As part of a year of finding my voice, I am learning to sing. Not just belting out tunes in the shower or whisper-singing my kids to sleep as I did for many years. I'm learning the singing that is a whole body experience from a masterful, caring teacher. It's a slow process and she is so patient. I'm still kinda nasally and easily breathless. But each day is a little better. What an amazing gift to free the instrument I've always had within my body and grow more confident in the sound of myself. Stella Splendens, excerpted below, is an ancient pilgrim song that I sang daily on my walk and is the focus on my learning now.
Learning to Sing at 52
Posture
Sew your feet the Earth
Ground yourself in that space an inch below the navel
Arms relaxed, head loose
Back strong, but not tight or arched
Ready
Ready like walking in the woods
Listening for the bear around the corner
Who isn’t really there
But might be
Breathe
In through the mouth with surprise and an inner smile
Get out of the way of the diaphragm’s drop
Say yes to the belly ballooning
Then release — release — the out breath, like a river, unforced
Lifted
Feel, don’t hear, pure sound rising
On the tide of a perfect instrument
Tones soaring to the top of each breath
Now inhale again
Imagine
The bellows of sound
Moving in and down, up and out of your sacred space
Savor the notes on your tongue as you release them
Rushing to meet the intention of Lyricist
Words
Celebrate the dream of the song poet
The clarity of vowels in Latin
The beat of the drum and pilgrims feet
Singing themselves home
Sing
Stella splendens in monte ut solis radium
Miraculis serrato exaudi populum.
Concurrent universi gaudentes populi.
Divites et egeni, grandes et parvuli.
Ipsum ingrediuntur ut cernunt oculi,
Et inde revertuntur graciis repleti.
Live
The Resplendent star of the mountain like a sunbeam
Miraculously growing, hear your people.
They all flock together, glad people;
Rich and poor, high and low.
They climb the mountain as soon as they see it
And return from it full of Grace.
~ Cheryl Murfin with lyrics & translation of Llibre Vermell de Montserrat (14c)
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