Edited by Jim McCrory, Tuesday, 21 Jan 2025, 10:48
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination, and life to everything."
Plato
Image generated by Microsoft Copilot
One
of the joys that my wife and I share is lying in the dark listening to Classic
FM. One of the pieces that takes me to a place I know not is Miserere by
Gregorio Allegri. When I listen to, say, music from the seventies or eighties,
it takes me to a place I know. I recall feeling low one Christmas Eve, sitting
with a beer in Glasgow’s city centre after Christmas shopping when “If You
Leave Me Now” came on the jukebox. Every time I hear it now; I’m back in that
bar when I was seventeen.
One
evening I couldn’t sleep; it was about four a.m. I turned the TV on and there
they were, the Muppets singing “Shiny Happy People.” Now, when I hear it on the
radio, it takes me back to that sleepless night.
But
Miserere by Gregorio Allegri takes me to a mysterious place where there
is happiness, contentment, and that mysterious duende. I wonder, dear
reader, where does it take you?
I
can imagine that as the years pass on a desert island, immense loneliness could
set in, and Miserere would transport me to that special place.
I
was living in Stavanger, Norway, in 1999. My boss had given us a lovely
two-bedroom cabin with panoramic windows overlooking the water. One evening, I
was alone, and an other worldly piece of music came on the radio. If you could match
the way I was feeling as the sun cast its golden-hour light on the water, this ethereal piece championed it: Enigma’s “Return to Innocence.” Every time I hear it; I’m
alone in that cabin watching the sun go down.
Who
knows, I might never get home, but I would always want to remember my homeland
as I sit there by my beach fire, old and grey, weathered by the sun. One piece
that would always take me home is Highland Cathedral. Perhaps Lauren
would allow me to have the video that accompanies the music to remind me of the
paths I trod on those spring and summer days.
The
piece was composed by two German composers. The tune symbolizes the historic
and emotional ties between Scotland and those of Scottish heritage worldwide.
The fact that it was composed by Germans adds a fascinating layer to its
history, illustrating the universal appeal and adaptability of Celtic musical
styles. This version is performed by the Highland Cathedral and when
it hits the crescendo, it engenders hope—the hope of returning home one day.
One
of my favourite books as a child was Robinson Crusoe. I believe there is
no other conclusion in a book that promises hope more. Here is the last
paragraph from a public domain copy:
"As
for myself, I returned to England, where, notwithstanding all the miseries I
had suffered, I was still resolved not to go on board a ship again; but, like a
true repenting prodigal, to settle at home and repent of all my follies; and,
by a close application to trade and commerce, to get something honestly, and
make a new score. And if ever I should be disposed to travel thither again, and
to see the place where I first was cast on shore, and had made my abode for so
many years without human society, or to seek after the poor remains of my
unfortunate companions, I left directions with my successors, the Trustees of
the Plantation, that the proper measures might be taken for it, and so I left
it."
I
remember reading this and feeling so happy for him that he managed to leave the
desert island after 28 years.
It
was Emily Dickenson who wrote a phrase in her poem that read "Hope
is the thing with feathers" The poem describes hope as a bird that perches
in the soul and sings continuously, never asking for anything even in the
hardest times. Crusoe was like that bird. He recognised God in his dilemma albeit
fiction. But his attitude impressed me albeit it was the writer, Daniel Defoe.
And hope would define me as a sat on that beach sure I would arrive home one
day.
What song would define that
arrival? I had been a Runrig fan from my youth. For some reason although a
lowlander, I felt a pull to the Highlands, particularly the Western Isles. That
puzzle intrigued me throughout life. These years I had my DNA heritage analysed
and discovered my roots are firmly in the Celtic grounds and my father’s line
takes me to The Island of Islay on Scotland’s west coast. Perhaps some strand
in my DNA was calling me.
In 1988 Runrig recorded Going Home.
No other song would welcome me back home that the words and emotion that the songwriters
and musicians embedded in that song. I’m home.
Desert Island Tracks: Part Two
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination, and life to everything."
Plato
Image generated by Microsoft Copilot
One of the joys that my wife and I share is lying in the dark listening to Classic FM. One of the pieces that takes me to a place I know not is Miserere by Gregorio Allegri. When I listen to, say, music from the seventies or eighties, it takes me to a place I know. I recall feeling low one Christmas Eve, sitting with a beer in Glasgow’s city centre after Christmas shopping when “If You Leave Me Now” came on the jukebox. Every time I hear it now; I’m back in that bar when I was seventeen.
One evening I couldn’t sleep; it was about four a.m. I turned the TV on and there they were, the Muppets singing “Shiny Happy People.” Now, when I hear it on the radio, it takes me back to that sleepless night.
But Miserere by Gregorio Allegri takes me to a mysterious place where there is happiness, contentment, and that mysterious duende. I wonder, dear reader, where does it take you?
Gregorio ALLEGRI - Miserere Mei, Deus (+ Lyrics / OXFORD, Choir of New College)
I can imagine that as the years pass on a desert island, immense loneliness could set in, and Miserere would transport me to that special place.
I was living in Stavanger, Norway, in 1999. My boss had given us a lovely two-bedroom cabin with panoramic windows overlooking the water. One evening, I was alone, and an other worldly piece of music came on the radio. If you could match the way I was feeling as the sun cast its golden-hour light on the water, this ethereal piece championed it: Enigma’s “Return to Innocence.” Every time I hear it; I’m alone in that cabin watching the sun go down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk_sAHh9s08&t=5s
Who knows, I might never get home, but I would always want to remember my homeland as I sit there by my beach fire, old and grey, weathered by the sun. One piece that would always take me home is Highland Cathedral. Perhaps Lauren would allow me to have the video that accompanies the music to remind me of the paths I trod on those spring and summer days.
The piece was composed by two German composers. The tune symbolizes the historic and emotional ties between Scotland and those of Scottish heritage worldwide. The fact that it was composed by Germans adds a fascinating layer to its history, illustrating the universal appeal and adaptability of Celtic musical styles. This version is performed by the Highland Cathedral and when it hits the crescendo, it engenders hope—the hope of returning home one day.
Highland Cathedral Bagpipes HD
One of my favourite books as a child was Robinson Crusoe. I believe there is no other conclusion in a book that promises hope more. Here is the last paragraph from a public domain copy:
"As for myself, I returned to England, where, notwithstanding all the miseries I had suffered, I was still resolved not to go on board a ship again; but, like a true repenting prodigal, to settle at home and repent of all my follies; and, by a close application to trade and commerce, to get something honestly, and make a new score. And if ever I should be disposed to travel thither again, and to see the place where I first was cast on shore, and had made my abode for so many years without human society, or to seek after the poor remains of my unfortunate companions, I left directions with my successors, the Trustees of the Plantation, that the proper measures might be taken for it, and so I left it."
I remember reading this and feeling so happy for him that he managed to leave the desert island after 28 years.
It was Emily Dickenson who wrote a phrase in her poem that read "Hope is the thing with feathers" The poem describes hope as a bird that perches in the soul and sings continuously, never asking for anything even in the hardest times. Crusoe was like that bird. He recognised God in his dilemma albeit fiction. But his attitude impressed me albeit it was the writer, Daniel Defoe. And hope would define me as a sat on that beach sure I would arrive home one day.
What song would define that arrival? I had been a Runrig fan from my youth. For some reason although a lowlander, I felt a pull to the Highlands, particularly the Western Isles. That puzzle intrigued me throughout life. These years I had my DNA heritage analysed and discovered my roots are firmly in the Celtic grounds and my father’s line takes me to The Island of Islay on Scotland’s west coast. Perhaps some strand in my DNA was calling me.
In 1988 Runrig recorded Going Home. No other song would welcome me back home that the words and emotion that the songwriters and musicians embedded in that song. I’m home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tltFlmca-U&t=42s