It has been my family's tradition to listen to beautiful music during Christmas that every year, my wife and I make a point to attend the Vancouver Cantata Singers' Christmas Reprise. In the concert, the choral group performs a variety of Christmas Carols, many of which are prayers and sacred texts set by composers to musical compositions. In all of these pieces, the listeners are undoubtedly treated to beautiful choral pieces. The undulation of the euphonic voices can mimic what one might feel when he or she is in a deep and prayerful communion with God. Instead of simple utterances, however, the poem or text married to the music becomes the prayer itself that carries the listener’s soul to its creator – a fleeting ecstasy that can be so sublime that the experience is nothing short of spiritual.
One of my favorite pieces is called “Magnum Mysterium”. This music, with it's simple text, always brings me to tears. The tears, however, are not from sadness, nor from a recollection of a happy memory, but tears perhaps from an inward realization of an intangible beauty which I can only behold with my ears and that my heart's only reaction is to follow suit. The amazing thing is that once the soul experiences this beauty, then, an insatiable desire to behold more of it is further kindled that the only way to quench this inclination is to continually experience the sublime, as if this soul is meant to be united forever with beauty itself. I have put together a playlist that my family and I listen to during Christmas. This is by no means an exhaustive list but have a listen and I hope you too, can experience the beauty. You can access the playlist below.
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About MeIn the thirteen years of my teaching career, I have come believe that children need to be taught holistically where there is a balance between the spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual development of the student. Archives
September 2023
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