Requiem Of Lost Tymes

Author : Lincoln A. Sandham
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (134 download)

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Download or read book Requiem for a Lost Soul written by Lincoln A. Sandham and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I have noticed a disturbing trend among many people that I know, ranging from acquaintances to dear friends, and spread across political, cultural, and social spectra. This trend is towards the demonization of people with opposing viewpoints, an attitude of righteous anger, and a desire to punish (or see punished) those with whom we disagree. I see this manifested among people with whom I personally share many things and beliefs in common and among those with whom I share very little and disagree profoundly. I have seen many interactions in which vicious language, brimming with hatred, is meted out by people who I would never have thought capable of such enmity, people I respect and admire. In these incidents both parties believe that their position is just and right. Each seems to believe that relationship is impossible because the disagreement exists, and the person on the other side of the issue is despicable, wicked, morally bankrupt, or evil. This piece is not intended as a political commentary but is borne out of concern for the hearts and minds of all those people mentioned above. In a 1957 sermon delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Jr. said, "...hate distorts the personality of the hater. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated. But it is even more tragic, it is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. You just begin hating somebody, and you will begin to do irrational things. You can't see straight when you hate. You can't walk straight when you hate. You can't stand upright. Your vision is distorted. There is nothing more tragic than to see an individual whose heart is filled with hate." Dr. King was speaking to his followers in the Civil Rights movement, warning against allowing themselves to begin hating those who opposed them. He is primarily concerned that, while pursuing what may be a just and righteous goal, his followers not lose themselves in the process. Requiem for Lost Soul is meant to help the listener assume a stance of mourning, rather than anger. Unlike Dan Forrest's excellent Requiem for the Living, which seeks to comfort its audience, this piece invites its listeners to embark on a difficult, uncomfortable, and sometimes disturbing emotional journey. It takes fragments of the Latin Requiem mass as the foundation of three main movements, with interludes between each featuring quotations by Dr. King and Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. The spirit of the requiem mass, a mass of mourning for someone who has died, is used in this context to mourn someone we perceive as spiritually or morally dead. The first movement, Requiem Aeternam is built on a diatonic cloud, freely employing almost all pitches in a G natural minor collection. The text is taken from the gradual of a Requiem mass, usually found in early chanted Requiems. It is presented in fragments, alluding to the traditional text but unable to bring itself to fully embrace or complete any of the fragments. This first movement is hesitant and somewhat halting, reflecting the difficulty of the task ahead (as Dr. King said, "[loving your enemies] was painfully hard, pressingly hard."). The first interlude is taken from a letter written by Thich Nhat Hanh to George W. Bush imploring him to halt the war in Iraq. Hanh urges us to think of those who oppose us as "brothers ... they may not see us as brothers because of their anger, their misunderstanding, and their discrimination. But with some awakening, we can see things in a different way, and this will allow us to respond differently to the situation." This interlude gives way to the dark atonal landscape of the second movement, Quid Sum Miser. The text in this movement is from the dies irae portion of the mass and asks us to look at ourselves as broken and undeserving, a position from which it is impossible to judge our fellows. I believe this text is important to include in this work, because in the process of avoiding self-righteous anger, we may stray too far in the opposite direction and begin to look down on others due to our superior capacity for forgiveness. I have seen this self-righteous attitude too many times to believe it is an acceptable alternative to anger. The antidote to both states is humility. A person who is honest with themselves about their faults, shortcomings, and flaws cannot honestly sit in judgement on anyone. The second interlude is synthesized from several quotes in Dr. King's sermon. The quote "hate cannot drive out hate" is often misused, sometimes even cited to mean that you shouldn't stand up to something you believe is wrong. Far from it, Dr. King clearly believed that it was imperative to stand up and speak out, to fight against injustice and inequality. But Dr. King also believed that to speak and act in hate would be for the cure to be worse than the disease, and that speaking and acting in love was the only way forward. No less vital, no less imperative, and in today's world no less radical. The third and final movement, Hostias et Preces Tibi, again employs a pan-diatonic palate, but now an E major collection. The text is a prayer that the fallen soul transition from death into life. This is the culmination of the piece, the arrival at the state of love. This is what breaks down all barriers and accomplishes real change. According to Dr. King, "That's it. There is a power in love that our world has not discovered yet. Jesus discovered it centuries ago. Mahatma Gandhi of India discovered it a few years ago, but most men and most women never discover it. For they believe in hitting for hitting; they believe in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; they believe in hating for hating; but Jesus comes to us and says, "This isn't the way." And oh this morning, as I think of the fact that our world is in transition now. Our whole world is facing a revolution. Our nation is facing a revolution, our nation. One of the things that concerns me most is that in the midst of the revolution of the world and the midst of the revolution of this nation, that we will discover the meaning of Jesus' words. ... So this morning, as I look into your eyes, and into the eyes of all of my brothers in Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, "I love you. I would rather die than hate you." And I'm foolish enough to believe that through the power of this love somewhere, men of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed. And then we will be in God's kingdom."