And this shall be for music

I have more to write this week about singing, but let's start with this quote by Abraham Joshua Henschel from his 1973 work A Passion for Truth. This weekend's highlights included participating in an all-day singing convention of Sacred Harp singers in Great Falls, and attending the Washington Concert Opera's production of Tancredi.

Answers to the ultimate perplexity can not be expressed in words. Response is facilitated by song. Singing is not the mere repetition of notes or even the expression of joy or sorrow. Singing means uplifting all of existence to the level of perfection. Singing means raising oneself above all words and all ideas to the realm of pure thought. One cannot truly sing by repeating an old melody. God loves novelty...one must sing a new song each time.

n.b.: The title of today's post comes from a short choral work by American composer Ron Nelson which I sang in high school.