Sunday Playlist - 10/18/2020

Here is the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzrVlXh4mc1Nb1_XA_Oak8mR99jE7w4Ok

As we witness increasing numbers of COVID19 cases across the nation, and even in our own state, which has tried so hard to keep them down, I was drawn this week first to a passage about suffering from Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart (1958). Born in colonized Nigeria, Achebe was one of the greatest novelists and thinkers of the 20th century, and that novel was his first and remains his most influential. I’ve taught it numerous times, and if you haven’t read it, I urge you to do so! In the video included in this playlist, Achebe reads the passage and then reflects on two letters from readers who found solace in it. Notice how he strikes a balance and finds a way of understanding, or at least accepting, suffering.

The music in this week’s list swirled out from this inspired work of literature. On either end of the list are remarkable, live performances of gospel tunes about prayer and healing. However we respond to the literal message, the spirit is clearly alive in these congregations, and faith offers solace. In the middle is a meditative solo passacaglia from Hans Franz von Biber’s series of pieces called The Rosary Sonatas. The panorama of Amsterdam and two guys at a table is distracting, but watch the violinist’s hands and listen to what they’re able to produce.