Sing Taizé

I know, I know, this is supposed to be an environmental blog, but I just have to write about the Taizé church service in which I will be one member of an ad hoc choir singing the typical Taizé songs. This service takes place in a church nearby every year on the Saturday night before Easter. It begins outside the church door with a small bonfire, around which the congregation stands. After a short prayer, everyone sings one of the chosen Taizé songs as we all file into the dark church, picking up a candle on the way. The service itself consists mostly of singing, and it is these very special songs that make it a unique experience.

But I am getting ahead of myself. I need to explain a bit about Taizé, a community of some 100 monks both Catholic and Protestant located near Lyon, France. Founded by a Swiss monk in 1940, the community sheltered Jews and orphaned children during WWII and gradually developed into one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. The emphasis is ecumenical and simple, and the songs reflect these qualities. Short, very easy to sing and consisting of only a few phrases each, they are sung over and over again, rather like chanting. The experience is mesmerizing. The choir sings nothing alone, we simply lead the congregation. At the end, the last song is repeated as the congregation gradually files out, each person leaving when he or she chooses, until finally the choir also files out slowly. One year, a bass and I were the last to leave and continued singing outside the church for a bit.

This year we will sing songs in French, German, Latin and English.

Befitting for the day before Easter, they are hopeful and expectant: “Wait for the Lord, whose day is near. Wait for the Lord, keep watch, take heart”, joyful: “O jubilate Deo” or already expressing the Easter message “Surrexit Christus, alleluia!” Below the lyrics on the sheet music are written the translations into most of the continental European languages; sometimes including Russian and other Slavic languages as well. A foreign language speaker can simply sing in his or her language.

Because we are an ad hoc choir, the membership varies each year. One sees a few familiar faces and meets new people as well. The vivacious director is the same inspiring woman each year. It is an experience I would not want to miss.