But for this service, for some reason I was inspired toward simplicity when I was choosing the choir anthem. The choir sang "Peace Round," which was taught to me by William Allaudin Mathieu (http://www.coldmountainmusic.com/), a fantastic plenary speaker at the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network several years ago. This song is a 3-measure piece with simply the words for "peace" in four languages - Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit, and Arabic.
The basses sang "Om Shanti, Om" on octave Cs. At first they complained about how "boring" it was, but I encouraged them to go into a meditative space when they sang. When they did that, the magic began.
The other three sections each learned their parts in turn, and when the four parts were sung together, it was beautiful as a piece of music, but I felt it could go even farther. Then I was inspired to have the choir sing, in mixed formation, from the perimeter of the sanctuary. (The choir members are very good sports by now and almost always trust my crazy ideas!)
After the basses sang their "Om, Shanti Om" about 6 times through, I brought in another section (I changed it every time so the singers had to watch me!) and slowly another, and another. Then I took them out in reverse order, and everyone joined the basses on a unison "Om Shanti Om" at the end until it just faded out. The rehearsal was very powerful -- there was a palpable sense of peace and holiness in the room after the last note dropped off.
We sang this Peace Round at the end of the service on world peace the next Sunday. It was one of the most spiritual musical moments I've ever had, and I heard the same thing from several choir members. The congregation was BATHED in peace/Shanti/Pacem/Salaam/Shalom.
So what did I learn from this experience?
- I learned to trust my "inspirations" and crazy ideas.
- I learned that when I present ideas to the choir from an inspired place, they also get inspired and carry out the vision I had.
- I learned that Unitarian Universalists aren't always "in their head" as we are sometimes rumored to be!
- I learned that it isn't always necessary to prepare a complicated SATB choir anthem to create a sacred musical experience. Sometimes less is more. (One congregant asked how long we had prepared the piece -- she thought it sounded so difficult that we must have been practicing for months! I told her it was only three measures long and she was astounded!)
Has anyone else used this piece in worship? Do you have any experiences when you presented something very simple yet magical at a worship service?
