“Music is the purest form of art…therefore true poets, they who are seers, seek to express the universe in terms of music…The singer has everything within him/her. The notes come out from his/her very life. They are not materials gathered from outside.” (Rabindranath Tagore)
There is nothing that brightens my spirit like music. Last Saturday, I was treated to a concert experience that was uplifting for both soul and spirit and provided an avenue for healing as well. The vocalist was Rachel Persaud and her accompanists were a guitarist and an accordian player. Rachel was at peak performance as this concert was sung in memory of her grandmother who died a few weeks ago. The images in this collage were all taken at St. Matthias Church in Toronto, which was the venue for the concert.
Rachel’s selections were carefully chosen to reflect her grandmother’s taste in music as well as her loving and playful spirit. Early in the program she sang “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” which was a song her grandmother taught her and that they sang together many times.
There’s a wonderful flexibility and capacity in Rachel’s voice that enables her to belt out a Spanish song like “La Cucuracha” and then switch to a rendition of “Amazing Grace” which requires a more subdued style of singing. I loved “Don’t Cry for me Argentina” which called for more serious expression and to which Rachel gave her all.
Throughout her performance, which covered all styles and genres of music, including some of her own compositions, Rachel spoke about her grandmother. Even if you didn’t know her, you got to know her, little by little, as the evening went by. I was very fortunate that her life had touched mine and I was doubly touched by this beautiful and loving tribute made by a grand-daughter for her grandmother.
We, the audience, were definitely out of chronos time during the performance. The music came right out of her and her expressions, feelings, qualities and movements transported me, and I’m sure, the rest of the audience, to a heart and soul space that only music can do. As humans, we are all connected and in relationship on one level or the other. This resonance was definitely there as she shared the gift of her beautiful voice with us. I’m sure many different but very human feelings came to the fore. “Feeling is where the heart lives. In claiming the heart so swiftly and totally, the beauty of music crosses all psychological and cultural frontiers. There is a profound sense in which music opens a secret door in time and reaches in to the eternal. This is the authority and grace of music: it evokes or creates an atmosphere where presence awakens to its eternal depth.” (John O’Donohue)
Wherever eternity resides or whatever it is, we were all privy to a little portion of its evoking presence during this performance. Rachel’s last song was “Wind Beneath My Wings” and she was completely surrendered to the music – a fitting final tribute in song to the grandmother she so dearly loved. I’ve heard it said that “to live on in the hearts of those we love is never to die.” I’m sure this grandmother lives on. Thank you, Rachel, for using your gift to touch so many lives. Keep on singing and blessing.
I have put the words to “Wind Beneath My Wings” below for those of you who may not know them. Enjoy the collage!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. It must have been cold there in my shadow, to never have sunlight on your face. You were content to let me shine, that’s your way. You always walked a step behind.So I was the one with all the glory, while you were the one with all the strength. A beautiful face without a name for so long. A beautiful smile to hide the pain.Did you ever know that you’re my hero, and everything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, ’cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed, but I’ve got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it. I would be nothing without you.
Did you ever know that you’re my hero? You’re everything I wish I could be. I could fly higher than an eagle, ’cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
Did I ever tell you you’re my hero? You’re everything, everything I wish I could be. Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle, ’cause you are the wind beneath my wings, ’cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
Oh, the wind beneath my wings. You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings. Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high. Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings. Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
Fly, fly, fly high against the sky, so high I almost touch the sky. Thank you, thank you, thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.