Friday, December 25, 2009

Meredith, One Of A Bright, Cosmopolitan Generation:  A Year’s End Remembrance

Posted by Earthling



This is the third Christmas that Meredith’s family in southern London will have spent without their beloved daughter and sister.

Many of us here have experienced great grief, too, and know that this time of the year can be especially difficult.

Meredith’s father John wrote in a newspaper tribute that, after her death, “hundreds of messages [flooded] the internet. Many are from as far as Australia and Brazil, people who never knew her but are touched by her tragic passing and who loved her smile. Even in death she seems to reach out to people.”

Meredith, her father tells us, loved poetry and music, dancing and movement arts. The music of this season helps many to to come together, touch, remember and inspire. It lifts our spirits from the darkness of the shortened days, and reminds us that spring is really just around the corner.

Familiar Christmas carols recall our childhood innocence, joy and wonder. Music also helps us feel awe for the great stories of “this time of the rolling year,” as Dickens put it: the coming of the Savior child, the lighting of lamps with miraculous oil, and the ancient traditions and beliefs of Africa.

Five music videos are presented here in the hope that they would have pleased Meredith, and will please her family and friends, as well as what my fellow poster Wayra below referred to as all her new friends who have learned to “love what she stands for.”

First, two videos that showcase young people’s interpretations of traditional Christmas carols. At top here is this heartfelt rendition of O Come O Come Emmanuel by guitarist Trace Bundy and singer/guitarist Josh Garrels:

And immediately below is a lovely, surprisingly energetic version of O Holy Night, again by guitarist Trace Bundy, this time joined by violinist Aubrea Alford:



Christmas would not be complete for me without some rendition of Ave Maria, and here is a beautiful one: The singer is the American soprano Barbara Bonney.



To honor what her father John called Meredith’s “sense of the ridiculous,” and the child-like joy of Christmas, here is the Chipmunks’ Christmas Don’t Be Late:



And finally, one of my favorite Old English songs, Nonesuch/Ladies’ Bramzel, which speaks to the turning of the seasons. I first heard this song on Craig Chaquico’s Holiday CD on which a chorus of young children sing the words, which go something like this:

And she shall bring the birds in spring
And dance among the flowers.
In summer’s heat her kisses sweet
They fall from leafy bowers.
She cuts the grain and harvests the corn.
The kiss of fall surrounds her.
The days grow old and winter cold.
She draws her cloak around her.

Since I cannot find Chaquico’s version on YouTube, the next best thing seemed a simple rendition by talented fiddler Hillar Bergman, who records in a pedestrian tunnel (for the great acoustics!):



At this time of celebration and joy, I would like to acknowledge this Internet community of people that are concerned, caring, and praying for justice for Meredith and her family. This group has become an extended community for many of us. In conclusion, then, let us say, like Tiny Tim: “God bless us, every one!”

Posted by Earthling on 12/25/09 at 03:18 PM in Concerning Meredith

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