I'm Traveling Around the Globe

Traveling these days without a suitcase, passport, or visa . . .

I'm somewhat of a statistics nut, even though math and statistics weren't my areas of in-depth study in high school or college. I did take a statistics/research course in grad school as a prerequisite for writing a thesis . The prof told me I was the first student in all her years teaching to score 100% in that class. I guess that makes me a music statistics nerd. My friends and family all know that already.

So it was with delight that I discovered after setting up my YouTube channel, that they have some pretty cool analytics. Don't panic if you've listened to one of my videos 25 times. The stats aren't that specific. They report things like "retention" stats, i.e. the averaged percentage of the video that was viewed (100% of it or only part of it, or even re-runs in one sitting?), and the "relative retention" (i.e. compared to all YouTube videos for that length).

One of the most fascinating reports to me are the demographics statistics. They show the gender, age range, and location of viewers (how do they know that?).  The location statistics are ones I feel are pretty accurate and are intriguing to me.

As of today people from 23 countries have listened to all or part of one of my music videos. I was astounded to read that report, very humbled, and appreciative of the opportunity to travel around the globe with my music.

Here are the places where someone has stumbled upon one or more of my videos and watched part or all of it. The list is from most views to least views:

United States

Australia

United Kingdom

Romania

Ukraine

Unknown region

Germany

Canada

Japan

Malaysia

Singapore

France

New Zealand

United Arab Emirates

Hungary

Pakistan

Spain

South Korea

Argentina

Turkey

Mexico

Netherlands

Italy

Of course, none of my videos have gone viral, and I'll be surprised if any of them reach views in the hundreds. But blessing just a few people in a few places "beyond the borders of my tent" is a good enough reason for me to continue to "Make God's Praise Glorious!" over the world wide web. Somehow these stats add a quiet joy and bit of loveliness to my little world and life. I hope those people from far away, who I don't know, have felt a touch of the grace of God through our encounter.

As tiny Tim said, "God bless us, everyone!" Amen to that.

postscript on January 10, 2013:  people in 92 countries and all 50 states have now viewed these YouTube posts. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to serve so many people around the world in this small way.

In Three

There are just three stanzas in this fifth and final poem in a week of poems from the pen of Scottish Presbyterian pastor, Horatio Bonar. Here he aptly describes three things that bring tears to the human heart.

This week I heard of the death of three people that I did not know; but who were close to people I do know and love, and so their passing touches me in a second circle of love. Sorrow weeps . . . yes, Horatio. Thank you for these words.

Lunch with two friends and a couple lively phone conversations, not to mention that little bird right outside my studio window--all sources of joy! Joy weeps . . . yes, Horatio. You understand well the connection between glistening eyes and joy.

I saw a car on the road that I thought was my husband (it wasn't he was at work, dutifully carrying on his daily tasks). I was taken by surprise at how my heart leaped and the love for him swelled up anew as I remembered the first months of seeing him come in his car for a date or meal. Love weeps . . . yes, Horatio. You know how true love leads one to God and back to earth again in a golden circle of contentment.

 

The Three Weepers

Sorrow weeps!—

And drowns its bitterness in tears;

My child of sorrow,

Weep out the fullness of thy passionate grief,

And drown in tears

The bitterness of lonely years.

God gives the rain and sunshine mild,

And both are best, my child!

Joy weeps!—

And overflows its banks with tears;

My child of joy,

Weep out the gladness of thy pent-up heart,

And let thy glistening eyes

Run over in their ecstasies;

Life needeth joy; but from on high

Descends what cannot die!

Love weeps!—

And feeds its silent life with tears;

My child of love,

Pour out the riches of thy yearning heart,

And, like the air of even,

Give and take back the dew of heaven;

And let that longing heart of thine

Feed upon love divine!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

MUSIC & LINKS

Sharing music you may not have heard, or in settings you may not know, from a variety of artists and styles, some with texts, some instrumental only. All selected because they bring a tear to my eye in listening to them with these three stanzas of poetry in mind:

Music for Sorrow . . .

There is a balm in Gilead - Chanticleer & Yvette Flunder

The Road Home - Stephen Paulus

Slumber My Darling - Alison Krauss & Yo-Yo-Ma 

Gymnopedie No. 3 - Satie, orchestrated by Debussy

Music for Joy . . . 

Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth

G.F. Händel Dettinger-Te Deum

Summer Music for Wind Quintet - Barber (Ensemble Wien-Berlin)

4th Movement from Beethoven's 5th Symphony - a joyful, surprise conductor!

Music for Love . . . 

I Will Be Here - Steven Curtis Chapman (from "All About Love)

Love Bade Me Welcome / The Call /  Antiphon
Vaughan Williams "Five Mystical Songs"  - Thomas Allen

Calme des Nuits - Camille Saint-Saëns, King's Singers

Links and Chains

Day Four of a week with Horatio Bonar continues with an interesting poem "The Blessing Chain." This type of poem is like the mathematical proposition, "if this, then that." The quote below from Ambrose is Bonar's springboard. Another familiar chain in the New Testament is the apostle Peter's chain, a lovely chain addition equation in I Peter 1:5-7.


Bonar's poem is below, followed by an altered version which I am using in a composition I'm working on this week for SATB choir. I used the Creeds as a model for my update, i.e. the Apostles' Creed is singular (I believe) and the Nicene Creed is plural (We believe). It was a lovely practice at the church I was at in Cary to alternate using both of these creeds in worship. I miss the collective "we" of the Nicene Creed in churches where I've served and the Apostles' Creed is the only one used.  [rabbit trail ends here, back to Bonar's poem . . . ]


Don't let the -eth endings, or the use of he as a reference to both men and women put you off in Bonar's poetic writing. He was a godly man, pastor, and theologian, and his words can be a blessing to us today if we can slip into his world for a few minutes to gain insight for growth.

The Blessing Chain 

“Omnis, qui Christum recipit, sapiens;

qui autem sapiens, liber; omnis igitur

Christianus et liber et sapiens.”

AMBROSE of Milan

                                                                         

He who in Christ believeth,

Is wise, is wise;

He who this Christ receiveth,

Alone is wise.

He who this wisdom winneth,    

Is free, is free;

He in whose heart it reigneth,

Alone is free.

He who this freedom graspeth,

Is strong, is strong;            

He who this freedom claspeth,

Alone is strong.

He who this strength retaineth,

Is good, is good;

He in whom it remaineth,

Alone is good.

                                                           

He who this goodness findeth,

Is glad, is glad;

He who this goodness mindeth,

Alone is glad.

                 Horatius Bonar, 1861

Altered by NG

All who in Christ believe,

Are wise, are wise.

All who this Christ receive,

Alone are wise.

All who this wisdom win

Are free, are free;

All in whose hearts it reigns

Alone are free.

All who this freedom grasp

Are strong, are strong                  

All who this freedom clasp

Alone are strong.

All who this strength retain

Are good, are good

All in who it remains

Alone are good.

                                                           

All who this goodness find

Are glad, are glad

All who this goodness mind,

Alone are glad.

         Horatius Bonar, 1861, alt. Nancy Gerst, 2012

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


MUSIC & LINKS

Creed - Rich Mullins

The Creed in the organ works of J.S. Bach:

Wir glauben all' an einen Gott - BWV 740 (Hans-Andre Stamm, organist)

Wir glauben all' an einen Gott - BWV 680 (Marcel Dupré, organist)

Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould

A scholarly look at Bach's Goldberg Variations and it's creedal structure is presented by Dr. Tim Smith in Meaningfulness in Bach's Cyclical Works. If you don't have time or mental focus to consider his essay today, do bookmark it for future thoughtful reading.

Heads Up at Checkout 15

Standing in line at the checkout today, musing about the quiet joy I was experiencing in the people around me, I had such a very pleasant thought, a sensation really. I just could hardly wait for the joy and beauty of heaven. There will be such incredible community and loveliness of people and place and God all around. This small survey of dear souls at checkout 15 was just a miniscule taste. 

It seems since my mother died earlier this year, I'm seeing the world with newborn eyes. I miss her. Perhaps this little poem of Horatio Bonar's jump-started that longing this morning . . . 

THE NEW SONG 

Glad song of this disburdened earth, 

Which holy voices then shall sing; 

Praise for creation's second birth, 

And glory to creation's King! 



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 


MUSIC LINKS


Here are several settings of the beloved American hymn

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Setting by Mack Wilberg with BYU Chorus and Orchestra

Baylor A capella Choir (Wilberg's arrangement with organ)

Simply sung by Fernando Ortego 


. . . And a love song just for the joy of it:

The Turtle Dove

Day 2 with Horatio Bonar

Today's poem from Horatio Bonar is reminiscent of the hymn by Francis of Assisi, All Creatures of Our God and King (Can­ti­co di frat­re so­le, Song of Bro­ther Sun, circa 1225). 

In Bonar's poem, two robust and undervalued words are repeated in each stanza: earnest and steadfast. They are good ones to hang on to in the midst of a busy week and lives.

Both earnest and steadfast are not used much in our modern, everyday conversation.  Earnest implies having qualities of depth and firmness; having a purpose and being steadily and soberly eager in pursuing it. Steadfast means in a fixed in direction; steadily directed: a steadfast gaze; firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment; unwavering. Both are good words, loaded with deep meaning. Bonar chose well for his poem. Note how the meaning of these words relates to the first word of lines two through four in each stanza.

As one who wrote over 600 hymns, his poem includes a repeating refrain at the end of each of the stanzas. The meter is somewhat unusual, 6 6 6 6 6 12 (or 6 + 6). The only hymn tune commonly sung that might be used with this poem is the one for When Morning Guilds the Skies (6 6 6 6 6 6). Bonar's poem could be sung to this tune, omitting one line of each stanza (perhaps line 4.)  

Pastor Bonar and his wife lost five children early in their young lives. Keep that background in mind as you read his poem, as well as the beautiful countryside he inhabited in Scotland. 

 

Creation In Earnest

O ever-earnest sun!

Unwearied in thy work,

Unhalting in thy course,

Unlingering in thy path,

Teach me your earnest ways,

That mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise.

O ever-earnest stars!

Unchanging in your light,

Unfaltering in your race,

Unswerving in your round,

Teach me your earnest ways

That mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise.

O ever-earnest earth!

Doing thy Maker’s work,

Fulfilling his great will,

With all thy morns and evens,

Teach me your earnest ways,

That mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise.

O ever-earnest streams!

Flowing still on and on,

Through vale, or field, or moor,

In darkness or in light,

Teach me your earnest ways,

That mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise.

O ever-earnest flowers!

That with untiring growth

Shoot up, and spread abroad

Your fragrance and your joy,

Teach me your earnest ways,

That mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise.

O ever-earnest sea!

Constant in flow and ebb,

Heaving to moon and sun,

Unchanging in thy change,

Teach me your earnest ways,

That mine may be a life of steadfast work and praise.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

MUSIC AND OTHER LINKS

Settings of All Creatures of Our God and King

The Choir at Edinburgh Cathedral

Liverpool Cathedral Choir

Westminster Choir Choir Commencement 1979

Fernando Ortega with photography that is both beautiful and whimsical

And a song from the movie about St. Francis

Brother Wind and Sister Moon

A brief biography of Horatio Bonar

Life and I

This week I'll be sharing some of the beautifully scribed and meaningful poetry that I've been reading this summer from the heart and pen of the 19th century Scottish pastor, Horatius Bonar.

Today's shared poem contains rich metaphors, seven each for Life and the Reader (I). Perhaps one for each day of the week. Each stanza begins with imagery about the fragility or tenuousness of life. Each stanza ends in hope and faith, effusive even to some modern ears. His center of hope finds its repose in God. In succeeding stanza's closing lines, this resting place moves from "My God" to crescendo-ing 

descriptors of God. 

In our time of soundbites and one word sentences, hurried days and ways, Bonar's poetry is an oasis for reflection on what it means to be a Christian in this world. Keep in mind his life in the Scottish landscape,and you will find even richer meaning in his words.

LIFE AND I

Life is the child's frail wreath,

And I a drop of dew

Upon its fading beauty. In the breath

Of the still night-air came I forth to view,

But with the reddening morn

I silently return

To holy realms unseen,

Where death hath never been,

Where He hath his abode,

Who is my God!

Life is the wind-snapp'd bough,

And I a little bird;

My motherland a fairer, calmer clime,

Whose olive-groves no storm has ever stirred;

A little bird that came from far,

Beyond the evening star,

Alighting in my untried flight

Upon this tree of night.

Yet ere another sun

His race shall have begun,

I shall have pass'd from sight,

To realms of truer light,

These twilight skies above,

To be with Him I love,

My God, my God.

Life is the mountain lake,

And I a drifting cloud,

Or a cloud's broken shadow on the wave,

One of the silent multitude that crowd,

With ever-varying pace,

Across the water's face!

Soon must I pass from earth,

To the calm azure of my better birth,

My sky of holy bliss;

"With Him in love and peace,

To have my long abode,

Who is my God!

Life is the tossing ark,

And I the wandering dove,

Resting to-day mid clouds and waters dark,

Tomorrow to my peaceful olive-grove

Returning, in glad haste,

Across time's billowy waste,

For evermore to rest,

Upon the faithful breast,

Of Him who is my King,

My Christ and God!

Life is the changing deep,

And I a little wave,

Rising a moment and then passing down,

Amid my fellows, to a peaceful grave;

For this is not my rest,

It is not here I can he blest.

Far from this sea of strife,

With Christ is hid my life,

With Christ my glorious Lord,

My King and God.

Life is a well-strung lyre,

And I a wandering note,

Struck from its cunning chords, and left alone

A moment in the quivering air to float ;

Then, without echo, die,

And upward from this earthly jarring fly,

To form a truer note above

In the great song of joy and love,

The never-ending, never-jarring song

Of the immortal throng;

Sung to the praise of Him

Who is at once its leader and its theme,

My Christ, my King, my God! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

LINKS & MUSIC 

Horatio Bonar's Hymn I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS SAY from different groups:


Modern Scottish Singer Asher Quinn

Choir of Manchester Cathedral -

Celtic-Modern Style
 
Choir Boy Anthony Wayne

The Antrium Mennonite Choir 


About Bonar's hymnody