, Elizabeth Gluckstal, and will receive its Canadian premiere by the Vancouver Chamber Choir led by Kari Turunen on Nov 28.

[The world premiere was presented by Tom Morgan and the Ars Nova Singers in the fall of 2025 in Boulder and Denver Colorado.]

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.