“Their prayers were songs, and as they crooned or intone them, they seem close to the continuous prayer the Orthodox describe as a murmur in the heart.”
~Esther De Waal, God Under My Roof
I first published this blog post in 2011. I had this idea in my head for quite sometime and it eventually developed into the book Celtic Song.
What a shame we don’t know the tunes the ancients used when they sang their prayers. But when we listen, carefully, we can hear the music of nature. I wonder if the Celts had music like that–birdsong, thunder, the crash of the waves, the sound of falling rain.
Did they use music like King David of the Bible did?
Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the LORD on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.~2 Samuel 6: 5 NKJV
Music before the Lord. The Celts found God in nature. They surely played their instruments around their hearths, the way we picture traditional Celtic music being played, but I imagine they played outdoors as well, like the girl in this beautiful photograph.
The music of the spheres. Remember that old hymn?
This is my Father’s world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
