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Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Magic of Two

Sitting in a wooden choir pew normally occupied by a Benedictine monk, the exquisite beauty of Bach's  Largo from his double violin concerto BWV 1043 washed over me in waves of surreal peace. Earlier in the program the unusual combination of an alto recorder and French horn playing Telemann's Concerto a Tre for Alto recorder, French Horn, Strings, and Continuo had found the sweet spot in my heart and glowed joyfully for many moments past the final chord.

The Memorial Day Concert at Mepkin Abbey, just outside of Charleston SC was our final stop before heading home from a quick trip to the Spoleto Festival this past weekend. Stately southern oaks, bedecked in Spanish moss line the entrance to this former plantation estate, now occupied by the Trappist Cistercian (Benedictine) order. The abbey church is a beautiful structure and the perfect place for not just a concert, but a reception afterwards on the beautiful shaded grounds.

The Magic of Two . . .

What did Bach and Telemann, and many other composers know about the power of two soloists playing or singing the same piece? It is such a lovely thing to behold and hear. I think part of the magic of this combination is its insistence on the peaceful unity of two strong minds and hearts in the giving of a mutual gift.

Perhaps listening to some of the exquisite duets in the repertoire together is one way to strengthen and grow a marriage, strengthen a budding friendship, rekindle a friendship, or reconcile sandpaper relationships. As Ann Shirley says, there are all kinds of "kindred spirits" in this world . . . 
"Miss Barry was a kindred spirit after all," Anne confided to Marilla, "You wouldn't think so to look at her, but she is. . . Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”    
                                               L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
What kindred-spirit relationships will you and I cultivate today?  What things will we need to clear away like weeds in a growing garden? Taking one for granted? Suspicion? Waning commitment? Weariness?  As St. Paul said, "Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (I Corinthians 13:7). 

With my friend and violinist, Lois
Over the years I have had the pleasure of playing many duets with others, both in concerts and recitals, and for worship services. The picture this genre of repertoire presents of two artist-musicians working together is perhaps as helpful as the music that is heard is spirit-enlarging. Certainly preparing and presenting the duet is an occasion for both performers to learn concepts of sharing, giving, nuance, and more. For those who are present to hear the work presented, the interplay between the two musicians can be a source of delight to behold. I remember with such fondness the instances and people with which I've played duets. Are you one of those people? Please accept my thanks once again for that gift of musical friendship.

On Monday's concert, we heard two double concertos. Following are a couple examples of this genre. The third one was played with great fire and skill on Monday's concert by the Ensemble of St. Clare with Leo Chin Siow and Yuriy Bekker, solo violins.


TELEMANN
Here is a work by Telemann featuring an oboe and trumpet. The performers are playing period instruments. Lovely!  Telemann: Tafelmusik, Ouverture Nr.2 (excerpts) Bach Consort

VIVALDI
Here an 11 year old violinist plays with her teacher at the closing ceremony of the international television festival "Golden Prague" 2010.  As she plays, her joyful glances toward her mentor are so endearing.

J.S. BACH
Here is the very familiar double concerto by J.S. Bach, masterfully played by Rachel Podger & Andrew Manze.  The Largo is one of my most favorite slow movements in any of the repertoire.It was a true delight to hear this concerto played at the Memorial Day Concert at Mepkin Abbey as part of the Piccolo Spoleto 2012 Spotlight Concert series.



VOCAL DUETS

duets from the Popular genre:


In the Arms of an Angel sung by Sarah McLachlan and Josh Groban
Sarah gives Josh a memorable "kindred-spirit" look at 3:05

The prayer Celine Dion & A Bocelli  

 

. . . and an opera duet plus from Mozart . . .

Papagina! from the Magic Flute

 

. . . and lastly, the beautiful duet from Bach's Cantata BWV 78 

from a 1954 performance in Vienna

and here sung by Shannon Mercer, soprano, and Mireille Lebel, mezzo-soprano  Live performance, Montreal 2011

 


Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Loving Toward All


In the beautiful Psalm of Praise, Psalm 145, there is a repeated refrain that captures my eye:
The Lord is . . .
loving toward all that he has made.
Sometimes one hears (or thinks) the opposite:   
God (if there is indeed a God) doesn't treat me fair. Or he just seems cruel to allow __(fill in the blank)__ to happen. Or he seems uninvolved in his creation, so why bother with him?  Sorry, but I see no evidence of his love in my world . . . etc.
My daughter Rachel and little Daisy
To all who have thoughts similar to those above, David argues the opposite. Perhaps he is reminding himself also to look at the deeper truth than a current perplexity seems to hold out. He looks around and notices in a multitude of evidences how richly loving God is toward all he has made. He doesn't say, God is sometimes loving, or God is loving to some people, but not others. No, in this psalm David reminds himself and everyone that God has showered humanity with loving gifts everyday. Therefore he cannot help but say, "Everyday I will praise you" (vs. 2).

I breathe in a deep breath, see the morning rain, and say, "Yes, David. It's true. God IS loving toward all he has made and it takes a blind or stubborn eye to miss that."  Lord, open my eyes today to the endless ways your love is seen all around me.

Other lines from the psalm are partners with this thought:   abundant goodness; wonderful works; awesome works; mighty acts; he has compassion on all he has made; faithful to all his promises . . .

David's bookend summary:  
Everyday I will praise you.
My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Here is Psalm 145 in its entirety from the New International Version, 1984:

A psalm of praise. Of David.

I will exalt you, my God the King;
    I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
    and extol your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend your works to another;
    they will tell of your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They will celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love.
The Lord is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All you have made will praise you, O Lord;
    your saints will extol you.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
    and speak of your might,
12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is faithful to all his promises
    and loving toward all he has made.
14 The Lord upholds all those who fall
    and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
    and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and loving toward all he has made.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.
Each little bird is a reminder of God's love
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
    Let every creature praise his holy name
    for ever and ever.

This Psalm in the original Hebrew is an acrostic poem. I wrote about how this device was used in many psalms in a January post, in the footnote (after the haiku Zoo).  

~ ~ ~ 

John Ireland set several texts from the Old and New Testaments in a beautiful anthem, 
Greater Love Hath No Man, sung here by St. Paul's Cathedral Choir. It's soft at the beginning, so you may want to turn up your speakers.  Listen here with the score.

Here's a fresh setting of an old gospel hymn, The Love of God sung by Mercy Me.

Finally, here is a lovely video with a montage of all the loving things God has said to us:
If you don't have a Bible to look up the references given in this video, you can search for any of them here.

We love him, because he first loved us.
                                                           1 John 1:4

Friday, May 25, 2012

The Tender Land

Yesterday I ended my post with a link to a beautifully done music video of "The Promise of Living" from Copland's moving opera "The Tender Land." The setting for chorus and orchestra is by John Williams.

[Can you name two movies that feature soundtracks by John Williams? If not, click on his name to read more about him.]

THE HARVESTERS Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The painting at the left by Pieter Bruegel the Elder is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. What a wonderful scene the artist creates, with the workers sharing a break for refreshment in shade of a lone tree.

In this version of "The Promise of Living", a well-done scene from the opera version, I could swear that's my older brother singing the opening bass solo.

Here is the lovely text for this song :

The promise of living with hope and thanksgiving
Is born of our loving our friends and our labor.

The promise of growing with faith and with knowing
Is born of our sharing our love with our neighbor.

The promise of living, the promise of growing,
Is born of our born of our singing with joy and thanksgiving.

For many a year we've known these fields
And all the work that makes them yield.
Are you ready to lend a hand?
By working together we'll bring in the harvest,
The blessings of harvest.

We plant each row with seeds of grain
And Providence sends us the sun and the rain.
By lending a hand,
By lending an arm bring out
Bring out from the farm
The blessing of harvest.

Give thanks there was sunshine!
Give thanks there was rain!
Give thanks we have hands to deliver the grain!
O let us be joyful!
O let us be grateful
To the Lord for his blessing!

As the season of planting, hoeing, and tending the fields gets into full swing, won't you join me in saying a prayer for the farmers across our land and around the world?

God of the Universe,
You made the heavens and the earth,
So we do not call our home merely “planet earth.”
We call it your Creation, a Divine Mystery,
a Gift from Your Most Blessed Hand.
The world itself is your miracle.
Bread and vegetables from earth are thus also from heaven.
Help us to see in our daily bread your presence.
Upon this garden
May your stars rain down their blessed dust.
May you send rain and sunshine upon our garden and us.
Grant us the humility to touch the humus,
That we might become more human.
That we might mend our rift from your Creation,
That we might then know the sacredness of the gift of life—
That we might truly experience life from the hand of God.
For you planted humanity in a garden,
and began our resurrection in a garden.
Our blessed memory and hope lie in a garden.
Thanks be to God,
Who made the world teeming with variety,
Of things on the earth, above, the earth, and under the earth. 
Thanks be to God,
For the many kinds of plants, trees, and fruits,
We celebrate.
For the centipedes, ants, and worms,
For the mice, marmots, and bats,
For the cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers
We rejoice,
That we find ourselves eclipsed by the magnitude
Of generosity and mystery.
Thanks be to God!    Amen.
                                         from Common Prayer, published by Zondervan, 2010

And a final thought . . .

"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed.  Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

                                                         Henry David Thoreau 

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Food Interlude

On the Indiana farm where I grew up, we raised our own beef, among other things. How delighted I was to get a Groupon offer for NC farm-raised meat recently from Carolina Grown. My husband said the meatloaf I made for dinner was the best ever. There is just something about pasture-fed, hormone and antibiotic-free beef.

Going to the local Farmer's Market is not just a way to get yummy fresh things, it's also a way to support the small business people, the farmers, in your locality. I highly recommend purchasing from local suppliers whenever possible!

The beautiful strawberries in the photo were from the farm just a mile from us. I made Strawberry Freezer Jam with this batch of berries. Delicious treat in December!

Although I've pretty much become a city girl, I savor my country roots and the good things I learned in that growing-up environment. One of my earliest musical memories is of Mom playing records with songs like "Home on the Range." Gene Autry was a favorite singer of hers.

Home on the Range - sung by Gene Autry
Home on the Range - sung by Tori Amos

When we lived in the Shenandoah Valley, it was a joy to visit the Harrisonburg Farmers Market

These thoughts lead me to Copland's moving opera "The Tender Land" and this exquisite piece from it,  "The Promise of Living" . More about that in tomorrow's post.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Do the Math

"You do the math" comes from that genre of thought-terminating cliches often used to end all discussion or thought about a topic. One online dictionary defines the phrase as, "to figure something out, esp. when the answer is obvious." I hope my use of this cliche does the opposite and stimulates reflective thought about God's love, thoughts inspired by the following poetical essay . . .


God's Love Is Greater  > 
[Do the Math]

God's love is greater than > all my unloveliness,
Greater than > all my questions or misunderstanding,
Greater than > all the self-interest surrounding me as a
     moat to keep invasive Love at bay.

God's love is greater than > all your unloveliness,
Greater than > all your questions or misunderstanding,
Greater than > all the self-interest surrounding you as a
    cocoon to shield you from Love's piercing gaze.

God's love is greater than > the sum of our thoughts,
Greater than > our combined knowledge,
Greater than > all the self-righteousness surrounding us as
     halos to nullify Love's mysterious ways. 

God's love is infinitely greater than our
     capacity to birth understanding.
God's love is rarer than our most valiant
     acts of charity.
God's love is purer than our most highly refined
    acts of idealism.

God's love stands alone
     on the side of eternal vastness.    

And yet . . .

God's love says,
"Come to me and live as my brothers and sisters.
Come to me and share my love.
Come to me and find mercy to heal all the
     sin-inflicted sickness of your soul.
Come to me across the great divide
   between WHO I AM and who you are."

Cross Pattern at Muhlenberg Lutheran Church
"No, it does not add up,
But I have created a new Symbol
   to bridge the gap,
   a blood-stained Cross
That invites you from being less than I am
   to being made new, fresh, alive in Me
   a part of my family for eternity."

When we come to the ends of our lives
Upon which equation will we board passage for
Travel into the vast unknown?
Another poet put it this way:
"When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is a collection of versions of "Rock of Ages" . . .

August Toplady's Hymn "Rock of Ages"
an a capella setting
sung by the Antrium Mennonite Choir

Do any friends remember the gospel singer, Tennessee Ernie Ford? This is the kind of music I grew up with in the Baptist church in northern Indiana. Here is his version of Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages for classical guitar performed and arranged by Rafael Scarfullery

Fernando Ortega has been a friend of many in recent years with his contemporary settings of hymns old and new. Here is his version of "Rock of Ages"

Hymn-writer James Ward has penned a new tune for this text. His setting appeared in the "Trinity Hymnal," and has been used in many Presbyterian and Reformed churches in recent years. Here is a flute solo of that melody.

Here is Chris Rice's version from 2006. The timbre of his voice and the style of this setting reminds me of a singer from another genre, Kenny Rogers -- compare to Rogers singing "Buy Me a Rose".

Saturday, May 19, 2012

A Trilogy for the Wind


Early morning on the back porch with a cup of coffee and my journal lead to a fresh batch of poems . . .



The Whispering Wind

Thank you Lord for the wind, the breezes that
Produce singing in the leaves and branches
And carry the song of the birds to distant
Pockets of space where the sweet echoes
Enliven ants, caterpillars,
Tiny mice, bees, and me.

The breeze stirs up life--
It doesn't have a plan or a care;
It just is and playfully, daringly
Follows the Sprite of the Thermals,
Gently, briskly, swirling, wafting.
The wind has a joy, a confidence
That I, too, long to possess--
An unafraid approach to the day that yields to
The tosses and twists of the Spirit's breath.

Lord, make me like the wind,
Brushing all with a soft playfulness and
Kiss of joy in being alive,
Freely moving, kindly stiring it up.
Make me strong enough to be a savored presence
Without causing unexpected bowling over.
In places where just a feathered,
Whispered presence is needed,
Allow me to dance on tiptoe,
Unnoticed, but present--
A vehicle of your Breath and
Ever-caring, ever-surrounding
Presence in the world.


Morning Ride

The wind is picking up
Gusting, making a fuss
As it causes branches decked out in
Bright green spring leaves
To flex and bend and
Spring back to default position
Without snapping,
Strengthened by the
Lively exercise beneath
A shining morning sun.

A purple finch alights
And joins a slender stem's ride,
A hint of a twinkle in his tiny eye,
His little bird feet firm in friendly grip,
A choreagraphy of life outside my window.


The Slow Movement

Only the terminal leaves flutter now
As the wind symphony finds its
Adagio in the spaces between dawn
And early morning coffee.

Watching the play of light, wind, and leaf
Transforms my fresh-from-sleep eyes
Into saucers of child-like wonder
At God's movment across the birthing horizon
Of a newborn day.

Go with me Muse-of-the-morning
Infusing Next Things with your
Vibrancy for living and
Perception of God's presence
In time's movement
Into the blossoming hours of Today.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grieg's MORNING SONG

. . . and here in a lovely Flash Mob from Copenhagen

Friday, May 18, 2012

The Slender Bridge

When I met the man who is now my husband back in 2006, Larry introduced me to a genre of literature that was new to me; writings by modern day mystics from the British Isles. These writers seem to have a special gift for perceiving the beauty and value in natural things, for perceiving the breath of God in the created order. 

This morning a section from John O'Donohue's book, The Invisible Embrace of Beauty, resonated with me as I read it early while listening to the birds and enjoying a cup of coffee on the front porch. This section celebrates the unique powers of the human voice in song:
A beautiful voice raises our hearts and stirs something ancient in us, perhaps reminding us of our capacity for the eternal. Such a voice can claim you immediately even before you have time to think about it. I have often been at a music session where someone might be asked to sing and as soon as the beautiful voice rises up all noise and distraction cease and everyone becomes enraptured as the beauty of the voice brings out the music of the heart. When you hear a soprano like Joan Sutherland scale the highest mountains of Mozart, it takes your breath away, or Jessye Norman singing the Four Last Songs of Strauss.
But why does exquisite song stir us deeply? Perhaps, more than any instrument, song can capture us because the human voice is our very own sound; the voice is the most intimate signature of human individuality and, of all the sounds in creation, comes from an utterly different place. Though there is earth in the voice, the voice is not of the earth. It is the voice of the in-between creature, the one in whom both earth and heaven become partially vocal. The voice is the sound of human consciousness being breathed out into the spaces. Unlike things of clay which contain themselves, the soul always strains beyond the body. A stone can dwell within itself for four hundred million years, take every sieve of wind and wash of rain, yet hold its Zen-like stillness.
From the very moment of birth, consciousness is already leaking from our intense yet porous interiority. To be who we are, we need the consolation and companionship of the outside. Utter self-containment is either the gift of the mystic who has broken through to the divine within, or the burden of one who has become numb and catatonic because the outside was too terrible. The human voice is a slender but vital bridge [italics mine] that takes us across the perilous distance to the others who are out there. The voice is always the outer sounding of the mind; it brings to expression the inner life that no-one else can lean over and look into. 
Yet the voice is not merely an instrument, nor a vehicle for thought. The voice is almost a self; it is not simply or directly at the service of its owner; it has a life of its own. Its rhythm and tone are not always under the control of the conscious, strategic self. Each person has more than one voice. There is no such thing as the single, simple self; a diversity of selves dwells in each of us.
In a certain sense, all art endeavours to attain the grace and depth of human mystery. There is wonderful complexity in nature and indeed in the world of artificial objects; yet no complexity can rival the complexity of the human mind and heart. Nowhere else does complexity have such fluency and seamless swiftness. Whole diverse regions within the heart can quicken in one fleeting thought or gesture. A glimpse of an expression in someone's eyes can awaken a train of forgotten memories.
The mystery of the voice lies in its timbre and rhythm. Often in the human voice things long lost in the valleys of the mind can unexpectedly surface. As the voice curves, rises and falls, it causes the listener to hearken to another presence that even the speaker might barely sense but cannot silence. Sometimes, without our knowing or wanting it, our lives speak out. In spite of ourselves, we end up saying things that the soul knows but the mind would prefer to leave unsaid. 
Beauty, by John O'Donohue, ©2004, HarperCollins Books, page 72-73


What voices will you and I hear today? Hopefully, one will be our own, giving praise to God for the gift of this day. 

My heart is steadfast, 
O God, my heart is steadfast; 
I will sing and make music.
                                           Psalm 57:7



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 


Joan Sutherland, December 1959 singing

ALLELUJA from Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate

 

Jessye Norman - Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss

Nº 1.  Frühling

Nº 2. September

Nº 3. Beim Schlafengehen (Hermann Hesse)

Nº 4. Im Abendrot ( Joseph von Eichendorff)

 

I Thank You God for this Most Amazing Day

choral setting by Eric Whitacre









i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of all nothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
                                e.e. cummings
                                1894-1962

 



Thursday, May 17, 2012

Little Surprises Along the Way


Recently a friend gave me the little book When God Winks at You. The author’s premise is that God speaks through the power of coincidence in our lives, and that many people miss hearing the message or making the connection. The book is a collection of stories of people who have made the connection.

Laying the little tome aside this morning, I ponder how God has sent so many little blessings into my day along the way. I prefer to call them blessings rather than a coincidence or wink. My friend Lois says these are Psalm 37:4 markers of God’s presence and care in our lives:

Delight yourself in the Lord
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I think of her and of this verse from David’s pen whenever I experience one of these remarkable little loving gestures from the Lord. They are affirmation to me that I’m not plugging away down a dead-end path, but apparently the general tenor of my life is one that delights in the Lord. We all need this kind of perk, don’t we, when we seem to muddle along or life gets complicated? It’s a sign to me of how loving our God is and how deeply He cares about His children.

One appliance in my stash of kitchenware has the invisible label PSALM37:4 on its side. It came into my possession in a quite remarkable way.

While zooming through the aisles of the local Target one evening in late October in the late 1990’s, a display of bread makers caught my eye. “I’d really like to get one of those! But not now, the kids need some winter clothes. Maybe I’ll budget that in next spring.”  A fleeting thought, easily dismissed and forgotten. 

One evening near Christmas my son came home from a date with a big present in his arms. “Mom, this is for you from Kelly’s parents.” [You know where I’m headed, but keep reading . . . it’s a great story]. I put the present under the tree, delighted that as a single Mom, I had something so big and elegantly wrapped to open on Christmas morning. 

Bath-robed, slippered, and happy with the kids that Christmas morning, when it was my turn to open a present, I tore the paper off the side of the mystery box, and burst into tears. The exact bread maker I had so wistfully, yet fleetingly eyed at Target, sat on my lap smiling at me in its Christmas gown. 

Coincidence? In my book and David’s certainly not! I love to make bread in that little machine, and not just because it is so tasty and makes the house smell so wonderful. Over the years, I’ve been privileged to share bread made from that little appliance with family and many friends, old and new. I like to think it tastes extra delicious because of the magical way it came into my kitchen. To those who have shared bread with me, wouldn’t you agree?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



Here are guidelines for eating bread in a nice restaurant or formal setting. At my house, please eat it however you like (but do pass the basket around the table!).

This afternoon I'm trying this recipe. Sounds yummy!
Let Us Break Bread Together is a beloved hymn, often sung during Holy Communion in Christian worship. Here are several interesting settings sung by singers from around the world: