Religious Education Update: December 10
The Power of Music-
I’m in the midst of the holiday concert season this week, with scheduled performances at four different band concerts. Wednesday night, UUP member Earl Cruser and I played with the Old Adobe Concert Band at Sunrise Assisted Living. Some of our audience had memory issues, but they could still remember familiar Christmas carols and traditional hymns. They clapped, smiled and moved to the music. Our songs reminded them of times they themselves had played instruments or sang in choirs or of holidays long since past. Tuesday night, I played with the Healdsburg Band at a beautifully decorated community church. While musicians played Silent Night, the audience joined by singing along. I could see the joy in their faces. Later, I felt excitement in playing a very upbeat Hanukah medley.
I am fortunate to have frequent opportunities to savor the gift and power of music. I can’t say that I understand its spiritual force, but I have a deep appreciation. Geniuses have expressed music’s impact more eloquently than I can. Beethoven stated, “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.” When Einstein was asked about his theory of relativity he responded, "It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception." Plato said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”
Since my formal training is in the sciences, I have some understanding of vibrations, and sound waves, and how instruments or voices create the frequencies of air disturbances we call music. Yet my intellectual knowledge is of little help in understanding the inspirational and deeply emotional effect of music on the human psyche.
I hope that you and your children will attend the musically rich, intergenerational services at UUP on December 17 and 24, or join the UUP Christmas caroling on December 16. On December 17, you can participate in Tony Blake’s drum circle and experience making music in community. On the morning of Christmas Eve, you can hear and sing traditional and contemporary hymns. Music is a great blessing, which can bring joy and happiness to every soul. I hope that you’ll join us!
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
I’m in the midst of the holiday concert season this week, with scheduled performances at four different band concerts. Wednesday night, UUP member Earl Cruser and I played with the Old Adobe Concert Band at Sunrise Assisted Living. Some of our audience had memory issues, but they could still remember familiar Christmas carols and traditional hymns. They clapped, smiled and moved to the music. Our songs reminded them of times they themselves had played instruments or sang in choirs or of holidays long since past. Tuesday night, I played with the Healdsburg Band at a beautifully decorated community church. While musicians played Silent Night, the audience joined by singing along. I could see the joy in their faces. Later, I felt excitement in playing a very upbeat Hanukah medley.
I am fortunate to have frequent opportunities to savor the gift and power of music. I can’t say that I understand its spiritual force, but I have a deep appreciation. Geniuses have expressed music’s impact more eloquently than I can. Beethoven stated, “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.” When Einstein was asked about his theory of relativity he responded, "It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception." Plato said, “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”
Since my formal training is in the sciences, I have some understanding of vibrations, and sound waves, and how instruments or voices create the frequencies of air disturbances we call music. Yet my intellectual knowledge is of little help in understanding the inspirational and deeply emotional effect of music on the human psyche.
I hope that you and your children will attend the musically rich, intergenerational services at UUP on December 17 and 24, or join the UUP Christmas caroling on December 16. On December 17, you can participate in Tony Blake’s drum circle and experience making music in community. On the morning of Christmas Eve, you can hear and sing traditional and contemporary hymns. Music is a great blessing, which can bring joy and happiness to every soul. I hope that you’ll join us!
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
posted by Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma @ 8:20 PM
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