“So is the Fourth of July really big in England?” 
–Patron at Nail Care for You, overheard by Nancy Lewis

1. Prelude – 0:00
2. Allermande – 2:45
3. Courante – 7:09
4. Sarabande – 9:47
5. Menuet I / II – 13:41
6. Gigue – 17:38

King’s College Chapel Choir, 1987, performed the Faure Requiem. Here’s the Sanctus.

Kyrie eleison: “Lord have mercy”.

Here is a performance of the Kyrie excerpted from the BBC’s “Afghanistan – A Service of Commemoration”, broadcast live from St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, yesterday, Friday 13 March 2015, in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II. This BBC video includes clips of British Armed Forces on patrol in Afghanistan. (My apologies for the poor editing at start and finish. I shall attend to this shortly).

For me, a sublime work of deep emotional power, more especially in the context of this Service of Commemoration. An excellent, most moving performance by the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral. And may I say, in as humble a way as is possible, that my heart goes out to the soldiers who were sent to Afghanistan (and of course Iraq) served there, were injured there, died there. One can see glimpses of unutterable hurt and damage in the stoical faces of the soldiers who survived. It is a terrible thing, both for them, their families, and the ordinary people of both nations. Kyrie eleison: Lord have mercy upon all of us in this wicked world.

The Requiem, Op. 9, by Maurice Duruflé was published in 1947 by the French music publisher Durand. Commissioned in 1941 by the collaborationist Vichy regime, Duruflé was still working on the piece at the time of the regime’s collapse in 1944, and completed it in 1947, dedicating it to the memory of his father. The work is for SATB choir with mezzo-soprano and baritone soloists. It exists in three orchestrations: one for organ alone (as here) one for organ with string orchestra and optional trumpets, harp and timpani, and one for organ and full orchestra.

At the time of commission, Duruflé was working on an organ suite using themes from Gregorian chants. He incorporated his sketches for that work into the Requiem, which uses numerous themes from the Gregorian “Mass for the Dead.” Nearly all the thematic material in the work comes from chant. (Courtesy of and adapted from Wikipedia).

Choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London England
Director of Music: Andrew Carwood
Ass’t Director and Organist: Simon Johnson
Sub-Organist: Peter Holder

(c) BBC 2015

Starts after 2 minute mark.

Saul Williams – Amethyst Rock (from movie Slam 1998)

“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word “love” here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace – not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.” 

–James Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an African-American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. Wikipedia

It’s summer, and for many adults that is the season that recalls memories, the freedom of childhood, such as being outside in the woods, or on the river or seashore, free to feel the warmth of the sun on their naked body parts as they laugh and play. Summer is a symbol for many adults, who, let’s face it are really closet kids at heart, yearning even today for that sense of freedom to course through their lives in their efforts to live fully. 

I have selected some definitions of the word freedom from the Merriam-Webster dictionary to share with you

1:  the quality or state of being free: as

a :  the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action

b :  liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another :  independence

c :  the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous<freedom from care>

d :  ease, facility <spoke the language with freedom>

e :  the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken <answered with freedom>

f :  improper familiarity

g :  boldness of conception or execution

h :  unrestricted use <gave him the freedom of their home>

 2 :      a political right

b:  franchise, privilege.

We all have ideas about “FREEDOM”, and how it should play out. For right now I would like for you to consider “Freedom” as something personal to you. Something in your control as far as it plays out in your life.  I have selected some of my favorite quotes for your deliberation and consideration for your summer of Living FREEDOM.

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first.”
― Jim Morrison

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”
― Gloria Steinem

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream…”
― Ronald Reagan

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
― Nelson Mandela

“It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
― Samuel Adams

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
― Benjamin Franklin

“Freedom lies in being bold.”
― Robert Frost

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”
― Coco Chanel.

It is considered that one of the tenets of Freedom is Happiness occurs.  So I leave you with this thought from Mahatma Gandhi: Happiness is when you think, and what you do are in harmony.”

Aloha,
Calvin