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And the glory . . .
The world's best known sacred oratorio was born at the lowest point in Handel's life. It comes to life in Winnipeg's largest church in music and drama.

Music which Touches the Soul, J. S. Bach
The sacred music of the greatest master of harmonic progressions has deeply touched my soul since I first discovered it in my early teens. Not yet published.

Music and Language Touching the Soul
Music and language both touch the soul, but the combination of the two has the unsurpassed power to reach down into the most secret crevices of the heart. Not yet published.

Healing Music
The story of the healing of a seriously sick new-born baby through the music of Bach, music which was born in heaven.

More Healing Music Stories

Comfort ye . . .

by Traute Klein, biogardener

Where do you derive comfort in perilous times when the rug is pulled out from under your feet? We all need an anchor which will hold us from drifting into the depth of despair.

Distress of War

The events of September 11, 2001 and America's response to them have been weighing heavily on me. The unquestioning cooperation of the Canadian government disturbs me. I am not prepared to live through another war. The effects of the great war to end all wars has been ever present in my life and I have found myself comparing current events to my childhood experiences in many article written here at Suite101.

Will your anchor hold?

A well-known gospel song starts "Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?" I have asked myself that question many times since September 11. Based on previous experience, I have come to the conclusion that it will. That, however, has done nothing to soothe my hurting soul. Seeing the horrors of my childhood repeated in Afghanistan, knowing that millions of children will end up war-damaged like me, distresses me deeply.

And the glory . . .

On December 9, 2001 I was singing in this year's first of five performances of Handel's sacred oratorio "The Messiah" as presented by the congregation of Winnipeg's Calvary Temple. The music is accompanied by a modern dramatization. The life of Christ is portrayed on the stage in front of the orchestra and choir, woven into a contemporary story to which most people can relate. The drama is rewritten every year, and the music is chosen to match the action.

I am sitting in the choir loft behind the orchestra and can neither see nor hear what is happening on the stage. At times, when the musicians are silent, I catch odd bits of dialogue and see some scenes on the screen above us. On this Sunday, one sentence reaches my ears and penetrates my troubled soul. One of the actors on the stage ends the first contemporary scene with the words "Let me tell you a story which has been of great comfort to me."

Comfort me . . .

Yes, that is what I need, comfort for my pain. That is what the world needs in this time of assault on human life and liberty and on the health of the environment.

Onto the stage steps Rick Bowering, dressed as the prophet Isaiah, singing "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God." Never before have the words touched my heart as today. Tears start to roll, bathing my face in healing warmth.

The choir is next with my favorite chorus, "And the glory, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed." I cannot see Trish Reimer. I know she is there in front of the orchestra swinging her baton. I cannot see a thing. Who cares? The music is written on my heart. I have been singing it for 45 years.

Healing Balm

There is healing in the music. There is healing in the text. The combination of the two is the most powerful balm known to me. I have felt it before when I first discovered the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. His oratorios and antatas have an even more powerful effect on me, because the words are written in my mother tongue, and nothing can heal a wounded heart quite as effectively as words of comfort in the language which was taught to us by loving parents.