Tower Of London and Mozart's Requiem

So yesterday we went to Tower of London. Mainly to see the memorial of Lady Jane Grey, which we found is non existent. :P They asked us why they would have a memorial for a traitor. ??? She wasn't a traitor hello! Became queen against her will, was dethroned by Mary I, and thrown into the Tower. Her life was to be spared, but an uprising in her favor caused by Sir Thomas Wyatt and her father caused Mary to think she was a threat to her crown. And that's why Jane and her husband Guilford were beheaded.

How hard is that?

Oh well.

Last night we went to see Mozart's Requiem performed at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.  The church is between 3/4 - 1 mile down the road.  So we walked... and Chloe and I survived, even though we wore heels. Typical girls.  But anyway, the Requiem was So amazing. It was really astounding. And I didn't know when it started whether to sob, or keel over and die, or just gape.  The music - the voices were overpowering. When the soloists started, Chloe and I were about ready to faint. Sorry for such a dramatic summary, but really... it was amazing.  Oh yeah, the soloists... There was a soprano, a metzo-soprano, a tenor, and a bass.  Chloe and I especially liked the tenor's voice.  It was so full of emotion, and so nice to listen to.  The soprano's voice was like a trill whenever she sang - it was lovely.

My favorite part about the requiem was when the choir would stand up, and even though the strings were playing piano, you would know that something big was going to happen, because you could see the choir on their feet, and the horns were all getting ready, and then suddenly there would be a huge tsunami of strings, horns, and voices, all playing fff!  It was gorgeous. And then my other favorite part was when the choir would sing... the basses would start, so deep you wondered if the church would fall apart, and then the tenor's would come in, and then the altos, and then the sopranos - all singing untranslatable Latin about judgment day... All singing different tunes, and yet blending perfectly...

It was really glorious.

Again, I am on the wrong computer. But I get internet on my computer on Monday, so I'll be able to upload pictures of the Tower then. :)

A Day Trip To New Wilmington

Two Sundays ago was very busy... My dad played for a church service in New Wilmington, PA (close to Pittsburgh) and everybody excepting Gabriel and Duncan (who were in Lewisburgh helping Nana move) went along. I love the way my dad plays piano, and his style of praise music. We sang In Christ Alone, Crown Him With Many Crowns, Be Thou My Vision, and Open The Eyes Of My Heart. And then we sang one that my dad wrote.... everybody is crazy about it, and it's called Praise Your Name. But as I was saying, I was so enraptured with my dad's really playing out the songs, and by the depth of emotion in his voice, that it almost made me sob. Especially during the offertory when he played his own arrangement of I Surrender All, and one he wrote... Though He Slay Me....

Because I love this song so much, and because it makes me cry every time dad sings it, and because it's pretty much the best song on the face of the earth, I'm going to write down the lyrics....

My Lord, my God

I have no one else in heaven but you.

My life, my all is a fleeting shadow

Compared to you.

Everything I have, all I see and do

Will be swept away, but

Though he slay me,

Still will I hope in Him

Though he slay me

Still will I trust in the name of my God

Though the mountains crumble and fall in the sea

Though my path is dark and my eyes cannot see

Though He slay me

Still will I trust in the name of the Lord my God.

My life is Yours

I surrender all I have to your will

I give my life

As a living sacrifice to your will

I will put my trust

In your unfailing love

I will risk it all for

Though He slay me

Still will I hope in Him

Though He slay me

Still will I trust in the name of my God

Though the mountains crumble and fall in the sea

Though my path is dark and my eyes cannot see

Though He slay me

Still will I trust in the grace of the Lord my God.

Ahh, it's 100 times better when you can hear the music. Dad's hoping to work on recording a third CD of all his vocal songs... And I can't wait! Although nothing beats a live performance. :D

The sermon, spoken by Ralph Hawkins, was incredibly insightful and amazing. I'm still kind of dazed by the expressiveness that he used. He talked about Abram and Sara. How important it was back then to have an heir. And he talked about how even though Abram was near sighted in the physical sense, he was near sighted in the spiritual sense as well. He could not see down the road of that future... it held nothing for him. His only heir was a slave in his house. But God said: "Look up to the sky, and count the stars... if, indeed, you can" and proceeds to tell him that his offspring will be like the stars in the sky, even though he was so very old. It was not who Abram was that made this happen, but who God was and is.

Ahh...

Spiritually, we are as near sighted as Abram. How can we stumble along the paths of live by ourselves, on our own, in such a condition? Like I said in a previous post, pride makes us think that we can do it on our own. But no... not when it is clear that we know nothing certain about the future, not when we are as near sighted as Abram. Our trust belongs to God - He is our vision, and He is the one who will guide us - we cannot rely on our strength, or the strength of men.

After the service, there was a fund raiser for... something. :D (I just really cared about the food at that moment, so I didn't really see what it was for.) We set up a table and sold a very good amount of CD's. That was good. When the number of people began to decrease, I suddenly became aware of my four year old sister running wildly around holding a bright golden kitten, with a white throat, belly, and paws. The kitten was obviously panicked, my sister obviously not in a mood to care about that, and obviously intent on never letting it out of her sight. "LOOK! IT'S FREE!" she exclaimed excitedly. We then found that a few days ago, two girls had found the kitten in the park, had kept it, and now were giving it away. I have no idea how old she was, but she WAS horribly cute... We took her to mom. "Please mom.... Katharina died, and Ophelia left, and now we only had two." "Please dad?!" Daddy glanced at mom. He knew her aversion to cats, and so he said, "let's not take it..." Someone walked up and engaged him in conversation. "Please mom!" "Please!" "Look how cute she is?" "Mommy, how can you resist that?" the little kids (and me *grin*) pleaded with her. A grin flashed across her face: "Alright, fine." Then she turned around to face me, suddenly saying: "oh dear! What's wrong with me?" and then laughed.

So... we took her home....

...and she seemed to take to Elvis right away. (Elvis is a hound dog that we're watching while his owners are out of town.)

And we have *another* cat.

...And she likes to sleep in odd places. :D

I wanted to name her some Greek name, or Roman... I had Berenice in mind... I don't know why, but I really liked the sound of it. But of course no one else liked it at all, and so now her name is Bella. And that was our adventure for the day.