Week 29

I found it very hard to write a post this week. I’m still in the process of moving (spreading it out over a month is not ideal!) so I’m tired and off-kilter. I’m also anxious, like so many others, because of the goings-on in the world. And I didn’t get out of town like I have many other weeks, nor did I take out my camera.

I almost gave up on writing it – I figured it was okay to skip a week – but decided that, more than just having a desire to meet my commitment of a weekly blog, I simply needed to write. It’s not my best post – it’s a bit rambling and out of focus like the photo at the top – but I’m posting it as perfectly imperfect.

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Moving is stressful. So is the current political climate. I’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple of weeks looking to put my life and the world around us into perpective. I needed something to support the notion of ‘this too shall pass’.

I realized I was looking for timelessness.

Faith is timeless. So is community. I’ve experienced a lot of that this week. The arts are also timeless. Visual arts, theatre, literature, music. I’ve decided to focus on music this week. I know I talk about it a lot, but it’s what brings me the greatest joy and comfort.

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I inherited my love of music from my mother’s side of the family. I find solace in the way it both soothes and evokes memories. And although it often brings me back to very specific points in time, it can also bring the perspective of the ages. Music lasts.

Research has shown that music is one of the last things we forget. My Grandmother loved music. She was 91 when she died after many years of dementia. When I visited her for the last time before she died, it had been a long time since she had recognized anyone. She couldn’t even acknowledge that I was sitting next to her.

She seemed completely absent but, when volunteers began singing with other residents in the nursing home lounge, she started to sing along in a whispery thin voice. “Let me call you sweetheart, I’m in love with you. Let me hear you whisper that you love me too.” I would have loved to have known where she was in that moment. Music stayed with her long after her mind failed.

The perspective of timelessness I’ve been looking for shows up in the way music has lasted through centuries. Music has always been used in praise and in protest, to celebrate and to mourn.

Pieces written hundreds of years ago remain familiar and are still enjoyed today. Think of operas, like Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, which was first perfomed in 1918. Then go back from there through the work of Bach (1685-1750) and Beethoven (1770-1827). Going back further, we find compositions such as the Gregorian Chants of the 9th and 10th centuries.

In the words of Stevie Wonder in his song, Sir Duke:

Music is a world within itself
With a language we all understand
With an equal opportunity
For all to sing, dance and clap their hands

Music knows that it is and always will
Be one of the things that life just won’t quit

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Here is a walk back through music of the ages. Some of it is very personal to me and some is simply a recognition of the timelessness of music. All of it brings me comfort.

2020

I am a massive fan of Brandi Carlile, especially her collaborations. Her song, A Beautiful Noise, was written with Alicia Keys and would have been as relevant through history as it is today.

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1977

Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke regularly ran down the batteries in my transistor radio. I listened to it over and over, often falling asleep with the radio tucked under my pillow.

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1918

Even if you don’t know opera, you might recognize Pucchini’s O Mio Babbino Caro. With apologies to my friends from the world of opera, I’m posting a version performed by violinist, Joshua Bell. It’s under 4 minutes long – I encourage you to close your eyes, breathe deeply, and let yourself be transported back in time.

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1910

In memory of my Grandma S, here is Let Me Call You Sweetheart, written by Bing Crosby.

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1890

I grew up listening to hymns. I have a playlist on Spotify of some of my favourites, many of which are sung a capella. This is one of them – O Love That Will Not Let Me Go – written by George Matheson.

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1808

Thanks to cinema and tv, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 is likely one of the most recognized pieces of classical music. It’s hard to believe that something written 217 years ago could still be so familiar to us.

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12th century

I had forgotten about Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179) and was happy to rediscover her when I looked for women composers in history. Such beautiful music!

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I needed a photo for the week so I took one of the mimosa tree in Pezenas that recently burst into bloom. It’s a reminder to me that seasons are also timeless. Whether you’re still digging out of mounds of snow in Toronto or enjoying a warmth in another part of the world, know that the seasons ‘they go round and round’. And I pray that this too – the stress and anxiety – shall soon pass.

1966

À bientôt .