“Music Touches My Soul”

Originally Posted July 13, 2020

I love music….not all music, but a lot of different kinds of music. My mother loved classical music and hated rock music….she would make a face and say ”Uggh, that Elvis”.  I remember the first time I heard “Don’t Be Cruel” in 1956, I thought wow, that’s pretty cool. It wasn’t the lyrics…. even as a 9 year old, I knew the lyrics weren’t deep.

Sometimes I’ll be listening to a song and be brought to tears… it touches something deep within my soul…. it can give me strength to press on…. it can touch so many emotions. Other times I’ll hear a song and it brings back a memory from my past. Sometimes it may be a song I actually don’t really like. 

A couple of years ago we were at LBI at the Jersey Shore.. Judy, Rachel (our eldest grandchild) and I were playing cards and the hands were “crazy”. I immediately began singing the old Patsy Cline hit from 1961 called “Crazy”… crazy, crazy in love with you…crazy for feeling so lonely and blue… …” They thought I was crazy. (It’s a very depressing song.. I never liked it)

While I like some classical music, I’m not much of a classical music buff. I do like many of the songs from movies… eg. Braveheart, Last of the Mohicans, The Mission, Lord of the Rings. A great movie score can take an average movie and make it seem like a classic…take out the music and it’s a “yawner… a real dud”. 

I’ve even learned the names of some of the composers who wrote these songs. 

• James Horner wrote the music for Braveheart, Titanic, Apollo 13, Zorro, Field of Dreams. 
• Ennio Morricone – Mission (Gabriel’s Oboe), “The Good, Bad & Ugly” 
• Howard Shore-Hobbit, Lord of the Rings. 
• Randy Edelman & Trevor Jones – Last of the Mohicans. 
• John Williams – Star Wars. 

Judy and I have had the privilege of singing in the St. Mary’s Stony Hill Choir over the past several years. We have sang some magnificent, beautiful, and very inspiring songs about the Lord… clearly music that goes beyond touching our emotions, but touches the deepest parts of our soul. One of the greatest gifts of our choir director (our daughter Suzanne) is selecting excellent and transcendent songs. She’s also a great recruiter getting real talent to participate and  “getting blood out of other “turnip voices”. The net-net, is that the resultant music gives glory to God. With the coronavirus, only time will tell if we are able to recapture the moments of the past years. I hope so. 

For your homework, I’m giving you the links (copy and paste in your browser) to two songs to listen to… both are beautiful and I hope will lift your spirits during this time. 

• “O Love” by Elaine Hagenberg ( https://youtu.be/U2cqblTDR8w)
• “A Gift of A Thistle” by James Horner ( https://youtu.be/s-K2tehWVFU )

Remember all beauty comes from God. So, when we see, hear, and experience beauty, let’s gives thanks and praise to God.