WHERE IS LOVE? The Foundation of Our World – Saturday, Apr. 17, 2021, 7:00 PM

PROGRAM

PETE SEEGER Turn, Turn, Turn
PAUL HALLEY Sound Over All Waters
MORTEN LAURIDSEN Dirait-on
CHARLES GOUNOD Ring Out, Wild Bells!
JIM SCOTT Let Us Depart in Peace

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In this online concert, combining virtual and prerecorded performances, we explore the the many facets of Love—what it really is and why it is the foundation of the world. It is far more than the feelings between two people, although that is one expression of this force. Observed in physics and sensed by emotion, Love is everywhere that we can see in nature—a powerful impulse that is at the base of creation itself.

The music chosen for this concert reflects the various aspects of Love, including its power to motivate our desire for unity and relationship in our lives. And although Love is manifest everywhere in everything, we can deny Love’s presence by choosing to turn our back on it, by acting solely for ourselves and our own desires. In the Circle of life, there is a time and a place for everything. Pete Seeger’s popular “Turn, Turn, Turn”, from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, written in the 4th century BC , speaks to this non-judgmental philosophy and shows us the path for tolerance and peace.

Our second piece, “Sound Over All Waters”, is dedicated to Coretta Scott King. The poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, written just after the Civil War, goes to the very heart of what is Love—which is simply, the deep impulse for two things to come together, and unite. This is the tremendous power of Love that can be seen in physics. It is the source of creation, of life, and of our natural desire for unity. At our root we are all connected. When we see each other from this place, our divisions cease, and we are reconciled. Then, as the song says, “the dark night is ending, and dawn has begun.”

This piece, by Paul Halley, features vocalist Denise Pelley and bandleader Stephen Holowitz. It is from our Missa Gaia/Earth Mass recording and is available at https://kssingers.com/recordings/.

In Morten Lauridsen’s beloved “Dirait-on”, or, “So they say”, the poet, Rainier Maria Rilke, uses the metaphor of a rose to describe the seed of all love, that of loving ourselves. Appropriate love and care of self gives us the freedom to love other things appropriately, that is, to love them for themselves, and not for what they can give us. The balance between these two loves keeps our self-love in check, unlike the tragic Narcissus, who was doomed by his self-love, which excluded all others.

A translation:

Abandon enveloping abandon, Tenderness touching tenderness,
Who you are sustains you eternally, so they say;

Your own reflection gives you light.
And in this way, you show us how Narcissus is redeemed.

You can hear Morten Lauridsen talk about how he wrote “Dirait-on” in this seven-minute YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT-Mh_a4H1c

In the poem for this solo by Charles Gounod, Alfred Lord Tennyson used the tradition of ringing out the old year in his plea for a new beginning. Like anything else, Love can diminish and even disappear. It is crucial, and within our power, to cherish and protect Love’s attributes—to honour such things as Truth and the common love of Good, the larger heart, and the kindlier hand. In this way we fan the flames of Love in the face of opposition, for the benefit of all. Our soloist for this piece is soprano, Gillian Laidlaw.

We close this concert with the rhapsodic final movement from Missa Gaia/Earth Mass, “Let Us Depart in Peace”. The current KSS choir interweaves their voices with those of the recording (available from the link above), KSS, The Choir of Christ Church Episcopal from Detroit, and the Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts Singers.

By recognizing Love’s creative power throughout our universe, we can see that all things are inter-connected. All creatures, including the loon, the whale and the wolf heard at the beginning of this piece, have the impulse of Love at their centre. The planet moves and breathes through “Love’s internal predisposition to unite” (Teilhard de Chardin). This is the divine DNA within all things. This is why we can feel at one with nature, with a child, and with a lover. This is what we are. Love is our essence. We respond with wonder, awe, and profound gratitude.

We hope that this concert proposes an expanded vision of Love in the universe, and that, no matter how trying the times, we can be assured that Love is ever with us in constant renewal, providing hope for a better world.

Link to the Verbal Introductions for the Performance Pieces

or download PDF of the Verbal Introductions for the Performance Pieces