My dear Friends
I am delighted to tell you that my little Concert for Peace and Reconciliation went very well. It took place last tuesday, on the anniversary of 9/11. The venue was Michaelhouse, a cafe and ancient church right in the heart of Cambridge.
Annabel, the Anglican priest in charge, set the tone when she asked for a short pause to honour the day. Then I told the story of how something was going on at Ground Zero,a few days after 9/11 and when the people drew closer to see what was going on they saw a group of people-dancing for the joy of living.
The music unfolded-I started with an anti-war song by Ed McCurdy called Last night I had the strangest dream: 'I dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war.' Psalm 23 in Hebrew followed, dedicated to a sweet American man I had recently met and who had just lost his wife. Then There but for Fortune, written by Phil Ochs but made famous by Joan Baez.'There but for Fortune go you or I.'
The audience (and it was a full house) really started singing when i struck up with 'We shall overcome' , the last verse of which is 'The Truth shall set you free.' Then there was a lyrical break with Are you going to Scarborough Fair, followed by the totally transcendent Blowing in the wind.
Hannah Senesh, a young Hungarian Jewess wrote a beautiful song calleld Eli, Eli, my God about the God of all creation-she perished at the hands of the Nazis but in one of her letters before she died she wrote'The souls of those who have gone before us light up the way for the rest of mankind.'
I finished with a couple of rambling songs by Tom Paxton. The second was Rambling Boy and, after retelling the death of the hero, the song finishes as follows:'If when we die, we go somewhere, you can bet a dollar he's ramblin there!'
Power to your elbow
Love and shalom
Gila
I am delighted to tell you that my little Concert for Peace and Reconciliation went very well. It took place last tuesday, on the anniversary of 9/11. The venue was Michaelhouse, a cafe and ancient church right in the heart of Cambridge.
Annabel, the Anglican priest in charge, set the tone when she asked for a short pause to honour the day. Then I told the story of how something was going on at Ground Zero,a few days after 9/11 and when the people drew closer to see what was going on they saw a group of people-dancing for the joy of living.
The music unfolded-I started with an anti-war song by Ed McCurdy called Last night I had the strangest dream: 'I dreamed the world had all agreed to put an end to war.' Psalm 23 in Hebrew followed, dedicated to a sweet American man I had recently met and who had just lost his wife. Then There but for Fortune, written by Phil Ochs but made famous by Joan Baez.'There but for Fortune go you or I.'
The audience (and it was a full house) really started singing when i struck up with 'We shall overcome' , the last verse of which is 'The Truth shall set you free.' Then there was a lyrical break with Are you going to Scarborough Fair, followed by the totally transcendent Blowing in the wind.
Hannah Senesh, a young Hungarian Jewess wrote a beautiful song calleld Eli, Eli, my God about the God of all creation-she perished at the hands of the Nazis but in one of her letters before she died she wrote'The souls of those who have gone before us light up the way for the rest of mankind.'
I finished with a couple of rambling songs by Tom Paxton. The second was Rambling Boy and, after retelling the death of the hero, the song finishes as follows:'If when we die, we go somewhere, you can bet a dollar he's ramblin there!'
Power to your elbow
Love and shalom
Gila
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