Light, Darkness, Hope and Despair

She sat in the chair with her knees to her chest and her feet on the seat. She was so thin it seemed possible to fold her up and put her in an envelope. Her struggle with anxiety had gone on for decades and she craved medication more than food. Multiple investigations in the hospital revealed no specific pathology but she was too ill to function on her own.

He sat on the ground, his deformed, paralyzed legs folded beneath him. Spina bifida had left him this way from birth. He moved around in the dirt, pushing and lifting his body with his strong arms. He had no wheelchair or mobility aid. I watched as he sat in the shade in the courtyard of his home, singing and playing his guitar to no one in particular. Contented and part of a family and community in a poor Mexican fishing village, he had no complaints. 

All creatures are designed to survive in the best of times and the worst of times. It is normal to store fat in times of plenty to sustain life in times of famine. Animals, birds and other creatures are in a constant struggle with the elements and predators. Humans have always dealt with uncertainty. Natural disasters, wars, economic crashes, plagues and other illnesses have been present throughout recorded history. The human spirit is resilient and heroic human behaviour is usually born in adversity. Challenge and struggle is necessary to attain our full potential and strength;- emotionally, spiritually and physically. 

Canada is a country free of war and famine, a country with free medical care and social assistance. We have a democratic government and a fair judicial system. We have a better standard of living than the majority of people in the world, past and present. Most people I know are generally happy but there is an undercurrent of cynicism, criticism and dissatisfaction in our affluent society that is pervasive and destructive. Too many people struggle with addiction, depression, anxiety, lifestyle related illness, autoimmune diseases and a lack of purpose and hope. It is as if we expect life to be perfect making it difficult to cope with adversity in a healthy way. 

I watched a discussion recently where Bono and Eugene Peterson discuss the Psalms. In it, Bono says: “I would love if this conversation would inspire people who are writing these beautiful voices and writing these beautiful gospel songs — write a song about their bad marriage, write a song about how they’re pissed off at the government, because that’s what God wants from you. That truth — ‘the way, the truth’ — and that truthfulness — know the truth, ‘the truth will set you free’ — will blow things apart.”

Praise is meaningless if we have never experienced pain. We cannot appreciate light without experiencing darkness. It is important to face trouble with honesty and hope, not blame and cynicism. We need to make sure our children learn early that life is not always easy, maturity develops though adversity, and that perseverance is essential. Happiness and fulfillment comes from an attitude of gratitude, cultivating meaningful relationships, proper care of the body and soul, having achievable goals, and developing the ability to handle stress. 

Steve Bell is one of my favourite musicians (as well as being a Canadian) and I find his lyrics very meaningful and honest. Here is part of his adaptation of Psalm 90.

Psalm 90- Steve Bell 

Satisfy us in the morning with Your love

That we may sing for joy

And be glad in all our days

Satisfy us in the morning with Your love

Match the days Lord of our sorrow with Your joy

May Your deeds be always known

To the ones you call your own

Match the days Lord of our sorrow with Your joy

May the favour of the Lord

Rest upon us and our land

And establish for us all

The work of our hands

Yes the work of our hands

Sing, Sing a Song

Street Performers, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Birds sing, frogs sing, cicadas sing, mice sing, humans sing. Even if we think we are not musical, our hearts beat and our nervous systems hum. Each community and culture has a musical identity and we learn the nuances of our native rhythms, scales and tones at a very young age. Musical memories are long lasting and are often seated with emotional memories. Learning is enhanced when it is put to music and children learn the alphabet and numbers quickly to song.

Communities are increasingly diverse with a rising number of popular musical genres. My childhood home was filled with music. We all took music lessons and practiced our instruments in the living room. When records were played, everyone shared the experience. Dad listened to classical music on the radio every night after we went to bed and we went to sleep hearing the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin. Now, we are plugged into our individual iPods and seldom share music together. Once in a while I listen to my daughter’s playlist and try to make sense of “ska”, “metal” and other alternative songs that are as familiar to my brain as speaking Punjabi. My brain is too set to become fluent in new language or music styles.

Singsongs in Miramichi NB and Twillingate NL

This past summer we went to Newfoundland, the only Canadian province we had not visited. Newfoundland culture is unique as geographic isolation has allowed language and music to change at a much slower pace than the rest of North America. Communities on The Rock are often remote and all generations work and play together. Newfoundland kitchen parties are common and we attended a couple of them. The events have live music with instruments that range from guitars, fiddles and keyboards to spoons and ugly sticks. There really isn’t much distinction between audience and performers as everyone is free to sing and dance along. I loved Newfoundland and its people and their spontaneous, joyful musical expression.

Every Friday afternoon, a group of “Newfies”, who now live in Ontario, come to the hospital for a singsong with the patients. They play from a book (words only) with at least 100 songs and take requests from the audience. It is a transplanted kitchen party and they sing for a couple of hours at least. I took a patient with early onset advanced dementia to the auditorium when they were singing  “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver. 

“Peter, Paul and Mary,” he said as he sang the words. 

I am always amazed at music memories people retain. Each week we have a drum circle where patients choose a rhythm instrument and sing simple, familiar songs. Even if they don’t know the words, they can carry the beat.

We risk losing a shared musical community in our diverse urban world. The best music experiences link us with others. Christmas carols and songs are one of the few genres of music left that are widely familiar across generational groups in Western culture. Give me a kitchen party, a street party, a performance in a park or a singsong in the hospital. Give me a song I can sing and play too. 

Music on the street in old Montreal PQ

Sing, sing a song

Sing out loud

Sing out strong.

Sing of good things not bad

Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song

Make it simple to last

your whole life long.

Don't worry that it's not

good enough for anyone

else to hear.

Just sing, sing a song.

Joe Raposo

Bird Music

Bald Eagle, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Great Blue Heron

Months of bitter winter cold kept me hostage indoors earlier this year. Spring came late and then rushed by with wide temperature ranges and little rain. Forsythia and lilacs bloomed together in some areas instead of a month apart as usual. Spring birds returned in a trickle and then in a flood over the past two weeks. The forest canopy opened quickly making it hard to see some of our smallest songbirds. But the woods, marshes and meadows are alive with birdsong. I have the songs and calls of all the birds of Eastern North America on my iPod and I listen to them in the car, hoping to become familiar with more of them.

Brown Thrasher, Red-winged Blackbird (2), Norther Flicker

Songbirds learn their species' sounds in the first few days and weeks of life. Occasionally there are regional variations. Some birds have a repertoire of a couple of songs while others may have many more calls and melodies. A few birds like Mockingbirds and parrots are able to imitate sounds they hear from other birds, humans or machines. I visited a patient once who had a parrot who said hello every time the phone rang. Some birds can learn another species' song if they are adopted into that bird's nest shortly after birth. But on the whole, listening is a reliable way to identify many birds. I followed the sound of a Pine Warbler and after fifteen minutes of neck-stretching searching, found it on the top of the tallest pine tree. Birds, especially the males, are often more vocal in the spring as they establish nesting territories and go through mating rituals.

Savannah Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pine Warbler, Bobolink

Like birds, humans learn language and music beginning in infancy even though words and melody activate different areas of the brain. We know that children can learn other languages without an accent if they are exposed before adulthood. I came to Canada as a school child with a strong South African accent, but it was gone in a few months. Adults hold on to an accent for life. The music styles we are exposed to when we are young tend to become our preferences for life. I do not understand eastern music with its alternate scales and tones and it would be difficult for me to learn it now. Exposure to various music styles at an early age increases our understanding and enjoyment of more genres of music as we get older.

American Goldfinch. Female Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow Warbler

Music is often at the centre of generational separation and conflict. My generation of baby boomers embraced rock and roll in the 1960's to the consternation of our parents. Rap, heavy metal, ska, and electronica appealed to our children and we didn't care for it. There are so many sub-genres of music now that our ability to sing together as a multi-generational community is greatly reduced. (country, folk and bluegrass music may be exceptions to this). My daughter and son-in-law took us to see Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the National Arts Centre this year. We commented on the white-haired patrons who made up the majority of the audience, just like the demographic of many churches.

These young siblings played classical selections skillfully at our local market last week. They will always understand and enjoy this music style. Why not expose children to a large musical heritage as their brains form musical memory;- ancient, classical, cultural, spiritual, modern and post-modern? They will explore the new sounds of their generation on their own but maybe we will have some songs we can sing together around a campfire or a concert we can enjoy together.

I am challenged when I try to understand and appreciate music forms outside of my experience. If I can learn new bird songs, surely I can learn some new music too.

Music isn't just for the birds.

Song Sparrow

Sing a Song of Christmas

Grandma gave us money to buy a stereo component set the first Christmas we were married. The speakers were three feet high and the large amplifier supported a turntable and cassette deck. We enjoyed LP records for several years and accumulated many cassette tapes as well. I still have our vinyl collection but the cassettes were not as durable. The knobs broke off the old stereo and we gradually stopped using it when we started buying CD recordings. This year our CD player gave up the ghost just before Christmas so I bought $20.00 speakers for my iPad, loaded our CD collection onto iTunes and enjoyed hours of seasonal music in a new portable fashion.

There are many timeless Christmas compositions which most everyone recognizes at this time of year. I have heard one too many recordings of "O Holy Night" and will leave the room if I hear "Christmas Shoes" again. (The movie is worse than the song). But I love listening to Christmas music performed by British choirs, Sarah McLachlan, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Barbra Streisand, The Carpenters, Anne Murray, and many other contemporary and classical artists. I enjoy playing anything that is not too difficult.

A highlight of our Boston trip was a visit to Symphony Hall to hear the Boston Pops holiday concert. We watch it each year on television but it was a pleasure to see the grand, acoustically perfect building. Part of the performance we saw was recorded for a new live CD to be released in 2013. I believe some of next year's concert will also be included. The program included readings of The Grinch, The Night Before Christmas, carols, classical selections as well as the traditional sing-a-long.

In the past 35 years we have gone from vinyl to cassettes to CDs to mp3 and other digital recordings. I wonder what we will listen to 30 years from now? Live performances may be the only thing that stay unchanged.

Peace on Earth

One of my patients made several origami crane mobiles and gave them to the staff (instead of chocolates) when she was discharged recently. An old Japanese legend states that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish such as long life or recovery from illness.

A young Japanese girl named Sadako became ill with leukemia as a result of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. She started making origami cranes to pass the time in hospital with a goal of making 1000, but she died with only 644 completed. Sadako's classmates made the remaining cranes, and all 1000 were buried with her. (Sadako was a real person, but there are several versions of this story). The following quote is from Wikipedia.

"In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. At the foot of the statue is a plaque that reads:   

"This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth." 

There is also a statue of her in the Seattle Peace Park." 

Because of Sadako, folded cranes have also become a symbol of world peace. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr is written for elementary aged children. I smiled at some of the one star reviews on Amazon.com. Here is one by a young student entitled "The best book that I've ever read".

 "I would not recommend this book. It is an amazingly sad book. I would never read this book again. It's so sad because there is a lot of dying. But I will tell you about this book..."

The absence of peace makes us all amazingly sad. Christmas brings hope that peace on earth will be a reality for all mankind.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Today marks the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbour

Leaving with a Song

Singing Myrtle Warbler

My husband called me at work yesterday to tell me a friend had reported a fall out of migrating warblers at a park near our home. He encouraged me to go there before coming home saying he would look after getting his own dinner. And as it was a lovely sunny afternoon, I did just that. A variety of warblers darted from the bare tree branches feeding on insects for their long, uncertain journey. The sound of bird song filled the air.

A lady I know finally found out why she has become more muddled in her thinking and coordination. She is recovering from a fracture received because of a previously unexplained fall. A large, rapidly growing tumour has invaded her brain and she will soon be transferred to another hospital for a surgical assessment. She knows that there may be no treatment available for her type of tumour. 

Last week she asked if I could get her a keyboard so she could enjoy some music during these long days. Yesterday she played for me, sitting in her wheelchair while struggling to read the notes in front of her. But she managed to finger out a few tunes with a good sense of rhythm. For some reason, she always missed the last line of notes on the page, perhaps not seeing them due to her condition. 

"It will soon be Christmas", she told me before she played "Silent Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful". And she smiled, thanking me for being her audience. 

I am busy and my piano is often neglected for days on end. My friend reminded me to make music every day, to journey in life with a song and a smile.

Boar's Head and other Delights

This past week has been busy with Christmas parties as well as the final push by our contractor to complete the kitchen renovations. December is racing along and I have been too busy to enjoy the simple pleasures of the season. Today we took time on a lovely sunny afternoon to visit the annual Christkindl Market at the city hall. The temperatures were just around freezing and with the sun, the weather was perfect for the outdoor vendors and performers.


Last year I wrote about Organ Grinder Klaus. He happened to read the post and emailed me asking if I would introduce myself the next time he was in town. I talked to him as he took a break from his music and found that we share some things in common. He lives in the town where my parents grew up and where I went to school for two years. He loves trails and nature and works hard lobbying for safe walking and bike trails for students and other users. Klaus is a regular at this Christmas market and a popular performer.


Many Christmas traditions are derived from pagan and Christian elements which are combined in this ancient solstice celebration. Choirs sang carols and dancers from the local German clubs performed in colourful costumes. Each year there is a food vendor who serves roasted pork. All that was left near closing time on Sunday afternoon was the head of the unfortunate animal. It reminded me of the Boar's Head Carol and the ancient Yule tradition of the Boar's Head Feast which is still celebrated today.

We had potato pancakes and applesauce instead...


"The Boar's Head is probably the oldest continuing festival of the Christmas season. This pageant is rooted in the 1300's when the boar was sovereign of the forest. A ferocious beast and menace to humans it was hunted as a public enemy. Like our thanksgiving turkey, roasted boar was a staple of medieval banquets. As Christian beliefs overtook pagan customs in Europe, the presentation of a boar's head at Christmas came to symbolize the triumph of the Christ Child over sin. " (source)

The Boar's Head Carol

The boar's head in hand bear I

Bedecked with bays and rosemary .

I pray you, my masters, be merry

Quot estis in convivio.

(howsoever many are at the feast)

Caput apri defero,

(I bring the boar's head)

Reddens laudes Domino.

(rendering praises to the Lord)

Thoughts on the Life and Death of Celebrities

The news event of the week will undoubtedly be the untimely death of Michael Jackson. I never listened to his music (other than in the movie Free Willy), never practiced his famous dance steps, and never took a picture of his wax likeness at Madame Tussaude's in New York City last year. But he was a child of my generation and his influence in popular music and culture cannot be denied.

I lived a life free of radio and television as a child in South Africa. Television was not introduced in that country until 1971 (ref) and I never even heard of it until I came to Canada. We left Durban, rounded the tip of Africa and crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a four week journey on a Norwegian freighter. We were entering the St. Lawrence River getting ready to arrive at our destination of Montreal when the captain reported the death of Marilyn Monroe to the passengers. I didn't have a clue who she was, but still remember the reaction on the ship to the shocking news.

That was my introduction to the power of the media.

Not long after that, I was badly frightened by the events surrounding John F. Kennedy's assassination which was likely the first major event to be followed minute by minute on network television. I watched the funeral on my grandmother's TV and had nightmares for months about Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby.

I remember the other assassinations of the 1960's and the huge public responses to the untimely deaths of Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Princess Diana. Many other celebrities have died tragically in my lifetime, but these three affected the world the most in my opinion. Michael Jackson's death is likely the first where breaking news, misinformation and comments were seen first on the internet and then Facebooked and Twittered endlessly.

The media has the power to create and destroy larger than life personalities. But each "celebrity" is someone's child, brother, sister, parent, or friend, just like everyone else. I see the face of death often and each visit is tragic in an individual way. Life is precious and each moment a gift to be celebrated, loved, shared and lived to the fullest.

Who's loving you, really loving you??

Pascha

The Becka and I drove outside the city last evening at dusk to watch the rise of the full moon. There were bands of light cloud in the sky marking the surface of the orangey ball as Becka took this picture. The Pascal Moon describes the lunar cycle which occurs after the vernal equinox. This cycle determines the date of Easter each year with Resurrection Sunday being the first Sunday after its full moon.

The observance of Easter has become removed from its origins in the Hebrew Passover celebration. In many European languages, the word for "Easter" is derived from "Passover";- Pascha in Greek and Latin, Pasqua in Italian, Paques in French, and Pascua in Spanish. The Paschal lamb is symbolic of Jesus who died to redeem a sinful world.

Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Handel's Messiah was originally performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742 in a secular theatre. Today we usually hear selections from the first of its three parts at Christmas, but much of the oratorio deals with the passion and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. Handel's selection of scripture from Isaiah 53 and some of the Psalms in Part 2 is as follows:

CHORUS
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

AIR (Alto)
He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: He hid not His face from shame and spitting.

CHORUS
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows! He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And with His stripes we are healed.

CHORUS
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Tenor)
Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full
of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man, neither found He any to comfort Him.

AIR. (Tenor)
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow.

RECITATIVE. (Accompanied - Soprano)
He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of Thy people was He stricken.

AIR (Soprano)
But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

We are drawn to stories of sacrifice and redemption. How many great movies and books can we name where these are the themes? A brother of my friend was in a car accident and suffered kidney failure due to the pain medications taken during his recovery. His siblings agreed to be tested as live donors and one sister who was an excellent tissue match gave a kidney to her brother. He lives today because of her sacrifice. Countless others have given their lives to save those they love.

Many Christians remember Jesus' death on the cross today and will celebrate his resurrection this Sunday. It is not hard to recognize "death to life" symbolism each spring as new growth breaks out of the frozen, dead earth. Here, in Part 3 of Handel's Messiah are the words from Job 19:25 and 1 Corinthians 15:20.

AIR (Soprano)
I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though worms destroy this body yet, in my flesh shall I see God. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first-fruits of them that sleep.

Amen!

The Christmas Guest

This week I had the privilege of playing the piano for a Christmas carol service at a local retirement home. I have visited this particular facility regularly for at least 15 years and have come to know several of the residents quite well. Many suffer from chronic illnesses and various degrees of disability that make it difficult to get out and about. Others have no family to visit them at special times of the year and the staff, volunteers and those who live there become family to them.

The carol service is always well attended and participation is enthusiastic and heart-felt. Peter, pictured above with Amy, led the singing and Amy recited from memory this poem by Helen Steiner Rice. While it is not new, it does illustrate the true meaning of Christmas. A number of artists have recorded The Christmas Guest and I have added Andy Griffith's version at the end of the post. If you have five minutes and a fast enough connection, listen to the story while you read the words.

It happened one day at the year's white end,
Two neighbors called on an old-time friend

And they found his shop so meager and mean,
Made gay with a thousand boughs of green,

And Conrad was sitting with face a-shine
When he suddenly stopped as he stitched a twine

And said, "Old friends, at dawn today,
When the cock was crowing the night away,

The Lord appeared in a dream to me
And said, 'I am coming your guest to be'.

So I've been busy with feet astir,
Strewing my shop with branches of fir,

The table is spread and the kettle is shined
And over the rafters the holly is twined,

And now I will wait for my Lord to appear
And listen closely so I will hear

His step as He nears my humble place,
And I open the door and look in His face. . ."

So his friends went home and left Conrad alone,
For this was the happiest day he had known,

For, long since, his family had passed away
And Conrad has spent a sad Christmas Day.

But he knew with the Lord as his Christmas guest
This Christmas would be the dearest and best,

And he listened with only joy in his heart.
And with every sound he would rise with a start

And look for the Lord to be standing there
In answer to his earnest prayer

So he ran to the window after hearing a sound,
But all that he saw on the snow-covered ground

Was a shabby beggar whose shoes were torn
And all of his clothes were ragged and worn.

So Conrad was touched and went to the door
And he said, "Your feet must be frozen and sore,

And I have some shoes in my shop for you
And a coat that will keep you warmer, too."

So with grateful heart the man went away,
But as Conrad noticed the time of day

He wondered what made the dear Lord so late
And how much longer he'd have to wait,

When he heard a knock and ran to the door,
But it was only a stranger once more,

A bent, old woman with a shawl of black,
A bundle of kindling piled on her back.

She asked for only a place to rest,
But that was reserved for Conrad's Great Guest.

But her voice seemed to plead, "Don't send me away
Let me rest awhile on Christmas day."

So Conrad brewed her a steaming cup
And told her to sit at the table and sup.

But after she left he was filled with dismay
For he saw that the hours were passing away

And the Lord had not come as He said He would,
And Conrad felt sure he had misunderstood.

When out of the stillness he heard a cry,
"Please help me and tell me where am I."

So again he opened his friendly door
And stood disappointed as twice before,

It was only a child who had wandered away
And was lost from her family on Christmas Day. .

Again Conrad's heart was heavy and sad,
But he knew he should make this little child glad,

So he called her in and wiped her tears
And quieted her childish fears.

Then he led her back to her home once more
But as he entered his own darkened door,

He knew that the Lord was not coming today
For the hours of Christmas had passed away.

So he went to his room and knelt down to pray
And he said, "Dear Lord, why did you delay,

What kept You from coming to call on me,
For I wanted so much Your face to see. . ."

When soft in the silence a voice he heard,
"Lift up your head for I kept My word--

Three times My shadow crossed your floor--
Three times I came to your lonely door--

For I was the beggar with bruised, cold feet,
I was the woman you gave to eat,
And I was the child on the homeless street.

Three times I knocked and three times I came in,
And each time I found the warmth of a friend.

Of all the gifts love is the best,
And I was honored to be your Christmas guest.

Helen Steiner Rice

Christmas Guest, The (The Christmas Guest Album Version) - Andy Griffith

Technology Tortoise

A local city park we visit has a small zoo and one pen features a South African tortoise with a number of rabbits and guinea pigs. The sign on the fence reads "The Tortoise and Hare". We watched the tortoise doing deliberate laps around the perimeter of the enclosure while the rabbits (not hares) burrowed and nibbled on greens.

When it comes to technology, I am a tortoise with the newer toys. I have never had an iPod even though there are a number of them floating around the house. Our daughters have received free iPods for opening bank accounts and buying computers but I have never understood the appeal of walking about with headphones on. I like to listen to the sounds of nature on my walks and think earphones are unsafe in a car. (Do you notice the people who do not hear an approaching siren on the roadway?) One of my patients who is in her late 70's was listening to an iPod at her bedside recently. Her husband had programmed it for her and I was very impressed with their youthful attitude.


I purchased a new laptop a year and a half ago with Windows Vista OS installed. The computer is not compatible with the printer that came with it, nor my relatively new Canon scanner, even though I have installed upgraded software. I have to reinstall my printer software every time I use the printer. Recently the computer has decided to crash rather frequently...click...black screen...all is lost. I have logged over 200 such crashes in the past few weeks with as many as eight in a row during rebooting. We used Apple computers until I purchased my first PC laptop for work in 2000. I no longer need a laptop since I resigned from my community job, so it is time to return to Apple.

We welcomed two new MacBooks into the family last week and each came with a bonus iPod Touch. I can check my email and browse the internet wherever there is a WiFi signal and do not need to subscribe to a service. I am able to add pictures, videos and more songs than I can listen to. I have decided I really like this little gadget now that it is personalized with my favourite images and music. Mind you, The Becka had to provide some coaching assistance with the set up. The unit comes without an instruction booklet and says only to "plug into your computer and follow the directions on the screen". Well those directions were rather vague to say the least.

This tortoise is on the move! Maybe I will even catch up with my children one of these days. Maybe not, but I am still in the race.

August Blues Festival

Our city hosted the annual Blues Festival this past weekend. It has been so successful in the past that extra stages were added this year in the downtown area so three gigs could run concurrently. The main street was closed and vendors sold food, music and handcrafts under tents between the stages. Friday night's weather was perfect but Saturday was a very rainy day. But the show went on regardless and die-hard fans enjoyed their favourite performers.

We went down on Sunday afternoon and the rain started as we arrived. People sat in the audience with umbrellas and full rain suits. We stood in the shelter of the nearby city hall where we could listen to the music and keep dry.

Blues music makes use of blue or worried notes:- flattened 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the scale. The African American style is a lament expressing a desire for a better life. But by putting sad feelings to music, the blue feelings are overcome and successes of life are celebrated. The blues have been a great influence in modern music.

I like the mellow sound of the blues and live performances with real instrumentalists (rather than sound tracks) always interest me. Even with the rain, the mood was festive, not blue. Music is very powerful.

The Becka wrote a post about the festival and included a short video clip here.

A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place

by Ralph Carmichael

There is a quiet place
Far from the rapid pace
Where God can soothe my troubled mind.

Sheltered by tree and flower
There in my quiet hour
With Him my cares are left behind.

Whether a garden small,
Or on a mountain tall
New strength and courage there I find.

And then from that quiet place
I go prepared to face
A new day with love for all mankind.

This post is dedicated to some friends who are dealing with
difficult situations in their lives right now.

(Here is a guitar rendition of the hymn on YouTube.)

Sunday Song

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
Opening to their sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day

All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise:
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Blooming meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are Thine:
Teach us how to love each other, Lift us to the Joy Divine.

Mortals join the mighty chorus, which the morning stars began;
Father-love is reigning o'er us,
Brother-love binds man to man.
Ever singing marching onward, Victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music lifts us sunward In the triumph song of life.

Henry van Dyke (1907)

Music of Christmas: The Huron Carol

For the third Sunday of Advent, I am featuring the first Canadian Christmas carol written in 1643 by Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit missionary to the Huron people.

Sainte-Marie among the Hurons is on Georgian Bay about an hour or so north of Toronto. I remember going there on a class trip when I was in 5th grade and seeing the place where Brebeuf and seven other missionaries were martyred during an Iroquios attack. The historic site has been rebuilt and is visited by thousands of tourists and students each year.

The carol was originally titled Jesous Ahaotonhia and was set to the tune of a French folk song. Bruce Cockburn recorded the carol in its original language in his album Christmas. The lyrics as he sings them are translated into English as follows. (I like this translation entitled Jesus He is Born a lot!)

Have courage, you who are human beings: Jesus, he is born.
The okie spirit who enslaved us has fled.
Don't listen to him for he corrupts the spirits of our thoughts.
Jesus, he is born.
The okie spirits who live in the sky are coming with a message.
They're coming to say, "Rejoice! Mary has given birth. Rejoice!"Jesus, he is born.
Three men of great authority have left for the place of his birth.
Tiscient, the star appearing over the horizon leads them there.
That star will walk first on the path to guide them.
Jesus, he is born.
The star stopped not far from where Jesus was born.
Having found the place it said,"Come this way."
Jesus, he is born.
As they entered and saw Jesus they praised his name.
They oiled his scalp many times, anointing his head with the oil of the sunflower.
Jesus, he is born.
They say, "Let us place his name in a position of honour.
Let us act reverently towards him for he comes to show us mercy.
It is the will of the spirits that you love us, Jesus,
and we wish that we may be adopted into your family.
Jesus, he is born

In 1926, Jesse Edgar Middleton wrote the English lyrics used today for the Anglican hymnal.

Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled
That mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim and wondering hunters heard the hymn,
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.

Within a lodge of broken bark the tender babe was found;
A ragged robe of rabbit skin enwrapped his beauty round
But as the hunter braves drew nigh
the angel song rang loud and high
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.

The earliest moon of wintertime is not so round and fair
As was the ring of glory on the helpless infant there.
The chiefs from far before him
knelt with gifts of fox and beaver pelt.
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.

O children of the forest free,
O seed of Manitou
The holy Child of earth and heaven is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant boy
who brings you beauty peace and joy.
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.

It is sung here by a very popular Canadian acappella group, The Nylons.

Music of Christmas: Come to the Manger

Living Nativity Scene at Christkindl Market

The familiarity of old carols and Christmas songs links us to past generations in traditional observances of the season. Each year new Christmas songs and recordings are introduced and a few of them become new favourites and classic in a different way. Last week Anvilcloud commented on my Advent music post about Joy to the World...

I had no idea this carol was that old. It's nice to still be singing these, but I also like the change that some of the newer songs bring.

There are several newer songs that have become seasonal favourites for myself and our family. Mary Did You Know, Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song), Welcome to our World, Love has Come, Bethlehem's Treasure, Changed by a Baby Boy, and Glad Tidings, are some of the titles I enjoy.

Nearly ten years ago, Donny Osmond released an album called Christmas at Home. One of the tracks is titled Come to the Manger. It was written by Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. He is a poet and musician and has written many songs. I always hit the repeat button for the song below. You can hear Donny Osmond sing it on the player below the words.

What are your favourite "newer" Christmas songs?

Come to the Manger

Written by Peter McCann and Orrin Hatch

It's an old invitation,
Engraved in the heart of one,
To remember when we're drifting apart,
To all races and nations,
To shepherds and kings.

A Savior is born, the age had begun,
when the meek and the mighty are one.
When we all to the manger come.

Come to the manger,
come in our darkest of hours
Wherever we are, the shadows are parted by the light from His star
From all men and women there rises a song
The Savior is born, the age has begun
When the meek and the mighty are one
When we all to the manger come.

Come to the manger
You will find peace in His light
A child so mighty in a stable so small
In His Heavenly Kingdom
There's a place for all
And all that he asks for, is your love in return

A Savior is born, the age has begun
When the meek and the mighty are one,
When we all to the manger come,
When we all to the manger come.

Music of Christmas: Joy to the World

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. I have chosen four Christmas carols to celebrate the season starting with this one by Issac Watts. His 1719 hymnal, Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, included the words of this hymn under his original title of his poem, "The Messiah's Coming and Kingdom." In an effort to bring New Testament meanings to the Old Testament psalms, Watts based "Joy to the World" on the last half of Psalm 98.

Joy To The World
(Psalm 98 of David)

Joy to the world! The Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King,
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns:
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sin and sorrow grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground:
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of His love

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity.

Psalm 98

Issac Watts wrote a contemporary version of Psalm 98 in the 18th century. When The Becka saw this post she told me I had to use this YouTube clip. (Hers is the YouTube savvy generation!) Here is a 20th century version of the carol, a favourite of our children from Claymation Christmas with the California Raisins!.

Addendum - I love it when I pick a topic for a post and find that someone else has been thinking about the same thing. Ginger at For Any Eyes has written an excellent post called Rejoice. It is well worth reading.

Music from the soul

Music preference is a generational thing. The latest music style is sure to disgust parents and delight their offspring. There are so many music styles now that finding music to suit an individual's taste can be be very challenging. Music store gift cards are the only way to go.
I grew up in the 1960's and 70's where music defined the baby boomer generation. It was part of a social revolution that included the civil rights movement and the redefinition of the role of women in society.

I seldom go to movies, but have seen Hairspray three times now (in seven days!). I love the music and the story. And it appealed to my husband and all our daughters. Now that is unusual!
I usually listen to classical music, but enjoy gospel, R&B, soul, and early rock and roll. I prefer original, eclectic sounds to "canned", synthesized music of popular radio stations and public loudspeakers.

Last weekend, our city hosted a three day Blues Festival downtown. (Here is my daughter's take on the evening). The weather was beautiful for sitting outdoors listening to various artists, crowd-watching and and eating different ethnic foods at outdoor tents. The music was original, sung by the people who wrote it, and very enjoyable to listen to. And the crowds that came ensured that this event will become an annual affair.
What is your favourite music?