A Child's Song

I listened to this classical composition; Pavane (1887) by French composer Gabriel Faure (1845 - 1924) one quiet afternoon and was very touched by its beauty. I thought "this seems like sacred music and I am sure there are reverent words that were part of the piece when it was composed". I looked into it and discovered that he was commissioned by Countess Elisabeth Greffulhe to write the piece and she handed Faure the lyrics, written by her cousin Robert de Montesquiou, a French intellectual.

The lyrics are inconsequential political satire.  Even though this style lyric was popular, I felt bad for Monsieur Faure.

I listened to Pavane  soon thereafter and these simple, reflective phrases arrived in a child's voice; focusing on the loving, guiding, teaching and sustaining influence Jesus Christ has had and will continue to have in a child's life.

From the Other Side of the Light 

The week prior to serving in the Columbia, South Carolina Temple baptistery I had the words to this poem come to mind. They came all at once and very clearly and I felt they were an uplifting message to the LDS Youth who selflessly serve their ancestors in LDS temple around the world. As I have read it over the past few weeks since it was written, I feel the deeper meaning of the message as a communication to all God's children who strive to serve their ancestors with love. We are all connected from this sphere of existence through to our next abode, where those we love are fully engaged in the final preparations for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The music used in this interpretation was the first piece of classical composition I have ever focused on and the setting was in the third story room I used on my mission in Tours, France in 1973. The window was open and I could hear, with the music, young school children playing in the courtyard of the Catholic Primary Institute next door. Needless to say, it left a great impression on mu soul.