Monday, December 1, 2008

What a day.


The wind is howling. There will be no more a few degrees above zero. Whoever has not changed his oil and put on his winter tires has only himself to blame. Tomorrow, I have to drive to Edmonton; hope it will be ok. Martin is cleaning up the garage, so more cars fit into it.

Canada is experiencing a coup d'etat. What will it bring?

The stock market is down lots more. Those who say: sell into rallies, are probably right.

I found my advent wreath and four huge tall candles. Tonight I will sing. I sing well and I have not felt like singing. Very bad form.

We always had to sing before we got our cookies, when we were children during advent. We sang: "Macht hoch die Tuer, die Tor macht weit, es kommt der Herr der Herrlichkeit." One of my mother's favorites. In English: "Lift up the gates". I can't say, the English words come to me.

My mother was a good singer; my dad, too. My siblings sing well. The entire extended family sang lots. It's a German thing. We know all the verses, because we had to memorize them in school and for religion class. And it was the time before all the electronic media.

I wonder if they still memorize and sing over there. They might. They still teach Latin and Greek in High Schools like they used to. Stefan's Polish cello teacher would tell me how the Germans she knew would sing on and on and one more verse. They knew all the verses. That is true. The Polish will sing a line and then go "la la la, how does it go?" That's what Gazjina said. I know many verses, myself.

It's a problem for the hymn book over here. Nobody has memorized all the verses and can sing a much with gusto from memory. That's why there is so much repetitive pop. That's my theory.

6 comments:

Bror Erickson said...

Interesting. My boy and I when he is with me sing before bedtime. I started that when he was just a baby I would sing hymns to him. Now he won't go to sleep till I sing a hymn or two to him. Some how I have duped that kid into thinking I have a good voice.

Brigitte said...

That's wonderful. You probably have a good voice from all that singing.

Practice makes "perfect" or at least "much better".

Tell me what you are singing these days! Do you have any old and new favorites in the LSB?

The first advent hymn in my German hymnbook is "Nun kommt der Heiden Heiland". It says: translated by Luther from the ancient: "Veni redemptor gentium." by the bishop Ambrosius (ca. 340-397). I like that one.

Bror Erickson said...

Brigitte,
I normally sing "i am Jesus Little Lamb to him." He likes that one. I try to add a different hymn depending on the season this last time he was here I would sing "A Multitude Comes from the East and the West." (510 LSB)

Brigitte said...

"Weil ich Jesu Schaeflein bin,
freu ich mich nur immer hin,
ueber meinen guten Hirten,
der mich wohl weiss zu behirten,
der mich liebet, der mich kennt,
und bei meinem Namen nennt.

Unter seinem guten Stab,
geh ich ein und aus und hab,
unausprechlich gute Weide,
dass ich keinen Mangel leide,
und so oft ich durstig bin,
fuehrt er mich zum Brunnquell hin.

Soll ich denn nicht froehlich sein,
ich begluecktes Schaefelein,
denn nach diesen schoenen Tage,
werd ich endlich heim getragen,
in des Hirten Arm und Schoss.
Amen, ja, mein Glueck ist gross."


from memory. We always sang that. Such a sweet melody, too.
I will look up 510. I'm not good with LSB, yet.

LPC said...

Brigitte,

The only German I know is 'Lobet den Herren'.

:-)

LPC

Brigitte said...

Welcome L P Cruz

"Lobet den Herren".

Is that from singing: "Allelu, allelu, allelu, alleluia,"

and then "praise ye the Lord" in all languages? :)

I always like the "same ti fu", or something like it, which was supposed to be Chinese.