Here’s a couple of cool quotes from this morning’s reading (I typed them in earlier)

“[I]magination is not to avoid reality, nor is it a description nor an evocation of objects or situations, it is to say that poetry does not tamper with the world but moves it—It affirms reality most powerfully and therefore, since reality needs no personal support but exists free from human action, as proven by science in the indestructibility of matter and of force, it creates a new object, a play, a dance which is not a mirror up to nature but—.”

William Carlos Williams quoted  in his bio on Poetry Foundation

And D. H. Lawrence on being an American:

“{T}here are two ways of being American, and the chief… is by recoiling into individual smallness and insentience, and gutting the great continent in frenzies of mean fear. It is the Puritan way. The other is by touch; touch America as she is; dare to touch her! And this is the heroic way.”

D. H. Lawrence quoted in same WCW bio as above

I am learning two movements from Messiaen’s Nativity for upcoming services. I discussed their use with my congenial and helpful boss yesterday. They’re not the usual Xmas fair, but we found a couple of slots for them. Now to actually learn them.

Here’s the one I might do on Xmas II (The Sunday after Xmas):

And this one on Advent IV.

I will use both of these pieces as preludes. If I can learn them in time. I have been working on them everyday this week.

I didn’t have time to listen all the way through to these two Messiaen videos. But I did watch the following one repeatedly. I think it’s great. I put it up on Facebook but just for fun here it is again.