Dear Friends,
I’m so happy to offer you a song of my own, from October, 2019:
Sovereignty in Danger
A setting by Ishmael Wallace of the poem by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 — 1650)
Performed by Ishmael Wallace, tenor and pianist
Can little beasts with lions roar
And little birds with eagles soar,
Can shallow streams command the seas,
And little ants the humming bees?
No no, no, no, it is not meet
The Head should stoop unto the feet.
Who is the lion, the lion behind whom the little beasts can march?
The lion emerges when something must be done. When the meditation group needs a space, he offers his apartment; when the wild boar returns and is eating the local children, he leads the hunt.
(Without a task — without enlightenment to seek or a boar to hunt — a social order falls apart; it devolves into struggle over who belongs.)
When something must be done, there are always a leader and followers. This is not enough, however; the leader must be wise, or in touch with those who are — must consult with hermits who hide in the depths of the woods.
He is likely of an old family. In China, despite the revolution, the old families maintain their influence. But as G. K. Chesterton observes, in The Man Who Knew Too Much, members of such families may go into debt and lose their independence. The distinguished aristocrat may be in thrall to a banker.
Thus, as well as giving our respect to old growth, we should plant new trees, and cherish them, remembering that every redwood was once a seed.
In the heart of every human being is the longing to serve a King. But this King is not only the apex. He is the pyramid as a whole. His radiance overflows, passed down through the ranks of nobility to every province, every house. At each level, those are needed who can receive it.
When we see what must be done, and do it, He is there.
Thank you so much.
With every good wish,
Ishmael
I offer lessons online in music theory; for a taste of the insights to which it may lead, please see my website:
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
after Gerrit van Honthorst, oil on canvas, 1649
I love this.