23 Dec … forever and ever, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Blessings.
I am profoundly grateful to be on the receiving end of so many blessings and good wishes. And in a year like the one we have had, it feels good to also sprinkle them around to everyone around me.
May you be using it to rest and replenish with those who love you, no matter where they may be.
Separation is a state of mind, not miles.
Hallelujah chorus
Where does your mind take you each time you hear the majestic Hallelujah chorus? It may be sitting in front of the telly, watching an ad for Holiday shopping. Singing the high notes with your parish choir during Christmas. Or surrounded by a loud standing audience belting it at full power at the Met’s sing-a-long Messiah in Lincoln Center accompanied by the thrum of the kettle drums. Maybe the feel of handing your dog-eared familiar orange Novello score, all marked up and highlighted, to a new-soon-to-be-dear-friend looking to join a choir in a new city. Like “White Christmas” it is part of the soundtrack for this time of year, regardless of your religious affiliation.
Well, I would like to gift you a little something. It encapsulates so many parts of me and my passions. In this year when we are punched and pummeled by Covid and Climate, visual performances like this remind me why I want to get back up on my feet to fight for our Earth:
- Music – a treat of that lush quintessential Christmas classic Handel’s Messiah. But with a twist. Great memories. Like comfort food.
- Travel – this video should be used by Tourism Canada! The stunning photography showcases the scenery in this immense country, from sea to shiny sea, with ice from the tall mountains to the humble Canadian ice rink
- Nature – from sun leaking between the autumn leaves of New Brunswick to the rain in British Columbia and the weak winter sun in the North West Territories, filming crossed each of Canada’s ten provinces
- Inclusivity – across all the ages, our First Nations, the colours and complexities that make up this such a beautiful nation, and indeed, our world. This production has taken the familiar music and offers it in the variety of languages spoken.
- Hope – as your heart lifts with the music, may you also feel that spark of hope that we are all searching for
Click below and be enveloped in a feast for your eyes, ears and emotions.
What is the twist?
AtG, partnered with the TSO, creating something very special.
They stitched together the fabric of Canada, with scenery & singers representing the length and breadth of this country. Each province is represented, some singing in their native languages. I have put time stamps below for the more familiar sounds.
My musical favourites (obviously) are the familiar choral pieces, particularly the Hallelujah Chorus and the Great Amen. But the visuals are stunning – particularly from the Yukon, Nunavut and Newfoundland.
05:46 ‘No 2. Comfort ye my people’ From Vancouver BC, Spencer Britten (English)
12:50 ‘No. 5. Thus saith the Lord’ From Alberta, Jonathan Adams (English)
18:15 ‘No. 7. And he shall purify’ From Prince Edward Island, University of PEI Chamber singers (English)
21:00 ‘No. 9. O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion’ From the Yukon, Diyet (if you only watch one, watch this!!) (sung in southern Tutchone)
26:56 ‘No. 12. For unto us a son is born’ From New Brunswick, Le Choeur Louisbourg (English)
31:20 ‘No. 13. Pastoral Symphony Pifa’ From Ontario, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
32:15 ‘No. 18. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion’ From Manitoba, Andrea Lett (English)
37:05 ‘No 20. He shall feed his flock’ From Nunavut, Looee Arreak (Inuktitut) and From Alberta, Julie Lumsden (English)
41:45 ‘No. 23. He was despised’ From Quebec, Rihab Chaib (French)
45:55 ‘No. 38. How beautiful are the feet’ From Newfoundland & Labrador, Deantha Edmunds (Inuttitut)
48:36 ‘No. 40. Why do the nations so furiously rage together?’ Alberta’s Catherine Daniel (English)
51:25 ‘No. 44. Hallelujah’ From Ontario, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (English)
55:15 ‘No 45. I know my redeemer liveth’ From Northwest Territories, Leela Gilday (Dene)
1:01:00 ‘No. 47. Behold I tell you a mystery’ From Ontario, Elliot Madore (English)
1:05:35 ‘No. 52. If God be for us’ From Ontario, Miriam Khalil (Arabic)
1:11:08 ‘No. 53. Worthy is the lamb’ From Nova Scotia, Halifax Camarata Singers (English)
1:14:40 ‘No. 53. Great Amen’
If you like this, please feel free to share it, and if it moves you, please join me in supporting Against the Grain Theatre with a donation: https://atgtheatre.com/donate
God bless us, everyone. See you next week.
Karena
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