From here:
An Anglican parish in Squamish is arranging a special Leonard Cohen concert night in honour of Valentine’s Day.
A group of singers will perform a variety of Cohen’s love songs, along with offerings of wine and roses, on Saturday, Feb. 12, two day’s before Valentine’s Day.
Regular readers will understand my enthusiasm for such an event, given this review of Cohen’s recent concert in Vancouver, plus my advance article, headlined: “Leonard Cohen: The Theology of Love.”
David Dranchuk, the Anglican who is organizing the event at St. John’s Anglican Church puts his passion this way:
“Valentine’s just makes sense because Leonard Cohen was just so preoccupied with love… What a wonderful opportunity to give him some recognition for exploring the many facets of love.”
Although Cohen’s music is full of Biblical references from both the Old and New Testament, Dranchuk told the local newspaper the Canadian bard’s music is as much spiritual as it is religious, including as it explores the theme of erotic love.
No nonsense about how Saint Valentinus aided Christians persecuted by the Roman emperor Claudius and how he was killed for trying to convert Claudius: too religious. What the modern Anglican needs is not religion but spirituality with a spot of Eros on the side.
I’m sure they’ll perform “Hallelujah”. I could be wrong, but I don’t think the last three lines below are a reference to the immaculate conception; but they are very Anglican Church of Canada.
There was a time you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
The first time I’ve seem my birthplace mentioned in a blog.
Isn’t it Lent?
Not Yet. Ash Wed. is not until March 9th
Nice Jewish boy from Westmount who became a Buddhist and had a fling with Janice Joplin.
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/chelsea.html
I’ll ‘fess up; I’ve got a couple of his CDs and a few mp3s – and really like his music. I also have Jennifer Warnes CD where she covers all Cohen songs. If he releases anything else (bearing in mind he’s closing in on 80), I’ll check it out. If I was in Squamish I might try to get tickets.
Warren, I didn’t know you were born in Eros.
I’m full of surprises.
I like his music too, but not all music is suitable for church, and that’s kind of the point here, don’t you think?
If it was a church of which I was a member, I would doubtlessly resist strongly (or end up not being a member). In a case like this – a church where the gospel probably isn’t a priority – I don’t feel so strongly. Frankly, I don’t see it as much different than when I paid to tour churches in Europe. It’s just another building. The “church” is made of of the redeemed.
If I’m ever in your neighbourhood with my guitar, I’ll pop into your church and play Rev. Gary Davis’ Cocaine Blues for everyone. I like the song and it’s only a building.
Apart from you not getting the drift of my previous comment, I suspect that people in my church are not as building-fixated as you might think. It is only a building.
And I’d follow it with another Gary Davis favourite – Candyman – I used to play in the smoky haunts of my youth.
Although I based my version on the way John Renbourn played it:
Good songs, by the way – I would like to here you perform them.
The ability to reply to a comment disappears after the fifth level of nesting.
Ooops, I guess I meant “hear”.
Yes, and I trust you appreciated my restraint in not pointing it out.
Gary Davis was an interesting character in that he was very influential in acoustic blues guitar, but when he became a Christian and later again a Baptist minister, he wouldn’t play any of his old blues songs – or so the story goes.
Not unlike J. I. Packer who gave up playing jazz clarinet (I think it was) when he became a Christian.
I used to watch John Rebourn – in the second clip – live in a university folk club back in the mid 60’s. He wasn’t well known then (he later became a part of the group Pentangle) and I used to cajole him into playing things slowly in the break so I could figure out what he was doing. Bribe, really, with a drink.
In 1965 he looked and played like this:
Are you somewhere in the audience? I enjoy blues (in moderate doses), but have a genetic defect when it comes to jazz; it’s the only musical genre that frequently makes me want to clap my hands over my ears.
The music download service I subscribe to (eMusic) has 17 of John Renbourn’s albums listed and I think I’ll check him out some more. His latest album, Palermo Snow, looks interesting. Thanks for the lead.
No, I’m not in that audience. I think Palermo Snow is the only CD of his I don’t have. I see the Bach Sarabande is on it – it must be the only thing I recorded before he did:
That’s “Janis” Joplin, for those of us who remember some of the Sixties.
And speaking of the Sixties, wasn’t that when Valentine got turfed out of the Kalendar for lack of historical evidence? Along with Christopher and a few others.
Re: your Bach Sarabande clip (I couldn’t reply directly to your comment).
What are you doing wasting your time blogging? Can I find anything by you on eMusic?
It keeps me off the streets.
No, I’ve only recorded a CD for my wife as a Christmas present – you can listen to some more here.