Coventry Carol

Finally, Coventry Carol, as it was meant to sound.  This music comes to us from the 16th Century, played on Lute.  This music stirs my soul, as does Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel, both hauntingly reverent pieces.

Christmas Blessings to All.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,

Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Lullay, thou little tiny Child,

Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do,

For to preserve this day

This poor youngling for whom we do sing

Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Herod, the king, in his raging,

Charged he hath this day

His men of might, in his own sight,

All children young to slay.

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!

And ever mourn and sigh,

For thy parting neither say nor sing,

Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Enya

Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel is the second of my favorite Christmas carols. This rendition is performed by another of my favorite artists, Enya.

The origin of this carol is a little blurred.  The version we're accustomed to was arranged in the 19th Century.  The traditional music can be traced back to the 15th century (once again, explaining my love for this song), with possibly even 8th Century Gregorian roots, and the "lyrics" to the 12th Century. 

Generally, I prefer these carols to remain as true and simple as possible, but sometimes it's nice to mix up the flavor a bit.  Hence, the Enya version of Emmanuel, and the McKennitt version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

Christmas Blessings to All.

   

 

Oh come, Oh come, Emmanuel
To free your captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice, rejoice, Oh Israel
To you shall come Emmanuel

Oh come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, oh Israel

Oh come, Thou Day-Spring
Come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel

Oh come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel

Oh come, Oh come, Thou Lord of might
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height
In ancient times did'st give the Law
In cloud, and majesty and awe
Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o Israel

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

I want to share my favorite Christmas songs with you. The first, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

This rendition is performed by one of my favorite artists, Loreena McKennitt.  It captures a certain primality I've always associated with early music.  It was this song, first heard and played on the piano when I was five or six years old, that ignited my love for medieval and renaissance music--and I didn't even know why I liked it so much.  God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (while neither medieval nor renaissance, but more likely from the mid-18th c.) remained my very favorite Christmas song into my twenties, when I added two more to the list--both period pieces, as well.  By that time I was able to discern what it was that I liked about my music, but the bottom line is that these songs strike a very deep, erm, chord within me.  They will always stir my soul.

Yuletide Blessings to All.

God rest ye merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed angel came
And unto certain shepherdsBrought tidings of the same
How in that Bethlehem was born
The son of God by name

"Fear not," then said the angel
"Let nothing you affright
This day is born a saviour
Of a pure virgin bright
To free all those who trust in him
From Satan's pow'r and might"

The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind
And went to Bethlehem straightaway
This blessed babe to find

But when to Bethlehem they came
Whereat this infant lay
They found him in a manger
Where oxen feed on hay
His mother Mary kneeling
Unto the Lord did pray

Now to the Lord sing praises
All you within this place
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace
This holy tide of Christmas
All others doth deface

Sitting in a hospital room

Today reminds of early morning flight times, of sitting in a plane on the runway at the airport...

Clear, winter-morning sky an expanse through the window.
Tinny television volume, and thick white noise of the ventilation system muffling ambient sounds.
That peculiar insular feeling, solitary in my own little capsule of hope and excitement.

The expectancy of travel, forward movement, and new vistas hang heavy in the air.

RECAP: Things I will do when I am single, again (and new things to do, now that I am!)

Recently, I ran across this old post from April 2007--nearly four years ago--on a defunct blog page. Now that I've been single for nearly that long, and divorced for 2.5 years, let's see how much of this I've accomplished, so far...

1. I will read, study, write, watch, listen to, buy and do anything I want, anytime I want, and leave it all out in the open and not hide it for fear of recrimination or fear of having it thrown away, or having to answer for myself to an ignorant clod of a husband who has no tolerance for the parts of me that make me different from him. Including my gender. In short, I will be nothing less than MYSELF.
CHECK!

2. I will leave the bed unmade. Always. Except for when I'm expecting company.
CHECK! And sometimes I leave the bed unmade, even when I do have company.

3. I will no longer fear that, when the telephone rings, the person on the other end might be my mother-in-law.
Oh, zippedee-do-dah, CHECK! Though now, when the phone rings and the number is unrecognizable, I tend to worry that it's a bill collector. But at least it isn't the wicked chicken hawk of Middle Europe.

4. On weekdays, I will leave the breakfast dishes in the sink until after I get home and dinner has been eaten.Well, SORT-OF. Living with mom and dad pretty much precludes treating the house as if it were my own. Except when they go out of town. In which case, yes, I leave the morning dishes in the sink to worry about after work and after dinner.

5. I will burn incense and leave fragrant candles and sachets all over the place, and I won't have to smell the stink of metabolized alcohol anymore.Again, SORT-OF. No stink of metabolized alcohol haunts my olfactory nerves, anymore. But Dad prohibits the use of candles and incense. When I think back, there was no issue against burning candles in our house when I was married. Rather, it was the scent that the ex was bitchy about. So, while I can't burn candles in my parents' house, I can scent my room as I wish. Burning candles at will, will happen when I'm out on my own... And that's another to-do list, entirely.

6. I'll go to bed any damn time I want and not have to wait until hubby leaves for work late at night so I can chain the door at his insistence (even tho I've told him that one good kick by anyone who wants to get in would rip the chain right out of the jamb, which makes it pretty much useless).CHECK!

7. And on that note, I will chain the door during the day if I feel like it, even tho he won't let me chain the door when he's home. (figure that one out)
CHECK. The doors around here are locked 24-7, anyway. This one's pretty much a non-issue.

8. I will sleep with the windows open.
CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!!!

9. I will sleep with my bedroom door closed.
Oh, CHECK! And I can even lock it, if I want to. Ah, bliss...

10. I will live in peace in my own home.
CHECK. Yes, I live in peace, but in my parents' home, as I've already mentioned. Since the family moved here when I was only 17, I definitely consider it my home, if not independent living.

11. Once more, I will be MYSELF.
INDEED.


In all, I would have to say that I've accomplished my goals. And as these ideals have been met, I've been creating a new list of things I will do when I'm finally independent.

1. I'd like to own a house. Or, for the sake of convenience, a townhouse. I will burn candles with abandon, yummy-scented ones.

2. I'll burn incense, too, on occasion. There are a few varieties I really like, but incense in general tends to leave a pervasive funky odor behind that doesn't appeal to me.

3. I'll leave my purse, shoes, jacket and keys wherever I please. I'd really like to be able to set my keys down on a hall bench or a table, or a kitchen counter near the door. My shoes, too. I want to be able to say, THIS is where my keys go, my purse goes, my shoes and jacket. I'm tired of storing everything in my one bedroom, and having no other place in the house to claim as my own.

4. Providing there's space, at my own discretion, I will leave oft-used toiletry articles on the bathroom counter. Perfume, for instance. Hand lotion. Face moisturizer. Things I easily forget to use unless they are right there in front of me, as I'm getting ready for work. Or for my boyfriend. Or for bed.

5. I'd like to walk around my place in just my t-shirt. Or naked from the bathroom to my bedroom or in just a towel.

6. I'd like to wake up in the morning with my boyfriend at my side, then make breakfast for him. I suppose this can be done now, providing he's able to stay the entire night, but this is something I'd rather keep private, between me and my S.O. Not something I'd like to share with my parents in the morning.

7. My space will be my own. I will walk from room to room, knowing each space is mine, and I will place things as I wish.


When I compare the two lists, I see the first is all about expressing myself, being who I am, and being allowed to explore myself and my opportunities.

The second list seems to be about privacy and territory issues. While I love my parents and don't mind living with them, it's still not my space. The only area I have as my own is my room, where everything I own is stored. I can't leave my book in the living room, or my keys or purse on the counter, or my shoes by the door. I can't leave oft-used mundane items on the bathroom counter, or a cup in the sink. I can't have my espresso machine on the counter, or a shelf in the cabinet, but a single drawer in the fridge for my own. I can't complain, but...

While I live in peace now, and am happy, and am at liberty to be myself, I still need my own space. I'm not quite an adult, yet, but that, too, will come in time. Perhaps in four years, I'll revisit this new list and smile, because these things will have long been accomplished... And then realize I have a new list of goals and desires to share.

Life's simplest pursuits lead to one's greatest joys.