Awakening?
Deborah Venable
10/06/09
I’ve
wanted to do this piece for some time now.
About a year ago my son introduced me to a musical group that I had never
heard of. Now, since he was barely
eighteen at the time, you’re probably saying, “Wow! Big deal that a teenager would have musical tastes that his much
older mom wouldn’t necessarily share or even know about.” Well, folks, you don’t know this particular
teenager. He listens to and can tell me
more about Classical music than I ever learned – and I studied music
appreciation a long time ago in school.
Anyway, he can also tell me more than I want to know about other more
modern genres. (Small snicker allowed
here.)
Anybody
that reads much of what I have to say knows how proud I am of my kids, and that
isn’t the whole point of this piece, although it is definitely woven into the
theme. My son is a connoisseur of
beautiful female voices, (as well as beautiful females in general) and he
showed me some clips of “Celtic Woman” which fit both categories
perfectly.
Their
beauty and talent are stunning.
Celtic
Woman is a group of five young Irish women, one of whom is an extremely
accomplished violinist. They have
enjoyed a smashing success worldwide with their albums and live
performances. In fact, they are
currently touring the United States again, and their dates are often sold
out. My son and his sister, Heather,
attended a concert in Birmingham this past spring and enjoyed it
immensely.
My
kids all love music and appreciate a large variety of it, which shouldn’t be
surprising since there is an age difference of twenty years between the oldest
and youngest. I have always thought
that music is the universal language, and if appreciated and understood can
bridge many social and cultural gaps in humanity. It can inspire and awaken senses in that mysterious thing we call
the human soul.
Various
religions have their own rules and regulations concerning music and the
activities it encourages. Within the
Christian religion alone we find a wide ranging set of taboos – from no musical
instruments allowed, to dancing condemning one to hell, and even the simple
admonition of frivolity to anyone involved in the production or enjoyment of
music. I believe our current president
stated that the sweetest sound he ever heard was the Muslim call to prayer,
which is a kind of music I suppose.
We’ve seen music, (which isn’t really music to some of us), reach down
to the poorest ghettos and lift hopeless poverty to the pinnacles of wealth
with a sometimes irritating rhyme to rhythm – as is the case with much of the
“rap” industry. Inspired by the devil
or a gift from God, no matter what you think, music is perhaps the only
language that has the ability to speak to the universal soul.
Sometimes
it is the only language I wish to hear.
As
we are approaching the holiday season here in America, I know we will be inundated
with stories about the Christmas carol battles. How much ground will Christians lose or gain back this year I
wonder? How many stores will be brave
enough to pipe Christmas carols throughout their shopping areas as they ask
individuals to spend their ever-dwindling funds on Christmas gift giving? How many schools and city halls will allow
the existence of nativity scenes on their public grounds?
One
battle has already been waged and won when the U.S. Forest Service initially
banned
school children from mentioning Jesus or Christmas on the ornaments being
prepared for the Capitol Christmas Tree, which was chosen this year from the
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in Arizona.
That order was rescinded. Now
that’s something to sing about, although it was an ill placed order in the
first place. It makes as much sense as
if Christians demanded that Muslims not mention anything religious in their
call to prayer in their own countries – much less here in America!
No
doubt we are a sick country, my fellow Americans. Perhaps now, though, we are in a long, slow awakening
process. Much of the sickness has been
just that – a sleeping sickness that has made us all too often unaware of what
was going on around us. Generations
have been raised while we were under this veil of sleep and this sickness of
spirit. Far too much of our language
has been lost to it. Our roots have
been starved of the nutrients of cognizant heritage, and we have trouble
communicating with our past or translating to our future.
But there is the universal language of music. It can touch your soul if you let it.
Celtic
Woman has a song in their current repertoire called, O' America. Watch
them perform it from this link.
Remember their beauty and sincerity that comes across in every lyric the
next time someone tries to tell you that everyone hates America. These women are not Americans.
After
you’ve viewed that video, then click on this one and listen to the same song again, but with a
beautifully told story of America in pictures.
If your soul is not touched, if some of your hopelessness and bitterness
are not soothed, then you are to be greatly pitied, and I doubt if there is any
language that can get through to you.
Awakening? Yes, I think we may be awakening. I must be hopeful that my children and
grandchildren will have the chance to experience the full spirit of what has
always been America, even though many of those in power right now would do
everything they could to limit the ability to do so.