Pure Tone

There were the days when I marveled at the novelty of the Orthodox services, and then there were the days when it was mostly routine. Then I began singing in Orthodox services as a member of a chanting trio, later I became Orthodox and the services were my own place of musical contemplation. And who can say what is true or not true of history and ritual for any individual? Is there an ultimate Truth, and if so must it be the one proven by scientific research, the one passed down through generations of tradition making, the one found in an individuals heart, or some other Truth as yet unknown?

Childs questions, but actually I am a child; a tiny inquisitive simple-minded lover of games, shiny objects, beautiful sounds, and loving caring attention. I make people happy, I make myself confused, I follow simple follies, happily unbemused.

I believe in God, I was just too afraid to name my belief as such because of what has become such an over contextualized word in my American home society. Whose God do you believe in, it is asked? Does God belong to some belief, does God belong to a group of people, a certain discipline of thought?

I believe in the God described by Jesus Christ, and why shouldn’t I, he seemed like a pretty enlightened guy. Certainly more enlightened than me, and judging by the thousands who have been inspired by him (let’s not think about the politically minded bigots through history who have used his teachings to start un-Christian wars - forgetting this one: ‘thou shalt treat thy neighbor as thyself’)... judging by the thousands/millions who have been inspired by him I think his teachings were sound.

One of the first tenets of Orthodox Christianity as I am beginning to understand it is humility. This is my favorite actually, and it means this to me: before God, I am a very fragile, miniscule ball of human weakness, with a potential for great love. Godly love. It means I cannot know my future, nor is it important, except to those who are affected by me. My future is in God’s hands, my actions are my free will carrying out God’s direction, and my inspiration is based on an aspiring morality to ‘love my neighbor more than myself.’

Theologians most likely have defined neighbor, oops I haven’t read up yet. How about my neighbors are my fellow humans beings, fellow sentient beings, the works of beautiful creation that in combination are the Earth, the solar system; in other words, God manifesting in everything physical as a spiritual presence is my neighbor, and his presence I aspire to honor.

A mystery: who were the medieval monks, so tranparent of heart, that they created a perfect music for praising God? I am almost at the point where I can feel a division between moments of Godly inspiration, and moments of human authorship in the chants we are singing. How is this possible?

I can’t tell you straight up. It has something to do with the way the words fit together with the music, the way one’s feelings of the words combine exactly with the feelings expressed in the music to create an experience of other-worldliness. Actually, listening to most of the groups now singing, I hear tunings, chords, mistakes, interpretations, I make mental corrections, commentaries... I am a professional listening to my patient.

However, when I am singing, I hear not what we are singing, but how an imaginary perfect choir would sing this music and these words, and that is an other-worldly experience. If it’s true that Pure Tone exists in the afterlife, and I believe it does, then Pure Tone in these harmonies and arrangements must burst my heart beyond it’s capacity, because even in this lowered earthly state, this music moves me to extreme behavior (check out my current life). Can we imagine Tallis, Palestrina, Arvo Part, Kirtan singing, and all of the many sacred chantings world round that exist in Pure Tone in heaven, how must they sound?

As the tears of an entire ancestry falling in a single drop, a gong of gold precisely striking, galaxy-wide, the tone so pure, of accord all animate cells in alignment and vibration sing God’s eternal glory.