Several weeks ago, I noticed that the most viewed post on my blog was Taize: Veni Sancte Spiritus. This morning I checked the stats and see that in the last quarter that post has been viewed 482 times. It is a 2016 post, so most viewers are probably finding my post through a Taize internet search. It is understandable that people would be looking for peace and inspiration from Taize music during the pandemic.
Below is the English version of Veni Sancte Spiritus. To read about some of my experiences with Taize, to hear the original version of the song and to read the English lyrics go to my 2016 post.
In normal times, there are congregations singing Taize music in Christian churches (Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, etc.) all over the world. Yesterday, a friend sent me the link to a choir that was created to sing a Taize song pandemic style.
My daughter Chaitanya and my son Sreejit (now Br. Sattvamrita Chaitanya) live at Amma’s Amritapuri ashram in Kerala, India. People from all religions come to Amma, and all religions are respected.
For ten years, my son and daughter were very instrumental in creating the Christmas play that was performed on Christmas Eve. My daughter wrote and directed the plays and Sattvamrita and his friends composed most of the tunes. The plays were performed in the style of Broadway musicals.
One of my favorite musicals was the one in December, 2012. It was titled God is Able. The setting was a Southern style Gospel church. Sattvamrita was the preacher! The story line included the stories of Moses leading the Jews to the promised land, Rachael being healed by touching Jesus’ garment, and a fictional account of the heart of an angry store keeper being healed.
I will never forget the moment in the play when the stage doors opened and the sparkling “Gospel Choir” became visible. It seemed like everyone in the auditorium did a collective gasp. Part of the reason I remember the gasp and the thunderous applause and shouts that followed the song so well is that I was part of the choir!!!
Two or three days ago, I noticed that someone had visited my blog and found a post I had written about that play. The post contained the song our choir had sung; it was titled Dear God. The tune was written by Sattvamrita and the lyrics by Chaitanya.
I found the post and pressed the Dear God play button. As soon as the song began, I burst into tears; the deepest tears I have felt in many years. I think the tears were particularly sparked by hearing my son’s voice. It is stressful being on the other side of the world from my “kids” during the pandemic even though all of us are doing fine.
I’m still crying each time I play the song. In addition to hearing Sattvamrita’s voice, my tears may be from the message that the song holds, from the beauty of the music, and/or from reliving the memories of that magical night.
The mp3 recording and the lyrics are below. I hope you enjoy it.
When you feel like darkness has you bound And you can’t see any way to get out There’s a power which surrounds us all Through God anything is possible
Never fear Never let your doubts draw near With courage face all that comes Put your trust into God’s arms He’ll protect you from all harm His love will carry you on through
Dear God, hold us tight never let us leave thy sight Dear God, fill our soul with your love make us whole
Sattvamrita singing above the choir:
God is able to calm the wild storm God is able to make the weak strong God is able to bring change within God is able to do all things
Today, a friend sent me a link to a video of an Assyrian Greek Orthodox choir singing in Aramaic to Pope Francis. Listening to it gave me goosebumps so I wanted to share it with you.
The performance took place in Georgia, a country in Eurasia. The video has been uploaded onto YouTube by different groups. Some say the song is “Our Father,” others say it is Psalm 53 and yet another says it is Psalm 16. In looking at the translations I think it may be Psalm 16, but I don’t know. What I do know is that it is beautiful.
I love watching the path my mind takes when I am determining what song to use for the Song Lyric Sunday challenge. I start by thinking about what songs would address the theme for the week, but I often don’t end up there.
This week the theme was protest songs. The song I used for my second week of doing this challenge was We Shall Overcome so I considered some of the 60’s protest songs. But then my mind went a different direction. I thought about two of the Blues songs my son Sreejit wrote some years back. I listened to them both, but as I was considering them, another song came to mind.
My daughter Chaitanya and my son Sreejit live at Amma’s Amritapuri ashram in Kerala, India. People for all religions come to Amma, and all religions are respected. For the last seven or eight years my son and daughter have been very instrumental in creating the Christmas play that is performed on Christmas Eve each year. Chaitanya writes and directs the plays and Sreejit and his friends compose most of the tunes. The plays are in the style of Broadway musicals.
The particular play that came to my mind was performed in 2012 and was titled God is Able. The setting was a Southern style Gospel church. Sreejit was the preacher! The story line covered the stories of Moses leading the Jews to the promised land, Rachael being healed by touching Jesus’ garment, and a fictional account of the heart of an angry store keeper being healed. I never will forget the moment in the play when the stage doors opened and our sparkling “Gospel Choir” became visible. It seemed like everyone in the auditorium did a collective gasp. Part of the reason I remember the gasp and the thunderous applause and shouts that followed our song so well is that I was part of the choir!!!
The song I have chosen is Dear God. The tune was written by Sreejit and the lyrics by Chaitanya. It is not a protest song but it is a song that is very relevant to times of darkness which is often what proceeds protest.
The mp3 recording and the lyrics are below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I still do!
When you feel like darkness has you bound And you can’t see any way to get out There’s a power which surrounds us all Through God anything is possible
Never fear Never let your doubts draw near With courage face all that comes Put your trust into God’s arms He’ll protect you from all harm His love will carry you on through
Dear God, hold us tight never let us leave thy sight Dear God, fill our soul with your love make us whole
Sreejit singing above the choir:
God is able to calm the wild storm God is able to make the weak strong God is able to bring change within God is able to do all things
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”-William Shakespeare
Living, Learning and Letting Go 