“My life flows on in endless song——-
Through all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?"
-- from a hymn by Robert Lowry
Singing is the first art. Before we crawl, before we draw, before we dance, we sing. We make sounds with pitches—baby sounds. It may not sound like singing, but it is the beginning of music. When a mother sings to her baby, the baby learns the organization of sounds into a melody.
We sing because we have to—it bursts out of us as we break into song without even thinking. Music is one of the only activities that engages and stimulates the entire brain. We are true amateurs in the best sense (from the Latin meaning “lover of”). We sing purely for the love of it. We want amateurs singing in our choirs and in our congregations. We want that joy. Famous 20th century choral conductor Robert Shaw often told his choirs, “Music and sex are too important to leave to the professionals!" We sing—-because we are human. We sing—-because we are sensitive. We sing——because we see beauty and because we have life. We sing for love, for joy, for sorrow, for thanksgiving and for hope.
“O sing unto the Lord a new song;
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth:
Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise."
-- Psalm 98
How can we keep from singing?
Lynn Gardner
Organist/Choirmaster
