On Becoming a Hermit, Sort of ... Day 60

Day 60
(Friday, 15th May 2020)

What happened today? I guess there could be a lot to report, but, as is the case occasionally, when I have given a commentary of my views on what's going on in the outside World, today I will simply give thanks.

To my wife, the saviour of my life.

To my children and their demonstrable abilities at surviving in a difficult World. To their children, our grandchildren, in whom we hope that their instinct not only for survival, but also for humanity, compassion, kindness and love will remain as strong as it is with my family.

To our regular Tai Chi sessions that are keeping mind and body tethered.

To the institutions of Family and Community as the roots of all that is hopeful in the World.

To my singing groups, Hallmark of Harmony and Fox Valley Voices, in which and in whom I have found great reward, huge reward from singing unencumbered, unaccompanied and uninhibited harmonies that resonate on so many levels.
To a couple of quartets, Needle & Fred, now sadly no more, and a budding one that's barely got off the ground yet, whose current name 'Quartetto Mista' needs changing. Yes I know the pedants amongst you will be thinking that's mixed genders; it should be Quartetto Misto, but you need to know it's a mixed quartet - two guys and two gals. So that should be all I need to say about that.

To all those, who give their time for the benefit of others, without expectation of pay or material reward.

To all those heroes in the World, who try to make it better for everyone else. They are not named here, but I will name them in the near future. To all those self-serving, selfish, greedy people, who are driven by some internal, uncontrollable force for self-enrichment ... that they may one day realise how important are all those aforementioned heroes, how important are the aforementioned human values in maintaining and sustaining all the flora and fauna of this glorious Mother Earth in some kind of harmonious coexistence. 

To music ... and today's choice from Clemency Burton-Hill is a song by Gabriel Faure that I used to sing in the first choir I joined nearly fifteen years ago. It is "Cantique de Jean Racine, Op.11". Even now I can almost remember my part, which in those days, before I learned some proper singing skills and became a bass, was the tenor part, which is demandingly high in places, but as beautiful as ever from this composer. Incidentally, Clemency tells us that Faure was nineteen when he composed this and submitted it for a competition at the Ecole Niedermeyer de Paris - and won it! The rest is history. Even if you don't understand the words, 'Verbe gal auTres-Haut', which in this case contains a paraphrase of a Latin hymn by French Playwright, Jean Racine, Clemency says, what I have already experienced myself, it is one of the great mysteries of music when it 'speaks' to you - "what it means to you is what it means". You don't necessarily have to understand the words because the genius of some composers simply communicates on another level. 

Enjoy your weekend.

However you may be affected by anything I've written here, do let me know by leaving a comment below or, if you prefer not to, share your thoughts with a trusted friend or someone you love.