Song of the Day - 20th March

Today's Song of the Day is being posted later than usual as I have been out all day in Leeds doing work (the kind that pays the bills!)

But I couldn't let the Spring Equinox go by without taking note of it. It is midway between solstices - today is the day when daylight and dark hours are equal. An important day in the countdown to summer, the spring equinox is celebrated by festivities world-wide.

There are mass water fights in Thailand, sun worship at Mayan pyramids in Mexico, egg-standing battles in China and feasting in Iran. Many of the celebrations happen amid a riot of music, colour and dancing and have become treasured customs, and in some places, controversial tourist attractions.

For the likes of pagans and druids, the spring equinox (Ostara) is celebrated as a time of renewal and rebirth – and 5000-year-old Stonehenge in Wiltshire is the best known place to gather in the UK. It attracts people from all over the world (including many curious tourists) who congregate at dawn to see the sun rise over the stones. Anyone making the trip can expect a friendly atmosphere amid chanting, drumming and even the occasional druid wedding.

The poem I have chosen to set to celebrate this day is called "The Spring Equinox" by Czech poet Otakar Theer (1880 - 1917). 

This song is being beta tested by my friends, the Heart of England Singers.


The Spring Equinox

By Otakar Theer


So sweet the air that e'en to perish were a wondrous thing,

So sweet the air, as blossoms freshly blooming in the spring;

The magic of the equinox, untroubled and exulting,

In peace is roving round, and in my soul

A garland of silvery dreams it has cast.


How much more beauteous are we all to-day,

How much more radiant are we all to-day,

Than in the days of the year that is past!


Let our eyes like waves be glowing,

Our lips in lustre mutely quivering,

Our hearts with dreams and love o'erflowingl


But amid scent of daisies in the fields draw near,

Like dancing shadows that to flowers bow not their head,

Like unto saints, that round them waft a radiance clear,

Women of whom we vainly dreamed in the year that has fled.


"Campaigns Against the Ego" (1900).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Song of the Day - 11th November

Image
Today's Song of the Day is a tribute to Martinmas, a beautiful celebration known as the Festival of Compassion. St. Martin of Tours (died 397) was a Roman soldier who was baptized as an adult and became a bishop in Gaul. He is best known for the tale whereby he cut his cloak in half with his sword, to give half to a beggar who was dressed in only rags in the depth of winter. That night Martin had a vision of Jesus Christ wearing the half-cloak. For this special festival, I have chosen a moving poem titled “Compassion” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. It beautifully captures the limitless compassion of Christ, reflecting the very essence of Martin's noble actions. Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 – 1919) was an inspiring American author and poet. Her works include the collection Poems of Passion and the evocative poem "Solitude," which reminds us, “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone.” Her autobiograph...
Read more

Adele stole my song title!

Image
I don't have a Song of the Day for you today but I thought I would share a story from back in 2009. I was engaged and thought it would be a sweet idea to write a song for my husband-to-be and have it professionally recorded. So I wrote this song which I called "Someone Like You." I practised it and perfected it, and organised musicians to play the guitar and drum parts, got it all recorded, even taught it to my youth choir so they could sing it at my wedding, and then found out some young upstart named Adele had also written and released a song called "Someone Like You"! Ah well, it's not like you can copyright a song title—which is a good thing because if she sued ME for breach of copyright I am not sure how to prove I thought of it first. I don't even know if I DID think of it first!! It's a bit different from the Songs for all Seasons, but I hope you like it. Who knows, if my music gets published, this song might get picked up by some famous balla...
Read more