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Day 263: Passion

Today is Mozart's birthday.  But I am doing my stretching to Beethoven. Sorry Mozart. Beethoven has always been my man. I am stretching to the Piano Concerto Number 1 in C Major. Great way to wake up! I have always loved his passion.

However, the choir I accompany is working on the Mozart Requiem, which I have mentioned in previous posts. We had rehearsal last night. There are no words. I often break out in goose bumps or feel tears welling up in certain passages.  I think I should play the Requiem at night to help my sleep.

I am quite stiff and sore today. Since it is my last Wednesday off before I start teaching in Salem again, I gave myself a break. I allowed myself to take it easy this morning without too much soulracking guilt.

But having a plan does help.  I took a really hot shower and stretched.  I stepped on the scale.

I weighed in at 186 today.

The last two days I have eaten all food from home.  I know this is healthier. But I do love my restaurants!  Just need to perhaps limit them to perhaps once a week.
I just noticed that I used the word "perhaps" twice in that last sentence. I have been obsessed with words lately.  Truthfully, linguistics has always fascinated me, but I never delved very deep.

Never too later right?

I looked up the word "perhaps" in the Cambridge Online Dictionary.  It is defined as: "Perhaps (adverb) " used to show that something is ​possible or that you are not ​certain about something; ​maybe"
 http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/perhaps

Perhaps, me thinks, I am a tad attached to my restaurant addiction.

Food for thought, yes?

Moving on.  After my tea and porridge, I will play and sing my hymn of the day.  I have been quite enjoying this new ritual.  I plan on printing out the lyrics to favorite hymns to keep with me on my route.

Today's hymn is "Ah, Holy Jesus" Words by Johann Heermann, 1630.  Based on the music by Johann Crüger ( HERZ LIEBSTER JESU) 1640.

I just played through and was struck with how familiar the tune was. I thought perhaps I'd just played this hymn in one of the churches I'd played for. But I looked up Herz Liebster Jesu and discovered that other composers, named JS Bach had used this melody:

 "Partially based on earlier melodies (including the Genevan tune for Psalm 23), HERZ LIEBSTER JESU was composed by Johann Crüger (PHH 42) and published in his Neues vollkömliches Gesangbuch (1640). Johann S. Bach (PHH 7) used the tune in both his St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion, and various other composers have written preludes on the chorale." (http://www.hymnary.org/tune/herzliebster_jesu_cruger)
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fPg3suBQIc 

And here is the text, translated into English in 1899 by Robert Bridges:
 Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that we to judge thee have in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted!
2 Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!
'Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.
3 Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
the slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered.
For our atonement, while we nothing heeded,
God interceded.
4 For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
thy mortal sorrow, and thy life's oblation;
thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
for my salvation.
5 Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
not my deserving.


This hymn moves me profoundly.  Not just the lyrics. But the tune is in g minor. Minor keys are darker than major keys.  And I often feel the music on a deeper level when it is a minor key. Perhaps because I live my life in a minor key.  I love gray skies, rain, wind, sad stories.  

Here is another youtube video.  This is a haunting arrangement, by Timothy Shaw.  Lovely!

 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR2OAUqAijM

On that sublime note, my piano practice awaits me!

Happy Wednesday!


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