guest artists – Page 2 – dw piano music

Today I’m taking a break from piano music to show off a beautiful choral piece written by my friend Michael Ferguson. For me, this is certainly sound that “quiets the noise.”

Continue reading “Advent music by Michael Ferguson” →

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. The mind that responds to the intellectual and spiritual values that lie hidden in a poem, a painting, or a piece of music, discovers a spiritual vitality that lifts it above itself, takes it out of itself, and makes it present to itself on a level of being that it did not know it could ever achieve.

— Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island

Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets.
Words for the Year is one of my favorite blogs.
Enjoy!

Oh do you have time 
to linger 
for just a little while 
out of your busy 

and very important day 
for the goldfinches 
that have gathered 
in a field of thistles 

for a musical battle, 
to see who can sing 
the highest note, 
or the lowest, 

or the most expressive of mirth, 
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air

as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine

and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude –
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing

just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,

do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.

It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.

via “Invitation” by Mary Oliver — Words for the Year

Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash

Back to Lake Superior and my friend, Michael Ferguson, playing Grieg…

Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world;
Have mercy on us.

Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world;
Have mercy on us.

Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world;
Grant us your peace.

For this poor world and for us poor souls: may it be.
Continue reading “Lamb of God (sung version)” →

Today I’m glad to be sharing music played by my friend Michael Ferguson – Chopin’s Nocturne in E Major. Enjoy the music and the video of Lake Superior.