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Apr. 23rd, 2008 @ 04:34 pm 
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Three hundred and sixty degree awareness--up there a crow has nesting materials in its beak, over there are house sparrows and blue jays; the hills are a soft rainbow of colors; where yesterday no flower buds were visible on the crab apple, today there are buds amid the leaves.
Yesterday I went to shape-note singing in Northampton--first time in this location--where we sang some I recognized, like "Return Again" and "Idumea" (people sang that with great fervor), but also some new ones, including "Vernon," which had a great tune (minor key, of course) and these simply amazing words:
Come, O Thou traveler unknown
Whom still I hold, but cannot see;
My company before is gone,
And I am left alone with Thee.
With Thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day.
In vain thou strugglest to get free,
I never will unloose my hold;
Art Thou the Man that died for me?
The secret of Thy love unfold.
Wrestling, I will not let Thee go,
Till I Thy name, Thy nature know.
(Charles Wesley, 1742)
Never mind Jacob wrestling the angel, try wrestling Jesus! And there's a certain ardor there that slides toward romantic--I could well imagine singing this to a mortal beloved instead of a divine one.
By completely random train of thought, no pirate singers were present at this particular gathering, so I sang undistracted.
I feel...:  contemplative I hear...: Kraftwerk: Europe Endless |
That was lovely.
There is a certain genre of music "ghazals" in the indian music tradition. I was told that the obvious interpretation of the lyrics would suggest pining for a mortal beloved but that the deeper meaning is that of seeking union with the divine...
I've heard some ghazals; at last-fm, I sometimes music tagged ghazals because I know I'll like what I hear.
I think the only way we can learn to love the divine--and maybe the only way we can love it, full stop--is by loving what's around us. Passionate, personal human love tells us so much about who we are and what it means to be human; I'm sure it tells us about the divine as well.
The Hiiiiiilllllllls are aliiivvveee with the sound of Muuuuusiiiiccccc!
Yipes. That is one hell of a poem.
That's the Methodist Wesley, yes?
A little too early, I think. Methodists as a religion didn't come about until the second religious awakening of the 1830s I believe... The founder I think is John Wesley? Although I wouldn't be surprised if the two are related.
The only reason why I know this is my poli sci teacher in college was named after the founder of Methodism... Yay random trivia obtained through obscure sources!
It appears that John and Charles were brothers who together founded Methodism. Although both wrote hymns, in fact Charles was more known for them.
( Here's a little something on Charles, and here's the page I relied on for the information that they were brothers and that Charles was the main hymn writer.)
Isn't it intense? Here is Wikipedia on Charles Wesley. He and John were brothers, and cofounders of Methodism. Charles was the hymn writer, it appears.
Methodism rules!
Calvinism drools!
:::giggles::
Love the photo. The poem is very powerful - I like it - and yet it's almost the opposite of my favorite Donne sonnet, which is a plea for God to take the initiative:
Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town to'another due,
Labor to'admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly'I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me,'untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you'enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
That is a gorgeous poem too. I like both being the actor and being the acted upon.
What is shape-note singing? Also, huh. I have a CD by "Black Ships Ate the Sky" (or maybe it's just *called* that) and there are a number of tracks called "Idumea" -- but all subtly different, with a different artist.
Shape-note singing (also known as Sacred Harp singing or Fasola singing) is a kind of choral singing in four-part harmony. Instead of all being done with ovals, the notes in the shape-note singing book are done with triangles,ovals, rectangles, and diamonds, with the triangle equalling "fa" (you know, in do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do?), the oval "so," the rectangle "la" and (oddly) the diamond "mi." It means that when you look at the notes on the page, you can sing-say them. What's cool about it is that groups that do it welcome anyone, including people like me, who have no musical experience, to come and sing, and then they sing at the top of their lungs and full of power. It can sound kind of raucous--and when you hear it, you either love it or hate it. (First time I heard it, I think I hated it.. then a year later I heard it and loved it.) If you end up liking it, you end up being completely caught in and transported by the emotion and power of the singing, and if you go to a sing-in, it's like, wow, so very powerful. Idumea is a fantastic one. I love the first verse of that: "And am I born to die To lay this body down And must my trembling spirit fly Into a world unknown?" You can hear Idumea being sung shape-note style here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL-HiGRo7ToThe group sings the notes first, then launches into the verses. Makes me shiver.
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