by jl on 18 Aug 2008, 15:22
Hello Bridget (and Margaret),
It was by accident that I began singing in the Churches on my last Camino. The first occasion was in a little Chappelle on top of a hill just past Noahilliac (not sure of the spelling - and someone has borrowed my guide book to check it - Chappelle St Roche I think) I humbed a few bars of Amazing Grace and it fair boomed around this little chapel! I then decided to actually sing it, and then progressed to Donna Nobis Pacem. From there I sang in most of the churches I came across, with a whole lot of different reactions and experiences.
At one little church I actually wrote a note in the book and the next pilgrim (Claire - from Ireland) who came by said that she wished she was brave enough to do so - I encouraged her to do so and sang with her for confidence. Jerome, who had been sitting outside, then said he wanted to learn Amazing Grace in English so it then became my task to teach it to him - we sang it together, not only in the churches but outside of cafes and bars where we happened to meet, and as he became more confident he started harmonising too. It was wonderful singing with him in the Abbeye Church at Sauvelade - and even in the church at Roncevalles. We couldn't sing at St Jean as they had piped music playing!
At another church I waited patiently for 2 chatting women to leave. After about 10 minutes of them discussing things that were written in a disply book, and, showing no signs of departing I decided to risk it and sing anyway - My Lord What a Morning, a Negro Spiritual . They stopped their discussion and came and listened. Then one of them sang for me - and I think it was something that her mother used to sing (I don't speak French - and she didn't speak English). After that she invited me to sing again and I reverted to singing Amazing Grace, inviting her to sing too. Half way through though, I realised that I had muddled the verses, but decided that as I had no idea what she was singing, and she obviously had no idea what I was it didn't really matter!
I arrived in Viana at Fiesta time and managed to get a gym mat on the floor of the wonderful parochial albergue next to the church. I was also lucky enough to see and hear some wonderful music while I was there - including three fine musicians playing the Basque Gaita (as opposed to the Glaican gaita) which is perhaps similiar to the medieval Shawm. The hopitalero knew of my interest in music and wanted me to sing, but with a very loud band playing outside the window I was unable to do so. However later that night, (while many of us were queing to use the very small bathroom) somehow I managed to lead the singing of the group of pilgrims staying there. Again a wonderful experience with the melodies resonating down the passage, as we all sang and harmonised together. The hospitalero thanked me with "shiny eyes" - it was a moving experience.
At Rabanal I sang for a couple of friends in the church there, before they moved on. That too was a moving experience, in that ancient church, with a mixture of modern cyclone netting fencing off great hole in the ground from which bones protruded. It was there that I sang that wonderful Spiritual "Standin' in the Need of Prayer"
At Vilar de Donas I arrived just after the custodian had closed the Church of El Salvador - an ancient, beautiful but decaying church which was once the seat of the Knights of Santiago. This man kindly re-opened the church for me to see it (I had made a very fast detour to get there, just not quite early enough). I had no language skills to tell him how appreciative I was, and so I used the most universal language of all - I a sang a number of songs / hyms for him. He seemed happy and I certainly was.
Music is truly a universal language. Not only did it help me march up the mountains and across the plains as I sang in my head (or aloud), but it opened up friendships where previously we hadn't communicated, because of language barriers. Another thing that I noticed time and again was that no matter how bad I felt (and sometimes after a particularly long day, I was feeling quite "off") a 10 minute sing was worth at least an hour of rest. For me it was a real energiser.
Those who know me know that I talk too much, but hope there are some out there who might reflect on my experience and try something similiar themselves. Sorry about the length of this post - but once started, I couldn't stop!.
Buen Camino all, Janet
