I’d like to think that if my house burned to the ground, or my retirement accounts got wiped out (like those who invested with Bernie Madoff), I wouldn’t lose my spiritual grounding and put such loss on the same plane as the loss of one’s own life. Your home, your car, your job, your possessions – they are all secondary. That’s because grief is a reminder that life is the most precious of all gifts. But the one thing that he could not overcome was grief over losing a friend. He says in John, “I have overcome the world.” He never “needed” a job, a relationship, things, or any other vice. We are codependent on things and situations to keep us happy. We are bound by relationships, medications, addictions, dead-end jobs, obsessions, compulsions, etc. That only teaches us that grieving is a part of life, a spiritual force that frees us from the “guilty world around.” Not even Jesus could contain his emotions over his friend’s death. The image of Jesus weeping at the graveside of Lazarus is one of scripture’s most poignant moments. The spellbinding nature of the layered lines echoes with a compelling tenderness, illustrating the cathartic and necessity of grief’s sweet release. It’s repetitive, it’s thought-provoking, and it almost is like an incantation. Who knows why Billings chose to set this text as a cannon. I suppose I’m not much of a pioneer! A canon is a melody that can be sung in a round, like Row, Row, Row Your Boat or Frère Jacques. I remember having to write a canon in 18 th century counterpoint, an undergrad theory class – a very unsuccessful venture for me. I think that’s why I love it so much.ĭespite Billings’ lack of formal music training, today’s anthem is written with a rather complex style called a canon. They made the best out of what they had, true to early American gusto and ingenuity. Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven were composing lavish operas, oratorios, and symphonies in opulent concert halls and cathedrals, while Billings and his American counterparts were composing rustic hymns and songs in barns and simple, wooden churches. What fascinates me about this music is how much different it sounds from what was happening in Europe at the same time. It’s rough around the edges, yet meaningful and innocent. He began composing without any formal music training, and never really made any money on it, despite the fact that his music was very popular.īillings music is rustic.

His father died when he was only 14, and he was forced to drop out of school and to take up tanning hides to make ends meet. William Billings was a true American pioneer.

Harmony assistant handbells