Singing feeds my soul

I mentioned in an early post that music can be a spiritual experience. I am part of a small a capella singing group (The Undertones). We are learning some new music for the fall and then starting on Christmas music. The piece I am finding really feeds me is an arrangement of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. (Click on the title to see and hear a version from YouTube) It is written for a piano accompaniment, but the harmonies and the rest of the arrangement is beautiful without the piano. We have only worked on it for two weeks and I am really loving the experience - so much so that I want to add verses to it and arrange an extended version of the song.

As well, we are beginning the Christmas music. There is an arrangement of an old madrigal - Lullay My Liking - that has been renewed by the King Singers that we are struggling to learn. The arrangement is beautiful, but extremely difficult as it brings in lots of dissonance - not the typical thing for Christmas, but truly fitting for this song. I think, once I can master the part, that I will feel similarly about this song as I do for Hallelujah.

I'm not sure what it is about singing and the music that is so spiritual for me. In this journey from Water to Wine, I figure I should be contemplating in greater depth those activities that seem to "imbue" me more with my sense of who I am as a spiritual being. Perhaps it is the sense of music and what it does to me physically. There are the vibrations of my own voice, but also those of the others who are singing with me. There is that connection to others when we make music together - a sense that we are creating something together that can't be replicated by anyone else - at least not exactly. Our voices are unique and their combined sound is unique. When we take a piece of music and perform it together, we also do it slightly differently each time. This makes each time something special (sometimes in a "not so much" great way...).

Getting lost in a piece of music is also a deep thing for me. I don't mean lost as in "where the heck am I?", but lost in that I cease to be an individual singer, but part of a whole that is only created by the group singing. I feel like I have left my body and combined in some way with the others in a totally non-physical way. It certainly isn't an experience that happens regularly. However, it seems to be happening more often as the group becomes more familiar with each other and we build trust.

We auditioned a new member last evening and the discussion following the audition was new for us. The person auditioning had a great audition. However, we discussed the idea that she might have real difficulty blending with the other voices in the group. This would not be a problem if our goal is to get together and have some fun with the music. If our goal is to have that "getting lost in the music" kind of experience, then we have to reconsider. That experience only happens when the voices blend together as one. I recognize that voices can't literally blend together "as one" when we are singing different parts, but there is that quality of blending where we share the same "shape" of sound. One member was trying to explain this without my use of "getting lost" in the music. I could see that she was having difficulty being understood. I really thought about it on my way home and I think that the "getting lost" analogy is what works for me. There is something magical about that when it happens. I get the sense that we have a common goal, that we have an understanding of each other that goes deeper than what we actually know about each other. There really is a sense for me that it is not my human self that is part of this, but that I have returned to my spiritual self for that time and that the others have done the same. This is why, perhaps, that the trust is such a crucial aspect of the relationship within the group. It is likely why I felt pretty crappy about how the evening ended.

We went on to practice the Lullay piece and it was obvious that we hadn't worked it as much as we needed to. It hurt the trust that we had been building. It's interesting that trust issues become so interwoven with every relationship. It affects the quality of the music experience. I know that I was interrupted in my work on the piece and I needed to return to it. Something happened and it didn't happen. I add this because I want to be clear that I am not blaming "others." I am accepting that I was definitely a "trespasser." I hope that I can be very forgiving of my trespassers for the next two weeks. I want to be forgiven for this trespass! I find that I want to work harder on my music because we seem to be approaching this potentiality for getting lost in the music. I want to do everything I can to nurture this rather than detract from it. I wish I was a better piano player (I am "not so much" any kind of piano player!). I need to find a way to get some help in practicing pieces. I will find the way. It is important to me, so I will find a way.

On to the more mundane. Below is the must today! The specific gravity has changed considerably. We are now at 1.40 (from 1.80). The temperature has changed from just over 15 Celsius to 28 Celsius. The yeast is really gobbling up the sugars! Along with the heat, it is producing alcohol. I just love the process. The entire space now smells like fermentation as well. I wonder how the lunch group will feel about it when they meet in there today. It is a group of businessmen who meet once a week for prayer and fellowship. I hope they don't find the smell too objectionable.

As the must bubbles and churns, I guess my own thoughts have been running along beside it. I am glad!

I am open to comments from any readers. Even though this is targeted to youth, I would welcome some dialogue. Understanding is difficult to achieve in isolation (if not impossible).