Our 5th Ode to Lotta song – my setting of Victor Hugo’s remarkable poem “Stella” – resonates on multiple levels with the life of Lotta Hitschmanova.

Both Lotta and Victor Hugo spent lengthy periods of their lives in exile or as refugees. And coincidentally the very first place they both fled to was Brussels.

From Brussels, Victor Hugo sought refuge on the Isle of Jersey, where he wrote “Stella” in 1853. It is a complex, layered poem exploring a multitude of interactions with the Morning Star – in naturalistic, religious, spiritual and seemingly political terms.

“Stella” begins with the narrator waking up to see the Morning Star, which then leads to a remarkable series of images and visions that emerge.

The poem ends with the following text, words spoken by the Morning Star, that surely would have resonated with Lotta herself:

“Get up, you who are sleeping! Because the one who follows me, the one who sends me ahead first. It is the angel, Freedom. It is the giant Light!”

To summarize Lotta’s years as a refugee in Europe (1938 to 1942), it is best to quote her directly:

“I became a refugee, I went to Belgium first, and when Belgium was invaded, I went into France. And I was in Marseilles and outside of Marseilles for two years. And I experienced personally how much it hurts to be hungry. To be a refugee, to be without a home, to be without country, to be without friends. And this is something dreadful, you have no roots, you have no one to turn to.”

On Nov 28, the Vancouver Chamber Choir led by Kari Turunen will sing the world premiere of “Stella.”

The song is dedicated to my friend Kristina, who first introduced me to this remarkable Victor Hugo poem.

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.