THOUGHTS FROM A MUSICIAN'S HEART

CHRISTMAS SORROW, CHRISTMAS JOY

By Barbara Kavanaugh

At this moment I am listening to Corelli’s Christmas Concerto Grosso (g minor, Op. 6, no. 8), the first piece of music my 6th-grade-self adored with all my heart and soul. I played the album over and over and over; the cello part was to die for. Decades and countless hours of music have passed, and I love this music just as much. Corelli was a master of suspensions—tension, release, tension, release.  It stirs my yearning for Eternal Joy. 

Christmas as a child—anticipation, thrilling, my mom’s cookies, a visit from our grandparents, school break, often snow, always joyful. The birthday of Jesus! A time to share the love of God and the love for one another.

Time passes, Patrick and I became the parents of the fabulous four little boys—sharing their anticipation, my cookies, trips to their grandparents. The birthday of Jesus! A time to share the love of God and the love of one another.

More time passes, our sons (scattered between three continents) are the parents and I am the grandmother of their terrific ten children—sharing their anticipation, more cookies, and I make the trip, leaving the son nearby to visit another son. The birthday of Jesus! A time to share the love of God and the love for one another.

My heart is brimming with conflict. As blessed as I am, Christmas is also a time of sorrow for me. I miss Christmas past, my grandparents, my parents, my sister Jean, and a few dear friends. I MISS Patrick, my soul mate, my beloved husband, Putting up the tree, hanging a wreath, listening to Robert Shaw’s “Songs of Angels” is just not right without Patrick. My heart aches.

Christmas has always been sorrow and joy. The Bethlehem skies filled with the joyful music of angels, the shepherds struck with awe, the new parents in the stable bewildered by the miracle, all praising God!  Yet within days, moments of sorrow followed.  At the temple presentation of the infant Jesus, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary “a sword will pierce your own soul too”. Jerusalem mothers wailed as Herod slaughtered their little boys. Mary and Joseph held God’s promised child as they fled from their families and homeland to hide in a foreign country.

Christmastime is often the busiest season for musicians. Our fingers are tired, our brains overworked, our emotions on edge. Remember to find a quiet minute to breathe deeply and thank God. Open your eyes for opportunities to reach out to someone who is in need,  Seek to turn their Christmas sorrow to Christmas joy.  Love your fellow musicians. How many sing/play Messiah, unaware that the story Handel proclaimed is Truth?

Sorrow and Joy.  Tension and Release. Sorrow and Joy. Tension and Release.

Isn’t this what Jesus teaches us?  

In our short time on earth, “you will have trouble, 

BUT TAKE HEART, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”  (John 16:33)

We are blessed!

JOY IS ETERNAL!

Link to Corelli   Sketch by Franceschini (1611-1689)