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#ola-gjeilo — Public Fediverse posts

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  1. Quote of the day, 14 December: St. John of the Cross

    1. One dark night,
    fired with love’s urgent longings
    – ah, the sheer grace! –
    I went out unseen,
    my house being now all stilled.

    2. In darkness, and secure,
    by the secret ladder, disguised,
    – ah, the sheer grace! –
    in darkness and concealment,
    my house being now all stilled.

    3. On that glad night
    in secret, for no one saw me,
    nor did I look at anything
    with no other light or guide
    than the one that burned in my heart.

    4. This guided me
    more surely than the light of noon
    to where he was awaiting me
    – him I knew so well –
    there in a place where no one appeared.

    5. O guiding night!
    O night more lovely than the dawn!
    O night that has united
    the Lover with his beloved,
    transforming the beloved in her Lover.

    6. Upon my flowering breast
    which I kept wholly for him alone,
    there he lay sleeping,
    and I caressing him
    there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

    7. When the breeze blew from the turret,
    as I parted his hair,
    it wounded my neck
    with its gentle hand,
    suspending all my senses.

    8. I abandoned and forgot myself,
    laying my face on my Beloved;
    all things ceased; I went out from myself,
    leaving my cares
    forgotten among the lilies.

    Saint John of the Cross

    Poetry, 2: The Dark Night
    Songs of the soul that rejoices in having reached the high state of perfection, which is union with God, by the path of spiritual negation

    https://youtu.be/SjlmnqDJvio

    ABOUT THE VIDEO:

    From Central Washington University’s YouTube channel comes this stellar performance of Dark Night of the Soul by the noted Norwegian-American composer Ola Gjeilo. The video “liner notes” offer the following information:

    “Dark Night of the Soul” (Ola Gjeilo) is sung by The Central Washington University Chamber Choir (Gary Weidenaar, director) joined by Ola Gjeilo on the piano and the Kairos String Quartet (comprised of CWU string faculty).

    Composer Ola Gjeilo adds:

    Dark Night of the Soul was written in 2010, and premiered that year by the Phoenix Chorale. The text, three stanzas from St. John of the Cross’ magical poem Dark Night of the Soul, was suggested to me by Joel Rinsema, Executive Director of the Phoenix Chorale, and I fell in love with its passionate spirituality right away. One of the things I wanted to do in this piece was to make the choir and piano fairly equal, as if in a dialogue; often the piano is accompanying the choir, but sometimes the choir is accompanying the piano (or violin) as well, with the choir kind of taking the role of a soft, but rich “string orchestra” texture. I just love the sound of voices humming chords, it creates a sound that can be so evocative and warm, especially when doubled by a string quartet. To me, that sound combination has a similar effect to a great synth pad, only it perhaps feels more organic and alive.

    John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

    Featured image: Bangladesh photographer Prottoy Hasan captures this striking image of a man looking at the starry sky. Image credit: Prottoy Hasan / Unsplash (Stock photo)

    #StJohnOfTheCross #darkNight #light #solitude #darkness #poetry #selfForgetful #beloved #Lover #OlaGjeilo

  2. choralspace.org/walking-in-bea
    A Celebration of Contemporary Choral Music
    April 23 – 27, 2025 | Berlin
    Walking in Beauty Festival Choir consists of participating choirs and ensembles as well as individual singers from around the world. Ola Gjeilo accompanies the festival choir on the piano.

    Programme:
    The Spheres
    Tundra
    Ecce Novum
    Ave Generosa
    Across the Vast Eternal Sky
    The Rose
    Ubi Caritas
    The Ground

    open.spotify.com/playlist/2rKD

    #ChoralSpace #Choral #Festival #Berlin #2025 #OlaGjeilo #Singers

  3. @earthmothering9
    The #Guinness #choir are preparing #OlaGjeilo 's #Dreamweaver, about 20 mins long. A mix of Norse Saga and redemption journey, like the old (1148?) Irish Tale of Tundal.

  4. What are you listening to today? Ola Gjeilo’s Dawn just came across my stream and it’s absolutely lovely.

    #CurrentlyListening #ListeningNow #Music #Piano #OlaGjeilo #Gjeilo #ClassicalMusic

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