Sunday Playlist - 3/14/2021
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzrVlXh4mc1MZcPpsUOBkzuaXeNByRhOa
Pastor Joy reminds us that on the one-year anniversary of phone church, we have reason to be joyful despite the hardships. So this week's playlist is an ode to joy.
We begin with Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. I didn't know about this duet until I began research for this week's list, but isn't it perfect? The funk beat rocks with happiness, and the lyrics will make you smile--"who snatched ol' man Jonah/ from the belly of a whale?"
Next up is a Clinton Avenue favorite, "Every Time I Feel the Spirit." Of the many versions I listened to, I was most smitten with this one. Hang on till the final minute, when this vocalist takes the spirit to the next level.
Even in a joyful mode, I cannot put together a list without a contemplative moment. John Coltrane's "Naima" was introduced to me many years ago now by our former CAUMC bassist/flautist/trumpet player (what couldn't he play?), Karl. Some of you will remember him--a brilliant musician.
The series of jigs performed by the Bothy Band may seem an odd addition to a church playlist. But soon it's St Patrick's Day, so perhaps there's an oblique ecclesiastical connection. If you're not sure that this music is joyful, notice the expression on Donal Lunny's face at around 3:47. He's the one playing the bouzouki (a similar instrument to the baglama we heard from Turkey last week). He may be smiling because they've just picked the tempo up a notch. I ran a metronome: 150 beats per minute. It's remarkable that their hands didn't catch fire.
We end with a unique version of the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Maybe it was exhaustion and sentimentality--I was pulled right into this orchestrated flash mob, and I will confess that as I watched it, I became all verklempt. Consider the mind that conceived the melody--one among many that he gave us. Sometimes, when nothing else can do it, music offers hope that we're more than bodies that suffer and groan and fight each other. A person, with all his failings and brokenness, thought of this melody, the harmonies and orchestration, and set it down for the ages. Amen.
