The Power of Music
Music breaks down barriers.
One of my favourite movie scenes is from Shawshank Redemption (1994) when the main character Andy Dufresne risks severe punishment to play an except from the opera “The Marriage of Figaro” over the PA system of Shawshank State Penitentiary. His fellow prisoner narrates that moment:
“I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can’t expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was as if some beautiful bird had flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have felt caged in due to social distancing and lockdown measures. But musicians, artists, chefs, museum curators, and other experts have generously shared their talent and their content online for the public to enjoy. The pandemic has also led to online reunions of various groups and collaborations between individuals around the globe. The shared passion and common spirit have broken down boundaries and proven that we can be a community no matter the physical distance between us.
Here are some of the musical pieces that have blessed me during this time:
It is Well With My Soul:
“The Blessing”
Precious Lord, Take My Hand by the Octet Alumni (La Sierra University as well as a few from Pacific Union College who have sung under Dr. William Chunestudy (spanning the course of over 30 years) come together virtually to sing “Precious Lord” – arr. Sevier):
the “COVID Choir” from our very own Victoria Conference ladies singing “It is Well” https://www.instagram.com/chovid_choir.
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14