For something completely different from me

[greatbear]

Howbout some churchy music from your favorite atheist? :-)

The music track below is an a capella piece performed by Jan Garbarek & The Hilliard Ensemble, from the album Officium, entitled "Parce Mihi Domine". The piece was written by Christóbal de Morales, (1500-1553, Spain), the title translating closely to "Spare me, O Lord". A Gregorian chant style piece, I find it one of the most serene pieces of music I have listened to. Four voices, the language of Latin, a cathedral with the most amazing acoustics, and nothing else. No instruments (though the rest of Officium has the Ensemble paired with Garabek and his saxophone(!)), no Auto-Tune, Melodyne, hot mastering, loudness war or other gimmick trashing so much music being manufactured these days.

Jan Garbarek & The Hilliard Ensemble
"Parce Mihi Domine"

(Latin text)
Parce mihi, Domine, nihil enim sunt dies mei.
Quid est homo, quia magnificas eum?
Aut quid apponis erga eum cor tuum?
Visitas eum diluculo et subito probas illum.
Usquequo non parcis mihi, nec dimittis me, ut glutiam salivam meam?
Peccavi, quid faciam tibi, o custos hominum?
Quare posuisti me contrarium tibi, et factus sum mihimetispsi gravis?
Cur non tollis peccatum meum, et quare non aufers iniquitatem meam?
Ecce, nunc in pulvere dormiam, et si mane me quaesieris, non subsistam.

(English translation)
Spare me, Lord, for my days are as nothing.
What is Man, that you should make so much of us?
Or why should you set your heart upon us?
You visit us at dawn,
and put us to the test at any moment.
Will you not spare me and let me be,
while I swallow my saliva?
If I have sinned, how have I hurt you,
O guardian of mankind?
Why have you set me up as your target,
so that I am now a burden to myself?
Why do you not forgive my sin
and why do you not take away my guilt?
Behold, I shall now lie down in the dust:
if you come looking for me I shall have ceased to exist.

I know, not the usual heavy metal thrash or progressive escapade you are used to hearing me talk about. But give this a listen, preferably with headphones, when you can close your eyes and hear the individual voices acting as one instrument. It's good for what might be stressing you out. I should know, I have been under a ton of stress lately, and I searched my library for this track for it's calming influence.

Oh, and don't worry. I'm not going all Jeebus-y on yas either. ;)

Comments

[mhkrabat.livejournal.com]

Cool, I'll be listening to this one. In paying attention to accoustics I feel as though the building becomes one of the instruments and it's usually an effect I like.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Indeed to voices and the environment combine to create a cohesive whole. The voices sing, but the space makes them soar and gives them so much life.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

You are NOT ready to enter the Court of the Crimson King!

EDIT:
I hate LJ.

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Trying this again, this time, sans embed:

http://community.livejournal.com/venturebrothers/427632.html

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Do you realize that is an entirely new dimension of WIN?

(as Yes comes up on Delicious Agony ^_^ )

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

The WIN lies down on Broadway.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

It's like Tales from Topographic WIN.

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

Some of the most amazing musical vocal creations have been on religious themes. The reason is quite simple, if one wanted a patron one wrote to please daddy or mama warbucks. It so happened that a person of proper society and stature would always want to give the impression that they were of the highest moral virtue, even if they were scoundrels. That said, the solumness of many sacred works does create a wonderful mood that makes room for introspection and has a calming effect. (spend a little time with Gregorian chant and you will understand.) Now mind you, I may be just a tad biased as most of my singing has been choral renditions of various rituals. I am branching out into opera and ..gasp.. musical theatre works. Hey, I'm an old bugger, anything more current than that would kill me. :)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I'll let you in on one of my dirty little secrets. Despite my anti-religious stance, I have always had a fondness for religious music. Gregorian chants, choral pieces, and soulful stuff sung high into the rafters of black churches. while not always fond of some of the content, there is the energy, the respect and solemn feel. Mom gave me more of an appreciation for opera (since she'd play it so often around the house, and I'd often watch some of the performances she'd play on TV), and musical theater stuff as well. Being that I cut my teeth on both classical music and fairly hard rock as a kid, I have a huge variety of music that I enjoy. I refuse to box myself into only a few genres. There's quality to be found everywhere. Sadly these days too much manufactured music does not fit into that category. There are a few gems to be found, but they tend not to be what's heavily marketed, of course.

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, in today's environment it is all about the financial reward, not the dispensing of art. It is very sad. I am glad that part of my life was spent during a time when art was held in much higher regard.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Well, given the music industry's penchant for ruining their own product, people seem to be discovering the better stuff on their own. I hope that trend continues.

[notdefined.livejournal.com]

And I'll do my damndest to help make good music. (Even if I don't get paid to do it. :) )

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

And because of that, you stand to make the best music. It's a labor of love and determination, not money.

[geometrician.livejournal.com]

A beautiful rendition of a great piece of music! Thanks for sharing it.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

My pleasure.

[xianjessen.livejournal.com]

:) What a coincidence! We trying to bring Jan Gabarek and the Hilliard to San Francisco next year. We're trying to find the right venue...

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Need to find a nice big hall with soaring ceilings. The voices like to fly. ;)

[arktos62.livejournal.com]

Heavenly!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I can almost hear it echoing from the cathedrals you have shown in pictures you've posted.

[erstexman.livejournal.com]

Much as Auntie Mame adores gin, I adore Renaissance polyphony. Gorgeous!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

It's a beautiful piece. It was later after 'discovering' is and trying to find out it's meaning that I found it's rather pointed and confrontational tone, if the (English) lyrics are indeed accurate. Perhaps that's why I like the piece so much. :)

[vaysha.livejournal.com]

I just love this whole album so much. I first heard it the january my father died- not being jessbus-y type either it still lent a feeling of being ensconced in something divine. Nice healing balm.
:)
thanks for the translation.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

There is indeed a divine air to the music.I feel that god and religion are a construct of man, in mankind's way of trying to explain the unknown. Music like this sort of proves my point; the song written by man, sung by men in a structure built by man, yet having all the feelings of something much greater. This is not a bad thing, and indeed it proves what the human race is capable of in terms of beauty, divinity and higher purposes. It just needs to find the proper focus.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of LJ. :)