Tag Archives: music

My NEW favorite Christmas CD

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My new favorite Christmas CD.
I don’t know how famous violinist Geoffrey Castle is.
He is well-known in the Seattle are.

Go here to hear the complete track of Ukrainian Bell Carol
and an excerpt of the Coventry Carol.
As far as I can tell, that site is the only place to buy the CD.

I’m obsessive with this one.
Which means my family gets to hear it..again…and again…
and again…and again…and again.

Think the synthesized sound of Mannheim Steamroller
(Castle isn’t synthesized, but he plays an electric violin),
the introspection of George Winston
with Joshua Bell thrown in.
That’s not quite the recipe, but I’m reaching for artists
you might be familiar with.

Perfect for a quiet evening.

Here and Everywhere Adored

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Thanksgiving Doxology

O Lord we thank Thee for this food,
For every blessing, every good;
For earthly sustenance and love,
Bestowed on us from heaven above.

Be present at our table, Lord.
Be here and everywhere adored.
Thy children bless and grant that we
May feast in paradise with Thee.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

All that happens becomes bread to nourish,
soap to cleanse,
fire to purify,
a chisel to carve heavenly creatures.

~ Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Gratitude bestows reverence,
allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies –
those transcendent moments of awe
that change forever
how we experience life and the world.

~ John Milton

I would maintain
that thanks are the highest form of thought,
and that gratitude
is happiness doubled by wonder.

~ G. K. Chesterton

Happy Thanksgiving!

originally published 11/25/2008

For the Bach Lover on your list

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I wrote this book because I have always loved Bach’s
music and always wanted to know the man who made
it. But I was also drawn to investigate the opposition
of reason and faith. ~ James R. Gaines

“I have just finished a book that I am going to count among my favorites of all time. It is that good. You have GOT to read it.”  After Gene Veith’s emphatic review, I had to read James Gaines’ Evening in the Palace of Reason.  It is the best non-fiction book I’ve read in 2010.

Evening in the Palace follows two trends: first to tether an entire book around a single piece of art, as in Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring or Vreeland’s Luncheon of the Boating Party; the second to interweave two biographies, á la Plutarch’s Lives or Julie and Julia.  Gaines writes an overview of the lives of Johann Sebastian Bach and Frederick the Great but focuses on a confrontation between the two men and the music that resulted from it.

What Gaines does exceedingly well is to illustrate the difference in Medieval / Reformation assumptions and those of the Enlightenment. 

[A]mong the Enlightenment’s least explicit legacies to us is a common understanding that there is a gulf, a space that defines a substantial difference, between spiritual and secular life. For Bach there was no such place, no realm of neutrality or middle ground that was not a commitment to one side or the other in the great battle between God and Satan.

What most divided him [Bach] from them [the next generation] was their motive for making music at all, of whatever sort.  The new “enlightened” composer wrote for one reason and one only: to please the audience.

[Carol sets up her soapbox and mounts it. The shrill voice emerges.]

People!

There is one and only one way to read this book: that is while listening to  The Art of Fugue Musical Offering (or here or here) while you read. When Gaines brilliantly exposits the complexity of this particular fugue, you must have the notes in your head. Listen while you commute, listen while you cook, listen while you clean. 

I highly recommend this book.  I highly recommend Bach.  Even if you have no musical background, no previous exposure to his music, Bach’s music will seep into your soul and water the parched places. If you love someone who already loves Bach, get him or her the book and the CD.   

We can talk about his brilliantly melodic part writing,
the richness of his counterpoint, the way
his music follows text the way roses follow a trellis,
in perfect fidelity and submission but at
not the slightest sacrifice of beauty.
Finally, though, one comes up against the fact that
the greatest of great music is in its ability
to express the unutterable.

Play List for a Young Man’s Memorial

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Ahokan Farewell

I’m Just a Poor Wayfaring Stranger

Come Ye Disconsolate (half time)

Grace

I Want Jesus Walk with Me

Doxology (left hand octaves in G, like bells tolling, rhythmic differences)

Down to the River to Pray

Children of the Heavenly Father

Awesome God
Amazing Grace in minor key
Amazing Grace in major key
Awesome God

Homeward Bound

What Wondrous Love is This

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

I Will Arise

Precious Jewel (funky beat)

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (half time)

Band of Brothers

A blog is a good place to keep lists.  Here is the list of songs I played at a memorial service yesterday.  I chose songs that I could play out of my heart (translation: without music), not knowing how the visibility would be. 

It was a gift to be able to give myself musically to my dear friends.  When a friend experiences a loss, we all want somehow to do something to express our love and compassion.  We need to give.  A hug.  A card.  A batch of rolls.  Mow the lawn.  I was able to play the piano.  It was a sweet thing–a gift I gratefully receive–to be able to share that for my friend(s).
   

How Teaching Piano Made Me a Better Reader

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When I taught piano lessons, I assigned different levels of music to each student.  One piece was below their reading level; in short, easy to play.  The student didn’t have to strain over which notes to play; instead she could concentrate on phrasing, dynamics, expression.  So even though the music was easy, it needed to be quality, worthy of expressive playing. 

The bulk of the music was bread and butter.  Working from white bread to 10-grain, it got chewier in increments.  Not effortless, but with regular practice the music could be mastered by the next lesson.  Like bread, this was the daily sustenance of the art of playing piano. One bite at a time.

The long-term focus was the challenge piece.  This was music which, at first glance, seemed overwhelming.   Beyond the beyonds.  Too much black print.  Flat out unplayable.  But we broke it up into manageable chunks, slowly worked through the notes, the rhythm, the key signature.  Row by row, I watched my students get the job done.  Some lessons were work sessions, pounding the notes.  Eventually, it coalesced into a polished piece. 

Reading is like this.

Easy books are a good thing if they are good books.  That’s why, when I want a light read, I go to my stack of quality children’s literature.  Wind in the Willows is ever so much more satisfying than Whence Comes the Hunk.

Most reading is of the bread and butter variety.  Whether you have eclectic tastes or you gravitate toward a particular genre, there are books a plenty to read.  Memoirs, mystery, devotional, relational, informative, helpful books.  We all love stories.

Here’s an easy definition of a challenge book:  a book you have to push yourself to read.  A worthy challenge book will reward you and keep you at it.  Slow the pace down, take small bites, and row by row, you’ll bring in the crop. 

Sometimes it became apparent that the piece I assigned my student wasn’t a good fit.  So I unassigned it.   The same goes with books.  A hard-to-read book is not necessarily a good book.  It may just be poorly written.

These three levels of effort can apply to most occupations:  jogging, friendships (when you hear the word challenge friendship does a face come to mind? she asks smiling), mechanics, cooking, thinking….life.  

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Sing Me to Heaven. Setting by Daniel E. Gawthrop. Text by Jane Griner

In my heart’s sequestered chambers lie truths stripped of poets’ gloss
Words alone are vain and vacant, and my heart is mute
In response to aching silence, memory summons half-heard voices
And my soul finds primal eloquence, and wraps me in song

If you would comfort me, sing me a lullaby
If you would win my heart, sing me a love song
If you would mourn me and bring me to God,
sing me a requiem, sing me to Heaven

Touch in me all love and passion, pain and sorrow
Touch in me grief and comfort, love and passion, pain and pleasure
Sing me a lullaby, a love song, a requiem
Love me, comfort me, bring me to God
Sing me a love song, sing me to Heaven

(Thank you, Brenda.)

Not Ashamed

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Our dear friend, Stephen Bump, puts words to music whenever he studies the Bible.  He doesn’t have a CD, nor does he promote the songs, but they have been sweet to the congregations who sing them. 

When I rerun Chris and Jessie’s wedding (oldest son), two songs come to mind.  My brother filling the upper space of the room with The Lord’s Prayer, the soaring notes of for Thine is the kingdom bringing tears to those around us.

In contrast, the other song was quiet, a song of benediction, written and sung by Steve, with his acoustic guitar. 

Now I commit you to God, to the Word of His grace,

which can build you up with the rest of the saints.

This morning we sang Not Ashamed in which the epistle to the Romans is condensed into seven verses.  Here is one section of the song. When my flesh is whining and demanding, I’m going to say, “Not obliged, pal.” 

In Christ no obligation to satisfy the flesh.

In Christ no condemnation as the slaves of righteousness.

We’re free to serve our Master, our new Father and our God,

Who has freely bestowed His salvation.

 

Music to Accompany a Dying Soul

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I know it sounds odd.  But.  If you were dying–and you knew it…and it wasn’t immediate–what music would you want in your ears when you left this earth?

It’s odd because I have a long list of funeral songs.  But this is a different question. 

I remember hearing about my friend’s brother, who listened almost exclusively to Michael Card’s music.  He wanted it cranked up loud.  His final breath was accompanied by soaring music that enveloped the room.

I think I would like to hear my loved ones singing to me.  When my dad died my siblings and I crowded around his hospital bed and sang until we couldn’t remember any more hymns to sing. The first night we didn’t have hymnbooks and mixed and matched verses.  There were false starts, dangling middles and strong familiar refrains.  Laughter mingled with tears.  The second night we had hymnbooks and it’s a funny thing: the time had a heavier quality to it.  I liked it better singing what we had stored in our heads, mistakes and all.

Within my extended family, loved ones are keeping vigil with a grandmother everyone calls Honey.  My brother walked past her room and heard his daughters singing to their grandma:

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

With its ability to reach down into the tiny tendrils of your consciousness, music is powerful. 

I’m listening to an acoustic blues CD by Kelly Joe Phelps, Lead Me On.  The tracks are one-take songs. He sings a Blind Willie Johnson song, Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed.  I have yet to figure out what the song means, but it’s got a great title.  Another track is a Blind Willie McTell song We Got to Meet Death One Day. 

You gotta meet your death one day,
You’re going to glory after a while,
You’re gonna see death and smile,
You all gotta meet your death one day.

So…when it’s your ready-or-not moment, what would you want to hear?

 

In the Bleak Midwinter

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Winner of Carol’s Best Christmas Music – Category: Mellow
The Gift by Liz Story
Windham Hill.
Solo piano.
Sensitive.
Evocative.
Contemplative.
Recommended first by sister Dorothy.
New to me this year.
Exquisite.

(This post is from the archives.)

One of my favorites is In the Bleak Midwinter, a piece that James Taylor also does very well.

I know you are very, very busy.  You should be wrapping gifts instead of reading blogs.

May I tell you a story?  Why this song means so very much to me?

It is a family story that I only know from the telling, because, sadly, I was not present.  Twenty-one years ago, my father received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer from Mayo Clinic on Christmas Eve.  The following weekend, those of my siblings who could, gathered at my dad’s place in Dubuque. That Sunday Dan sang  In The Bleak Midwinter at the chapel.  A Capella.  He’s a professional, my brother.  But when he came to the last verse, (What shall I bring him, poor as I am?) he broke down and wept.  Unable to continue. My father walked up to him, put his arms around him, and held him.  No words.

So this piece, which has a mournful tone already (and that is not a criticism), always  takes me to that Sunday, to a sad family, a very brave brother, and a father who was a father in a most public act of comforting his son; to my Father who gave His Son, to his mother who worshiped him with a kiss, and mostly to the poverty of the writer who offers what she can give–her heart.

In the Bleak Midwinter.

Snippet of James Taylor singing it (scroll down).
30 seconds of Liz Story playing it.
Better yet, Glouster Cathedral Choir singing it: