“Music arouses the sluggish soul to watchfulness. It has power to soften even hard hearts, and by rendering hearts moist it ushers in the Holy Spirit. Through the power of hearing, God opens to human beings all the glorious sounds of the hidden mysteries and of the choirs of angels by whom God is praised over and over again.”
-Hildegard of Bingen 1098-1179
“I am not satisfied with him who despises music, as all fanatics do; for music is an endowment and a gift of God, not a gift of men . . . I place music next to theology and give it the highest praise.”
-Martin Luther 1483-1586
I am having trouble coming up with the right words at the moment for the things stirring in me, so as I sit here listening to my newest online discovery (yes, I am woefully behind the times!) I offer these songs to you that are meaningful and highly evocative to me for a variety of reasons (and yes, a little heavy on the Sarah McLachlan — but what can I say, she has the voice of an angel). Feel free to skip over any that don’t speak to you and leave a note in the comments with any recommendations you have, or even a link to your very own Playlist. :-)
I am going to sit and listen for a while, allowing my heart to soften and open myself to the “glorious sounds of the hidden mysteries” that beat through our very blood. We are born into the rhythms of the universe and sometimes we are well-advised to reclaim them again.
-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts
7 Responses
Check out this artist I discovered recently http://differenceayearmakes.wordpress.com/2008/04/28/chant/
I also like DJ Free, Sting, Chris Botti, Deva Premal, gregorian chant, Rob Thomas, Stevie Nicks, Tim McGraw, Eurythmics/Annie Lennox, Pavarotti, Andrea Boccelli, Queen, ….oh my so many more, my tastes are definately eclectic.
I was adding music to a Sonific playlist on my blog, but then Sonific closed down and I haven’t found anything to replace it. I’ll have to try this.
Art and music heal…and both sometimes have the power to create a powerful change.
Hi Tess, thanks for sharing yours! I had never heard of Polly Paulusma but am taken with her voice now.
I have another playlist going that is more energetic in quality (more driving music than reflective music, which is how these songs here feel to me) and will share that eventually too.
I meant to say I’ve got my own playlist NOW – I hadn’t heard of it before your post.
And I also meant to say to Lucy that when I went to pick up my sister yesterday, she was standing in the street painting her toenails black!
Beautiful music. I also like Loreena McKennitt, and thank you for the introduction to Sheila Chandra.
What fun this Playlist thing is. I’ve got my own and have spent some happy time adding and taking away. I’ve stolen the Chandra track.
My profile link is here: http://www.playlist.com/user/26515014
lucy, I can totally picture that moment with your sweetheart, glad you are enjoying the playlist, I’d love to hear yours! :-)
Kazi, wonderful quote — is it yours?
“There are no words for the deepest things. Words become feeble when mystery visits and prayer moves into silence.”
I sense a wonderful adventure ahead … blessings for your journey Christine.
not surprising that some of my favorites are here…music speaks to us like nothing else can. my sweet husband walked in this evening to find me painting my toe nails a deep midnight blue while listening to opera. he just shook his head, smiled and left me in my own little world :-) your playlist has been a lovely end to a lovely weekend.
i must admit i am late to the music playlist party myself :-) i’ll have to give it a try soon!
xoxooxox
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