Sacred Face and Sacred Places

Dear Music Lover, 

Linda T has commissioned our first square. Known as the Passion Chorale, “O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded” has a long history. The text is based on a medieval poem which addressed various members of Christ’s crucified body in seven cantos, the last of which focused on his face. It was translated by Presbyterian minister J W Alexander in 1830 and it was this last section which became the popular hymn. The melody first appeared around 1600, was simplified by Johan Crüger in 1656 and later rearranged by Bach. So this is for you Linda - thank you for supporting the Elora Festival!

The image I used was developed from photographs of the Shroud of Turin, which has always fascinated me. The single most studied artifact in human history, it is believed by millions to be the cloth that wrapped Christ’s crucified body. Countless others, however, maintain that it is a medieval forgery perpetrated by a clever artist. Whatever the truth is, the image of the straight nose topped by prominent eyebrows suggested to me an empty cross, as illustrated here, the open eyes signifying a living, risen Lord, as stated in the text.

Our second request today is Psalm 23, set to music by Schubert. This is for Nellie, who sees God as leading us, his Word moving us on the rightful path towards eternity. In the passage about walking in death’s dark vale, the music is subdued, and I imagine that this is in a forest, where the light through the trees reminds us of stained glass windows, and the canopy overhead is like the soaring vaults of a cathedral. It is in a house like this that we shall dwell forever.  The shepherd’s crook will comfort us and make our way easier, as we pass by still water on either side.

The challenge of developing an image for Psalm 23 is that there are so many of them, usually showing Christ as a shepherd and guide. However, instead of focussing on the shepherd analogy, I decided to start with Schubert, and chose to work from a photograph of the woods outside Vienna, where he was born, lived, and might have walked for inspiration.

This last square is for Jay, and it was designed and stitched by Kathy. One of her favourite hymns, Jerusalem is based on a poem by Blake, which in turn was inspired by the legend that a young Jesus and his uncle Joseph of Arimathea sailed to England and visited Glastonbury. Since this tale is apocryphal, instead of depicting Glastonbury, Kathy chose to depict a circle of stones representing the new church that was about to be founded – the "new Jerusalem".

The petroglyphs tell the story of a people on the move. "And did those feet in ancient times, walk upon England’s mountains green" are the first words of the text, and it ends with "I will not cease from mental fight .... till we have built Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land." A call to evangelism, set to stirring music by Parry.

Take care, all, and may your paths be straight and smooth!

Susan