Then Sings My Soul!

What a fun month this has been in my little blog world. A full month of celebrating the music I love, and I feel as though we've barely scratched the surface. There are so many genres that we have yet to explore, that I feel certain that in another few months, The Adventures of Rachel (Lost in Wonderland) will revisit music in all it's glorious varieties. 

I've been agonizing all day trying to find a song with which to end this month of musical celebration. As I scanned through my rather extensive itunes collection, the song How Great Thou Art caught my eye. It is without a doubt my absolute favorite hymn of all time. 

Often, I receive looks of surprise when I tell people about my great love for hymns. I guess they find it strange because I'm so young, and hymns are often associated with times gone by, in the church services our grandparents attended. 

Don't misunderstand, I do like the modern day worship songs brought to us by Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, and many others. But there is just something about the ld time hymns that minister to me on a different, deeper level. 

Two years ago, after the break up of a relationship that meant everything to me, I encountered my first severe episode of depression. My visits with a counselor, coupled with medication, helped tremendously, but I had still yet to get over that "hump". 

One day, after a counseling session, I stopped at a Family Christian Bookstore. I picked out a new book, and made my way up to the counter to pay. As always, the cashier offered me discounted books and CDs, since I was a Perks member. Normally, I refuse, but on this particular visit, a Selah: Greatest Hymns CD caught my eye. At 5 bucks, it was a steal, and I purchased it. 

As soon as I got into my car, I put it in the CD player. As I listened to hymn after hymn, I realized something amazing had happened by the time I got home. I felt better. I felt like smiling, and my soul felt a little lighter. From that moment on, that CD, along with a Carman Hymns CD played constantly, whether I was in my car or at home. I believe, that it was those anointed hymns that helped me finally step completely out of the depression that had plagued me for almost a year. 

There is such an unbelievable power in those old songs. The writers of those lyrics were not talking about things they had not experienced. It was because of their experiences they were able to pen such awesome words. What an experience Horatio Spafford must have had with God to be able to write It is Well after the drowning deaths of all 3 of his daughters. 

And the blood songs!  And the songs about the Name of Jesus! The Bible says that "...at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow" and when listening to these awesome songs, my depression had no choice but to surrender to the power of the Name and Blood of Jesus. 

Call it old fashioned, tell me I'm behind the times...whatever! Hymns have saved my life.

 I hope you all enjoy Selah's rendition of How Great Thou Art, and thank you to all my readers and followers, for sticking with me during this last month of celebration of the music I love!

If My Soul Had a Sound

There  is something about the sound of the cello that soothes me. Out of the stringed instruments, I find that the cello has the most resonant, the smoothest, and the richest sound of them all. 

If my soul, my mind, and my heart had a sound or was an instrument, it would be the  cello. It can plunge to the depths of the musical scale without losing it's beauty and can scale the heights  without losing its gravity. It is a serious instrument, and even when the bow is playing on the high A string, you are always aware of the underlying intensity, depth, and mystery, that makes this instrument what it is.

Without further ado, I present to you Bach's Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major BMV, 1007: I. Prelude, played by the renowned Yo-Yo Ma.

Tale as Old as Time...

Hands down...Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie.

I am not ashamed to admit that, at age 23 , I still watch this movie at least once a week.

Neither am I afraid to admit that I'm not really in the mood for blogging. Ha. That being said, I will now turn it over to the legendary Celine Dion and the timeless Peabo Bryson.

Beautiful!

Morning in Paris, the City Awakes to the Bells....

Let me begin this post by saying that The Hunchback of Notre Dame is probably by far, my least favorite Disney movie. First of all, so much is left out from the original story by Victor Hugo, that one would hardly know that it was the same story. Secondly, it's such a sad story that I can't stand to watch it...I have a very hard time watching people being mistreated.

So, the only things that that I can honestly say that I like from the movie, are the songs, my favorite of which being The Bells of Notre Dame. It is actually quite an incredible orchestral piece of music, complete with Gregorian chants, and a choral arrangement. Anyone who is a true lover of music will be able to appreciate the complicated beauty of the following song.

Dreaming of You

This month's musical celebration would fall painfully short if I did not include my favorite genre...smooth jazz. As a former saxophonist, you can understand why jazz holds a special place in my heart.

However, it also holds this place because, as odd as it may seem, it was the music of my childhood. Seldom did my Dad not have some kind of jazz music playing in the background at our house. My love for this genre has only increased as I've become exposed to a wider variety of artists, each with their own unique sound.

The song that I will feature today is played by Brian Culbertson, a pianist of, in my opinion, the first degree. He has a sound that is completely his own, that you could identify anywhere.

This song, Dreaming of You, is the epitome of mellow...it puts the smooth in smooth jazz!

Way Up

All right ladies and gentlemen of the world, I'm taking it back with this one.

Anyone who knows even a little bit about gospel music, knows  that Mahalia Jackson pretty much started it all. That being said, there's no possible way I can overlook her during this month of celebration of the music that I love.

The following is one of my favorites!

Bolero

Ah, I do love classical music....

And I believe that the violin and cello are the most beautiful instruments ever created.

 So you can imagine my joy when I found this little video of 4 brothers playing Bolero, on one huge cello...performing all the various parts of the piece....at the same time! AMAZING!

Yes, I do realize that I'm a nerd. I'm ok with it though! =p

Hatikvah

Ok, World, I warned you...I have a very eclectic taste in music. I believe you're about to realize just how true that is. 

I present to you ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem of Israel...Hatikvah. It is a hauntingly beautiful song....both mournful and full of hope, as is befitting it's name...Hatikvah, which means, The Hope. 

The song is sung in Hebrew, but I will provide an English translation below. I hope you enjoy it!

As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

The Necessary Passage

You know, World, the funny thing...or rather I should say, the ironic thing, about grief is that it doesn't kill you. Unlike like a head on car collision or a bullet to the head, you survive it, although everything within you may want to give up the ghost.

I'm borrowing and paraphrasing from one of my favorite quotes from the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun. The character was actually talking about the horror and grief that comes with going through a divorce. In the past, I've found that it applies to the break up of relationships, and I'm now finding, that it also applies to dealing with the loss of a loved one. Perhaps it applies to loss, universally.

The recent death of my Granny, has given me pause...it has made me think about the importance of the people in our lives. I have said before that, in essence, we are the sum total of our experiences. I am who I am because of what I have been through.  I'm going to take this thought a little further and suggest that I am who I am, because of the experiences I've had with people.

From the very beginning of my life, my Granny was always there. She wasn't just some distant relative whom I saw once every couple of months on holidays. She was as much of a constant in my life as my Mom and Dad. Let me tell you, I've had my doubts about a lot of things in my life, but I never once doubted that Granny loved me. Ever.

Imagine that you are a baby in the womb, and that your mother, is a concert violinist or cellist. Through the watery warmness of your nest, her morning practices on her instrument are your daily wake up calls. They lull you to sleep at night. Constantly, wherever she goes (and you go, as a result) she always has some kind of violin or cello music playing. This does not change when you are born. Constantly...always without fail, there is the sweet, haunting notes of a violin or the deep, resonant timbres of the cello. It is always there, though many times in the background only. But it is there, nonetheless. Then one day, this music is no more. Silence rushes in and grows louder than the largest orchestra. How bland life is without the sweet notes. The deep sounds. How empty. The world seems a little less beautiful for it's silence. With every fiber of your being you feel the absence of the beauty of sound that you took for granted. It's gone.

A strange analogy, perhaps, but that, dear World, is how I feel about losing my Granny. She has loved me since the moment she learned of my existence in my mother's womb, and she never stopped. Her love was the constant background music of my life. Sometimes it was loud, sometimes soft...whatever I needed it to be...but always, always there. And yes, for me...the world is a little less beautiful now that she's gone.

Grief is a deep, multi-faceted thing. Sometimes it's as hot as the tears that roll down your face; a firebrand of loss that is imprinted on your heart forever. Sometimes it's like a rogue wave that unexpectedly swells, and threatens to overtake and drown you in its depth. Sometimes it is merely a dull ache that you carry with you wherever you go. Grief is exhausting. So much so that I sometimes unknowingly shut myself down so that I don't have to ride the roller coaster of the raw emotion that slices through me at random times during the day. I actually have to tell myself, "Let yourself grieve".

A few evenings ago, it was surprisingly cool, and I decided to take my dog for a walk. After we had been walking for about 20 minutes, I paused to let Oliver take a bathroom break. As he sniffed around in the grass, a cool breeze blew by and I closed my eyes to relish the coolness on my face. I became totally still. I could hear the sound of the water sprinklers...of children playing at the nearby pool...Oliver's tags clinking together...and I felt, for the first time in almost 2 weeks, peace and contentment. I knew then, that really....I was going to be ok.

I was reminded that life walks hand in hand with death. That it is indeed, one of the surest parts of life….and I remembered this....

Grieving is a necessary passage and a difficult transition to finally letting go of sorrow - it is not a permanent rest stop.  ~Dodinsky

Ave Maria

Ok, World, I'm going to slow it down here, and just let you lay your head back, close your eyes, and relax. Teehee.

Today's post will feature Celine Dion performing, in my opinion, one of the BEST performances of the Ave Maria EVER. Of course, that's just my opinion. It's rare that you hear this song's English interpretation, so that's also a part of what makes this rendition all the more brilliant, and beautiful.

Rolling...

This is for one of my closest friends, Caro.

Adele has a sound that is completely, totally, and uniquely her own. It's been a while actually, since I've listened to anything from her, and just the other night, dear Caroline, showed me this song.

LOVE IT!

One Love

The celebration continues with the man, the legend...ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Bob Marley!

"One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."
— Bob Marley

Held

For all those who have had the sacred torn from their life...and survived.

In Loving Memory

Well, World, my favorite person in the whole world has gone to be with Jesus.

She battled with cancer for the last 4 years and, at last, her fight is over. Even though we knew that this would happen, we weren't expecting it so soon.

Honestly, I don't have any words...There is some grief that is too deep to have any expression other than through tears.

Here's a song in honor of my Granny, my friend.

This was her favorite.

Worrisome Heart

I have to give props to my sister, Jesika, for introducing me to the jazzy, mellow sounds of Melody Gardot. I can already tell you, World, that during this month of celebration of the music I love, Ms. Gardot will be a frequent character. Get used to her. She has a sound that reminds of Norah Jones and Diana Krall, but is also reminiscent of  Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Symone, yet she has a sound that is completely her own.
 The story on how she first got into music is fascinating, and I encourage you to check it out at the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody_Gardot

Celebrating the Music I Love

So!

As the official throne Princess of Rachel-Land( teehee), I hereby deem the month of July as Music I Love Month! Although all the posts this month will not be music related, the majority of them will. Don't be surprised by the eccentricity of my musical tastes...as I've said many times before, I love pretty much all music.

I will start out this festive celebration of song by bringing to your attention my favorite classical composer, Ludwig Van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Teehee. Now, this rendition of the 5th is probably unlike any you've ever heard. And I absolutely LOVE it. I'm sure you music buffs have heard of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I originally heard of them during the Christmas season for their rendition of Carol of the Bells. As I researched this phenomenal band, I was surprised, yet pleased to find that they not only played Christmas music, but classical and rock, as well. I've actually come to love their version of Beethoven's 5th: Requiem even more than Carol of the Bells. A feat indeed. Anywho, sit back and enjoy some classical music...with a twist!