Joanne suggested that tonight we could do a special Dias los Muertos theme for the singing: it’s easy enough to find Sacred Harp songs pertaining to death, and Joanne suggested that those who want could come in costume. Emily came as a dinosaur, complete with large dinosaur feet; David came as Leonard Breedlove, one of his favorite Sacred harp composers and also a possible ancestor of his; Joanne also came in costume. Costumes are not in my skill set, but I brought a new tune on the theme of death.
Tonight’s class gave this new tune a really marvelous reading, especially given that the singers were sight-reading it; by the last two verses, everyone sounded just wonderful.
A final note: I wrote the text based on the healing of Jairus’s daughter in Mark 5.22-23, 35-42. A feminist interpretation of this story (which also explains why the tune is called “Talitha”) appears on my other blog.
