Tag: music

Christmas joy

Interrupting before my second post about Mozart just to say I’ve been writing advent notes with a friend this year. In our final post, we included a reference to O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen. It’s a beautiful meditative piece, which I offer as a Christmassy blessing here. Click the link below to hear it…

Lyrics:

O magnum mysterium
Et admirabile sacramentum
Ut animalia viderent Dominum natum
Jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
Meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum
Alleluia!

Translation:

O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the newborn Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!

Click here to hear the music: https://youtu.be/nn5ken3RJBo?si=2Ts4nv0i966T1ap2

To read our advent notes in full click here: https://contemplativefire.org/learning-journey/advent-joy-jesus-christ-arriving-embodied/

A song of quiet trust

A friend shared a vision they had from God, which reminded me of this today. A lovely invitation to deep rest. I listened to the music below and reread the ancient poem below that and dwelt with that image of the weaned child. Wonderful.

This is my favourite recording of Spiegel im Spiegel (« Mirror in the Mirror ») by Arvo Pärt, performed with such brave vulnerability by Daniel Hope. Most violinists would add vibrato to make it sound professional. But he captures the simplicity and vulnerability of this music-prayer beautifully: https://youtu.be/QqmZxtrUVK8

Psalm 131

O LORD, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvellous for me.

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time on and forevermore.