Since childhood every time there is a summer downpour I relive a choral piece that was sung at the Ravenswood Presbyterian Church in Chicago, under the direction of an inspired musician, Miss Lora M. Bell. She retired when I was seven, so figure out how many years it has been since I last heard the piece live.
When it pours rain, as it did yesterday, I sing it: "As torrents in summer [arise]* in their channels....suddenly rise, suddenly rise though the sky has been cloudless."
So yesterday I looked it up on the Internet and sure enough, there is a beautiful YouTube performance; music by Edward Elgar to a text by Longfellow. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtYLFai-pX4
Imagine having the wisdom to program music so unforgettable that it would continue to nurture lo! these many years.
*This is my phonetic memory at work: the real words are "half-dried in their channels,"
