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Part of starting back to choir is getting new music. Many singers say that this is one of the best things about beginning a new choir season: “Sing a new song unto the Lord!” Most of the choral pieces we have in our library go with the theme of the day or focus on the Word. Sometimes a new piece is discovered at Montreat, or a colleague suggests something their choir has sung with success. Through the upcoming sermon series, you will hear some of those new anthems. The series is inspired by a hymn, “Let Us Build a House” (301 in our hymnbook, Glory to God).
On Sunday, we will sing “In Communion” by Ruth Elaine Schram. “Ruthie” wrote her first song at the age of twelve and published her first octavo (anthem) twenty years later. The next Sunday, the sermon series begins and we will sing “Beloved, Let Us Love One Another” by Pepper Choplin. Pepper is not only a composer but also an entertainer and humorist. He is widely published and is a North Carolinian!
Most groups have already begun. The children were all charged up, having had a long weekend off. We learned some new songs and focused on our theme of “Cornerstone.” If you didn’t make it to your group, it’s not too late. Come to rehearsals and sing a new song!
I have to say something about the new locks on the church. Every time we talk about them, it reminds me of one of the songs in Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes. Back in the 1980s, I conducted the Liebeslieder Waltzes in our church. Donna Nilsson and Claudia Theise accompanied the chorus and soloists.
12. Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser
German Lyrics:
Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser,
Schlösser ohne Zahl;
denn die bösen Mäuler will ich
schließen allzumal.
English Translation:
“Locksmith—get up and make your locks,
locks without number;
for I want to lock up
all the evil mouths.”
The “solution” to the toxicity of the poisonous mouths is, of course, to ask a locksmith (Schlosser in German) to create locks that cannot be opened—hence, asking for “locks without numbers.” However, given the time period the text was written, it may more accurately mean an innumerable amount of locks. Either way, I am sure Brahms would agree.
This song has a great amount of staccato notes, which may portray that in the same way the notes themselves are limited in duration, the locks limit what the people they are on can say! — wordpress.com
I’m just glad the locks are on the doors and not on people, LOL!
Love & Gratitude,
Rhonda
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