Sunday, March 02, 2008

Musical Coincidence

Yesterday, before I went out to the ocean, I was driving around the lake near my house. There are two cemeteries side by side on one side of the lake, and for the first time, I decided to drive through one of them. Several of the roads were snow-blocked, but I found one that reached back to the lake's shore.

I was listening to music while driving slowly through, looking for older graves. John Rutter, a contemporary English composer-conductor, is a personal friend of the orchestra I toured with for three years back in the 90s (the same orchestra my sisters played with in the 70s and 80s, and the one my niece now plays with in the summers). I had the privilege of playing his compositions under his direction in Carnegie Hall several times during those years, and often listen to his work when I drive.

So, I was listening to Rutter while driving around the far edges of the cemetery, looking at names on the gravestones when one caught my eye: Rutter! I couldn't believe it! I stopped, rolled down my window, and took a picture while letting Rutter's music waft over Rutter's family plot. It made me smile, even though I know it meant nothing to anyone but me.

The piece I was listening to was Rutter's setting of Psalm 100:

O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands: serve the Lord with gladness,
and come before his presence with a song. Be ye sure that the Lord
He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are
His people, and the sheep of His pasture. O go your way into His
gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful
unto Him, and speak good of His Name. For the Lord is gracious, His
mercy is everlasting: and His truth endureth from generation to
generation. Glory be to the Father, and to the Song, and to the Holy
Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.

3 comments:

La Tea Dah said...

What a lovely drive. The music composed by Rutter --- the Rutter monument --- altogether creating a mood for introspection. Your pictures are beautiful.

We also visited the ocean yesterday, but at a distant point. Spring has arrived gingerly in the San Juans. A look-out provided a view of Victoria and Vancouver. . .spring flowers are in bloom. . .and a picnic at Casade Lake was warm when the sun was shining (and chilly when the clouds passed by).

I have more to share with you. . .but will do that when I return home. We visited a beautiful New England style elementary school/high school campus and church that I think you would be interested in knowing of. I thought of you. . .

Enjoy a nice day!
LaTeaDah

Heidi said...

LaTeaDah--I've never met you, but I know exactly which church/school in the San Juans you are talking about! Gorgeous area.

R. Aastrup said...

LaTeaDah--I'll look forward to hearing more about your trip. Sounds like it was a nice one...I can't wait for it to get warmer here, much as I enjoy the snow...