The peace and quiet are very welcome after what has been a very busy and often turbulent year. At home it has been an unusual year, with none of our habitual peregrinations to Scotland and France, but with substantial changes, necessitating a lot of hard work, taking place here in Wales. In the wider world it has been a year of often shocking political upset, with both the EU referendum in Britain and the presidential election in the USA plumbing new depths of misleading and vitriolic campaigning, and their results plunging our two countries into deep and prolonged economic and political uncertainty.
Into this turbulence and uncertainty comes Advent, with its message of hope and expectation, reminding us that however dark things seem there is always the promise of light and new beginnings. For me, as for most of us, it will inevitably be a busy time, with cards to write, presents to buy and lots of baking to be done. Yet I will try to hold onto this still centre of quiet and hope amid the busyness and the darkness, in anticipation of the joy of Christmas itself.
One of the pleasures of writing my annual Advent Sunday post is deciding what music to include. This year I have chosen a poem written by my friend Christine McIntosh, set to music by her musician husband John, and sung by their church choir at Holy Trinity, Dunoon, Argyll. The exquisite combination of words and music captures perfectly the expectant, trustful hope of Advent. I hope you love it as much as I do.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteOh my... I listen to the toll of this church's bells each Sunday morning... followed a little later by the those of the High Kirk in the other direction. What a delight this short piece is. It has indeed been quite the year. Blessings of first Sunday to you dear 'Perpetua', let us hold onto that promise! YAM xx
I KNEW you'd appreciate this even more because it was recorded in Dunoon, Yam. :) Yes, it really is beautiful and a wonderful contrast to the gloom of so much of this year. Wishing you a blessed Advent too. Such a glorious season.
DeleteLoved listening to your chosen video. Thank you for posting.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, Molly. I find it so beautiful and hopeful.
DeleteYes I do love that Advent Song, which I think I first discovered through your blog a few years back. Listening to it again and looking at the beautiful images is helping me this evening to enter Advent with hope, in spite of the doom and gloom around. The lights shines in the darkness and the darkness does not extinguish it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good memory you have, Nancy. Yes, I shared it in 2011, soon after it was recorded and put on YouTube. We need to enter Advent with hope every year, however difficult it may sometimes be to feel hopeful. The light will always shine.
DeleteLovely to come home to your post following our Advent Sunday worship this morning, then sharing a long lunch with a visiting friend. I agree very much with your sentiments regarding Advent in contrast to what you rightly describe as the 'misleading and vitriolic campaigning' we have seen this year in both the UK & the USA.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the musical link which I've enjoyed listening to.
On a lighter note, your photo perfectly illustrates the problem of commercially produced goods for Advent. That candle would be of no use whatsoever during the first four days of Advent in 2016 :-)
Glad to have added to the enjoyment of your Advent Sunday, Ricky. I can so easily imagine the beauty of St Clements with its hanging Advent wreath. I've really looked forward to the beginning of Advent this year after the extraordinary and deeply worrying months we've lived through since the spring. What a year!
DeleteYour comment about commercial Advent goods made me smile. My Advent candle is burning as I type, but luckily it has more than an inch of plain wax above the first date mark which should be enough to see me through until the 1st. :)
It is indeed a beautiful piece Perpetua. Oddly enough for a modern piece of writing it has an almost medieval sound. Since I am battling a nasty cold I missed our own Advent service today so will accept your music as a consolation prize. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it, Ray. That's what I felt too and I think it's one of the reasons I like it so much. I love plainchant and early polyphony. Sorry to hear you're not well. Take care. These colds can be very nasty as I found out last winter.
DeleteDear Perpetua, did you know I was thinking about you this morning as the first candle of Advent was lit at church? I look forward to your postings as I look forward to the Advent season. This is so lovely, especially these words of the poem/song.
ReplyDeleteas the night falls around me
hear my prayer
and come through the darkness
hold me waiting
as you wait to be born
I think I have needed this awaiting time more than ever this year. Many of us wander perplexed and in a state near that of grieving for this particularly troubling season here. I choose to be hopeful that peace will prevail.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for the kind thoughts, Penny. I must admit you and my other American friends were very much in my mind as I wrote the post. You're going through very much the same range of emotions as I and others who don't want to leave the EU felt and are still feeling as the mess unfolds. Let's both hold on tightly to the Advent promises of peace and hope.
DeleteExcellent choir with a very fine solo treble. The poet and composer must have been thrilled with that recording
ReplyDeleteAccording to her blog, it was sung by a quartet of voices which included Christine and John. I agree the treble is wonderful. The recording was made at the first performance during an Advent Choral Evensong on Dec 4th 2011 and uploaded to YouTube a couple of days later.
DeleteThat treble was amazing, I agree and the song was really very solemn and peaceful, medieval as you put it, Ray! The lyrics are just right, this time of year is such a rushhour, people love the season and the merchants make the most of it, but we won't come to a halt and ponder on what the Lords arrival means in the deepest sense. I looked in to Christines blog and she really is serious about this. Thank you Perpetua for sharing these important moments and that lovely song.
ReplyDeleteIt really is lovely, isn't it, Solveig? It's so appropriate at this special but far too busy season. I find it speaking to me particularly this year after so much political and social turmoil in the UK and USA. We need to slow down and find time to reflect and hold onto Advent's promise of hope.
DeleteWhat a wonderful and deeply moving song. Thank you for sharing it with us. And thank you for the reminder, which is needed quite frequently these days, that we need to hold onto hope, no matter how despairing we feel about current events.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it so much, Kristie. I loved it when I first came across it on Christine's blog 5 years ago and wanted to share it again. It's hard sometimes to hold onto hope in the face of world events, but we can't stop trying to do so.
DeleteI so agree with your thoughts. Last evening I attended our Advent Carol Service, which begins in total darkness and then follows a long procession of choristers followed by torches to the rear of the church. The music is medieval, but very similar to the sounds that you have shared with us in this post. For me this period before Christmas is an important time for prayer, renewal and preparation. And this year more than most others very much needed...
ReplyDeleteGosh, that sounds wonderful, Broad! I know from your posts in past years how much Advent means to you, so I'm glad this year's Advent Carol Service lived up to expectation. This lovely song does sound very medieval in many ways. To me it's reminiscent of plainchant or very early polyphony. I hope Advent brings you some much-needed peace.
DeleteI'm thrilled to see our song here, and to read all these lovely responses to it - what more could a writer or musician want? We were pleased with the recording - the acoustic in our church is very fine - and it still makes my hair stand on end when I listen to it. There was a deliberately Palestinian feel to that descending scale ...
ReplyDeleteAll the praise is very much deserved, Christine. I loved this the first time I heard it and really wanted my readers to have the chance to hear it again. The recording is excellent and it was so beautifully and movingly sung. Thanks for the explanation about the Palestinian influence. I wouldn't have recognised it, I'm afraid. To me it has an almost medieval feel, but of course plainsong had a distinct middle Eastern influence.
DeleteBeautiful song and music Perpetua. This year has been turbulent for me with my partner being diagnosed with dementia and is now waiting in hospital for a placement in a rest home. The message of Advent is especially reflective this year.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it, Shirley. I'm so very sorry to hear of your difficult year and of your partner's diagnosis. I do hope a suitable placement can be found soon and that the settling-in process goes well. I hope Advent brings you some respite from worry.
DeleteA beautiful song, Perpetua. Thank you for sharing. I hope you find joy and renewal in this holiday season.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer. It has been my pleasure to share it again. Wishing you and your family the same for the coming season.
DeleteJust what I needed. Thank you P for this inspiring music.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome. I think we all crave some peace and inspiration this year.
DeleteSuch a moving piece: thank you for posting it.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe - though I have the evidence of my ears and eyes - that the world in which I grew up, so full of hope for the future, has descended into barbarism in so short a time.
There is still, for me, the aspect of Advent which cries out for redressment of wrongs: the overthrow of injustice....and which brings with it hope that this will come about.
Yes, it's wonderful, Helen, and I'm glad it has spoken to so many people.
DeleteYou and I are the same age to within a month and I know exactly what you mean. We were born into a world looking forward and rebuilding after the horrors of world war and now we are again in a very dark and dangerous political landscape.
You are right that Advent speaks to this, with its promise of transformation and liberation, redemption and hope. When in doubt I read Isaiah or listen to Handel's Messiah.
What a beautiful song for Advent, Perpetua. Exquisite music and words, and lovely images perfect for the season. It was lovely to see you blogging again, always a pleasure to see you pop up in the 'in box'. 2016 has been a strange year, both internationally and personally for me, too. The serenity of this music is just what we need. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful, Patricia? To me it suits the Advent season perfectly. I'm glad to see it being appreciated so much. I'm sorry my blogging has been so intermittent this year. It's been such an odd, difficult year and I'll be relieved when it's over and we can look forard to a new year. But first the joy of Christmas... :)
DeleteI hope this finds you and yours doing well. May we display your header on our new site directory? As it is now, the site title (linked back to its home page) is listed, and we think displaying the header will attract more attention. In any event, we hope you will come by and see what is going on at SiteHoundSniffs.com.
ReplyDeletePlease go ahead, Jerry, though I don't have a pictorial header to brighten things up.
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