[Well, it's a resurrection time. As the world peels off its layers, its scabs, its blindfolds ... I will re-enter my inner world and see how it all looks from here. To begin - the Speakeasy network invites me to review Christian and other spiritual works of interest to me. It's a joy to begin with an a cappella singer!]
Paulette Meier: Timeless Quaker Wisdom in Plainsong (audio recording)
A gentle space for contemplation
I am not a musician. While I enjoy many creative outlets in my life, the ability to make music is not one of them. Perhaps that's why composers, musicians and singers loom large on my spiritual path. Whether it's Tom Morello or Sweet Honey in the Rock, there is an alchemy, a mystery in this performing art that might as well be the voice of God itself, as it washes over me, blissful in my mereness and in the grace of receiving.
On the other hand, I am a trained theologian and a nondenominational preacher. Naturally, my passion for music spills into my vocation, through an eclectic, ever-growing collection of conventional gospel, spirituals and secular songs touching on spiritual themes. The power of song has much to contribute, both to our fellowship at worship and to our private reflections on God's call to us. As a theologian, I have studied Quaker history and tradition, and felt a certain kinship with its principles and practices -- but I am not a Quaker. For me, then, Paulette Meier's a cappella solo recording Timeless Quaker Wisdom in Plainsong is an unexpected and joyful resource for learning more about the Society of Friends and the outlines of its spiritual principles.
But of course, it's much more than that for any of us whose hearts turn reflexively to God at the swell of a melody.
Technically, "plainsong" is not about a melody; it could be considered, rather, a musical form of speaking. It is characterized by an unaccompanied vocal line, and requires neither the rhythm nor the rhyme that we moderns expect of song. Meier applies this technique to seminal writings from the Quaker tradition. Each track consists of a couple sentences, perhaps a paragraph, sung and then repeated once, all coming in at about 2 minutes or less. The focus is meant to be entirely on the text. Meier's voice is steady and pure - she takes no stylistic liberties with the form (with one lovely exception, the surprising 3-part overdub arrangement near the end of the album called "Seeds of War").
This is not the kind of collection one would typically put on to play start to finish. It is more like an anthology of meditations, and in the spirit of meditation, one might better choose one track as a touchstone; like lectio divina, each selection a frame for contemplating deeply the few wisdom words Meier has chosen. Whether in a group retreat setting, or in one's own daily sitting, these tracks bring both substance and concision to support mental discipline and help keep monkey-mind at bay - for example, "This Present Time."
As a chaplain and nondenominational celebrant, I am always on the lookout for music appropriate to the ritual or gathering I've been called to create. There is much here that speaks outside denominational lines. "Our Life is Love" reflects on the centrality of community; "Who Is It that Dare?" proclaims the radical equality of "male and female" as vessels of Christ's light; "They that Love Beyond the World" is a compassionate reminder that our departed loved ones are never truly lost to us. The aforementioned harmony piece, "Seeds of War," arranged as a sort of round, challenges our attachment to things - whether "our furniture and our garments" representing Quaker simplicity, or all those tempting consumables of the more worldly life - not simply as spiritually shallow, but much more darkly.
Paulette Meier has offered a gift to the Quaker community, certainly; just as I weep to hear how certain African-American spirituals offer up scripture, so for Quakers the resonance of internalized teachings will be all the richer. But Meier also blesses all of us seekers with a window on the path of silence, simplicity, and contemplation of God's call to human community.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this work free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
