“WHEN WORDS FAIL, MUSIC SPEAKS”
In the face of the shattering sorrow that the events in Newtown evoke in us, we struggle to find words,…… but there are no words. The only thing to do is to turn to music. When the City of Norwalk held its vigil in the Concert Hall last Sunday afternoon, members of the Norwalk Symphony volunteered to play gathering music, and the Serendipity Chorale sang “My Lord, What a Mornin’”. During the nationally televised memorial service in Newtown, the Rabbi from the local synagogue chanted the traditional funereal music and the young Muslim boy chanted in his liturgical tradition. Moments of silence with the tolling of bells were used to mark the state-wide commemoration.
We turn to music to express the inexpressible, to give voice to our deepest emotions. We turn to the musicians in our midst to provide voice to our emotions. Last Sunday, the soprano soloist in a local church sang a heart wrenching Pie Jesu from Faure’s Requiem. She was afraid she would not be able to sing it without breaking down herself but she was able to channel her emotions into the performance in her desire to serve her congregation.
This is one of the many reasons why we need to have musicians in our midst …. to give voice to those emotions that words cannot adequately capture. The presence of local performing arts organizations ensures that, at times like these, musicians will be here to do what they can to help us through these moments.
So in this holiday season that is tinged with so much sorrow, hug your kids close. Sing to them. Take them to a concert. Play Bach, or Faure, or Palestrina, or Paul Simon….whatever music most speaks to you. But allow music in your life this season… Among the many other attributes music has, it can also comfort, heal and lift spirits.
