Monday Music Appreciation #50: Laudate Dominum

Wow, we're up to 50 music appreciation moodlings! And I've chosen this particular piece because we had such a great time singing/praying it last night at our local ecumenical evening prayer.

If you're a regular moodlings follower, you'll know that for the past 14 years or more, I've been organizing an almost monthly prayer evening because of my love for the music of Taizé and the Taizé community's very simple style of prayer. Silence, scripture and song, with no preaching, just a chance to let God's voice ring in our hearts. And last night's Prayer for the Marginalized was extra special somehow... 

When I arrived to set up at the church that was hosting us, the pastor told me that the furnace wasn't heating the church sanctuary, so we'd have our prayer in the basement where it was warmer. So we rearranged some chairs and tables and set up in a low-ceilinged hall, and people filed down to the basement to pray with us. Somehow, I had no matches to light our candles, but God provided a friend with a lighter last minute!

It was a cozy and intimate prayer space, and because we were closer together, the sound was incredible, as was the silence for meditation. There were many heartfelt prayers for all those being marginalized in our society and world, and I felt a very strong sense of community in praying with the people who came, many of whom are familiar faces from different churches in our area and beyond.

We ended the evening with the chant below, and it filled me with so much joy that I couldn't stop myself from singing the Alleluia descant with Mackenzie, who certainly didn't need my help! The musicians in our little Taizé group have been playing together long enough that they seem to intuit exactly what should happen next. When we got to the last ostinato of Laudate Dominum, Mackenzie glanced over at me, we dropped volume together, then ended the last half at full volume and with big smiles. Such a rush!

If you live in our city, and have yet to join us for our evenings of Ecumenical Prayer, our Lenten Prayer will be held at Spirit of Hope United Church (7909 83 Ave) on March 16 at 7 p.m. Bring friends and neighbours if you like!

The version of Laudate Dominum I am sharing today is in French, but it has gorgeous nature scenes and amazing French descants that outstrip the English ones we have by miles, praising God's greatness for restoring us to life, saving our feet from stumbling, and so many other good things you can say when praising God!

Because I can't send this video via the mailchimp program (sorry, email subscribers), here is the link to it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAgT4bPJ5W4

But if you are looking directly on www.simplemoodlings.blogspot.com, you should be able to see it below. Have a wonderful week and stay warm!

Simple Suggestion #265... Sing with a friend

I think it began on my 17th birthday. My best friend, Cathy, happened to be in town, and we went for a long walk together. And somewhere on that walk, she taught me to sing "When I first came to this land." I still remember all of the words, I think. I probably taught her a song, too. So there we were, two seventeen-year-olds, walking along the North Saskatchewan River, singing two part harmony.

And it grew from there. In October, the day our trains got all messed up, we unexpectedly found ourselves at a train station in rural France... learning another song in two parts. We've got several duets that we like to sing together, and one evening not so long ago when I was really missing her (she lives 1284 km away), I called her up. When she said "Hello?" I launched into this song, and of course she joined right in:

I have been fortunate to have sung with many friends through the years. I'm particularly pleased to have reconnected with a fellow I used to sing with in a youth group as a teenager. We're both three decades older now, but somehow our voices still fit together like lego blocks. It gives me so much joy to sing harmony with him at church once a month because somehow I can just feel in my bones when he'll begin and what my next note should be, thanks mostly to our early years of collaboration, I think. And there are other friends whose voices are imprinted in my soul from other times, people  with whom I'd like to think I could pick up a tune at the drop of a hat.

Then there are my sisters. We sang together in the car on long trips when we were little... and learned a few melodies in three part harmony in our teens. I loved singing with them, but our regular monthly gig at church ended about ten years ago and has never been replaced by anything else. Sisters, if you ever want to sing non-church music together, just the three of us, I'm game! A capella if you want!

Today's simple suggestion to sing with a friend doesn't mean the music needs to be high quality or aired in public. Even if you don't consider yourself to be a musical person, it can be fun to find a friend and sing along to the radio or attend an in-home karaoke night. All that's needed for guaranteed mood improvment is a friend, a fun little ditty, and a willingness to sing your hearts out. Singing along with Sharon, Lois and Bram or Charlotte Diamond with our kids when they were small made a lot of car trips a lot more pleasant!

Sing with a friend, just for the health of it. And if you have a favourite song that you like to sing with a favourite someone, I'd love to hear about it!