A different Sunday

This morning I led the choir in Dummerston. It was Transfiguration Sunday, and there are very few anthems/hymns that are about the Transfiguration. The Transfiguration story is about Jesus going to a mountain-top with two of his disciples and being "transfigured"-i.e., he is transformed before their eyes into a radiant figure, his clothes and very skin sending forth a brilliant light, as bright as the sun. It is a strange story, which may be why there are not many hymns based on it. I have in my library a rare hymnal, however, which was produced by the Christian Council of Asia, called Sound the Bamboo. It is very interesting because it contains hymns from Korea, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, the Phillipines, etc., which nobody has ever heard of. Even the New Century Hymnal, which made an explicit effort to reflect the diverse musical traditions of the world church, has very few Asian hymns. Sound the Bamboo did not have a hymn about the transfiguration, per se, but it did have one filled with references to light, titled This New Morn, Full of Grace which, with some minor word changes, could serve admirably as a "Transfiguration Hymn," which is what I called it. It was from Korea. Here it is

"Transfiguration Hymn" I played it on my little keyboard and found it charming. I made the few changes that I felt were needed (I print out the tiny words on my computer and paste them into the line) and enlarged the image quite a bit to make it more readable. I sent out the score in advance and also made a audio file of my playing each part on my electric piano. It did not seem to be a difficult hymn to learn. The alto and bass parts were like a drone - sounding the same note over and over. I could see one possible difficulty - in one measure, the rhythm was syncopated in a way our ears are not accustomed to. But I devised a way in my mind that I would teach that. Well, it proved to be a challenge! It actually ended up sounding pretty good - several members of the congregation commented favorably. But the road getting there was very rocky, and I had to deal with a lot of negative comments, which is very unusual. I also was particularly aware this morning of how difficult it is for me to direct, because my arms get very tired because of shoulder pain. I am wondering how much longer I can do this! This afternoon, we were slated to go to the Bergh'a to watch North Carolina play North Carolina State in men's basketball. But the little girls were sick, so we came home and I listened on the radio (I have a great radio app on my phone that gives me all the Tarheels games). That game was a disaster. The "Heels" have now lost five in a row, and their chances of getting into the NCAA tournament in March are getting slim! Last year they were in the championship game with almost the same team - four returning starters! What has happened? They lost Brady Manek to graduation - was he the team spark plug? Who knows? They have had some great games this season, but they are in quite a slump right now.