Mercy in His holy heart is beating ...

As I made dinner tonight, on a Good Friday that has been extraordinarily busy, I turned on Andrew Peterson's Counting Stars c.d. and was struck by how beautiful, how appropriate, is this song for Passion week. I pray it might be as much a blessing to you as it was to me, surrounded by pots and pans and spilled milk and coffee. In the night my hope lives on. 

-Rachel

I am weary with the pain of Jacob's wrestling

In the darkness with the Fear, in the darkness with the Fear

But he met the morning wounded with a blessing

So in the night my hope lives on

When Elisha woke surrounded by the forces

Of the enemies of God, the enemies of God

He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses

So in the night my hope lives on

I see the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding

And I can hear the captive groan, hear the captive groan

For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding

Still in the night my hope lives on

I see the armies of the enemy approaching

And the people driven, trembling, to the shore

But a doorway through the waters now is opening

So in the night my hope lives on

Like the son who thought he'd gone beyond forgiveness,

Too ashamed to lift his head--but if he could lift his head

He would see his father running from a distance

In the night my hope lives on

I can see the crowd of men retreating

As he stands between the woman and their stones

And if mercy in his holy heart is beating

Then in the night my hope lives on

I remember how they scorned the son of Mary

He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb

He was beaten, he was crucified, and buried

And in the night, my hope was gone

But the rulers of earth could not control Him

They did not take his life--he laid it down

All the chains of earth could never hope to hold him

So in the night my hope lives on

Shakespeare and "Red-neck Crazy"

If you know me, you'll know that I love certain country songs. I hate others. I've gotten really good at hearing the first few opening strains and knowing whether it's time to turn it off, or whether it's a gem like "Would You Go With Me," "Runnin' Outta Moonlight," "Everybody's Got Somebody But Me," or "A Little More Country Than That." But by default, I've heard my share of stupid country songs - the songs that give country music a bad name among some people, because anyplace you go when you live out here, you're going to collide with country music.

Probably the worst song to come out recently (stupidity-wise) is "Redneck Crazy" by Tyler Farr. I just laugh in pain every time I hear the chorus in the feed-store. Besides containing a couple of cuss-words, this song is like Ernest T. Bass drunk:

"I'm gonna aim my headlights into your bedroom windows
Throw empty beer cans at both of your shadows.
I didn't come here to start a fight but I'm up for anything tonight.
You done broke the wrong heart, baby, and drove me red-neck crazy."

Seriously. That's the chorus. That's the best part of this singularly inane song. By now you'll be wondering why the heck I decided to write a post about stupid country songs; here's the answer:

I've been on a bit of a Shakespeare kick in recent days, and I'm currently reading Twelfth Night. I was sprawled out on Mama's couch reading, waiting for Levi to fall to sleep the other night and I literally laughed aloud when I came to this part:

Olivia: ...a gracious person. But yet I cannot love him.

        He might have took his answer long ago.

Viola: If I did love you in my master's flame,

           With such a suffering, such a deadly life,

           In your denial I would find no sense;

           I would not understand it.

Olivia: Why, what would you?

Viola: Make me a willow cabin at your cate

         and call upon my soul within the house.

         Write loyal cantons of contemned love

          And sing them loud even in the dead of night.

          Halloo your name to the reverberate hills

          And make the babbling gossip of the air

          Cry out, 'Olivia!' Oh, you should not rest

          Between the elements of air and earth,

          But you should pity me.

Guys. Do you not get this? Either Tyler Farr is way better-read than we all assume from his lyric-writing abilities, or Shakespeare wrote "Redneck Crazy" before anyone even knew what country-music was.

I can't even.

Shakespeare: "Oh, you should not rest between the elements of earth and air..."

Tyler Farr: "Nah, he can't amount to much by the look of that little truck. He won't be getting any sleep tonight."

I still think it's a ridiculous song - that's probably why these lines were written for Twelfth Night which is a comedy about star-crossed lovers. It's hilarious, the way that man's nature has, evidently, not changed when it comes to dealing with rejected love suits.

There are two lessons to be learned from this episode:

• Never assume Rednecks don't read Shakespeare 
• Never say no to the proposal of a man who is crazy about you.

I....can't...even...

*Goes off in a puddle of laughter*

Celebrate Musicals Week Tag! :)

1.  What musical did you pick to "spotlight" this week and why?
Rach and I chose Wicked. We are total musical-lovers and would've found it very hard to pick only one, but we went on a whim and this is what happened! Wicked is a wonderful story and the music holds up the integrity of it so much. Each piece has so much feeling and amazingness in it that we couldn't resist telling you about them! :)

2.  How did you discover the musical you picked (hereinafter referred to as "your musical")?
That would be the infamous Abigail's doing! I believe she showed us "Defying Gravity" first, and Pandora soon got us hooked on "What is This Feeling", "For Good", and others. :) 

3.  If you had to pick three favorite songs from your musical, which ones would they be?
Ergh. This is challenging. Well, we already covered "For Good", so next up would be "I'm Not That Girl", "Popular" and "The Wizard and I". 

4.  What's your least favorite song from your musical?
That'd be "Something Bad". Without a moment's hesitation. A goat professor....yeah. 

5.  Who are your favorite characters (choose up to three)?
Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero. 

6.  Which versions of your musical have you seen/listened to, and which is your favorite?
By far, our favorite is the OBC version of Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel!  We were overjoyed to see the touring Broadway cast when they came this way last winter!! The cast consisted of 

Anne Brumell as Elphie

Tiffany Haas playing Galinda

and 

David Nathan Perlow portrayed Fiyero. 

We really enjoyed the production and it was even more special as our first ever Broadway show (tour or otherwise) !!

7.   Is this your favorite musical of all time?  If not, what is?
No, I wouldn't say its our favorite.....there are so many we grew up on, for instance, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Cinderella, and Annie. More recent loves include Newsies, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, etc.  As a Broadway lover, I cannot pick a favorite. 

8.   Which cast album/musical soundtrack in your collection do you listen to the most?
At this moment in time, the OBC Newsies album is played/sung a bunch in our house, but we tend to go through binges for certain shows. ;) 

9.   What is your favorite costume from your musical?
Ok, first off. Emerald City has very many eccentric and quirky costumes in it, like this one:

Ahem. or this:

But I think the top pick (since Elphie's got one outfit the whole time) would be Glinda's bubble dress!

10.  If you could change anything about your musical, what would you change?
Well, as Wicked is supposed to be a sort of prequel story to the Wizard of Oz, there are several loose ends that don't line up with the traditional story. I know it'd be tricky, but it would've been fun it was a seamless connection. Also, there is a little objectionable content ("As Long as Your Mine" has beautiful music, but the lyrics are kinda sketch) in the beginning of the play that was one of the only not-so-great parts of the book that squirmed into the Broadway show. (More of a implication than anything) 

11.  Which role(s) would you most like to play in any musical, if you had the opportunity to do so on stage?
Elphaba, Katherine from the Newsies, and I used to want to be Annie. ;D

12.  If you could choose one performer to play any part in your musical, who would you choose and which part would you have them play?

This guy as Fiyero!! I think Aaron Tveit could do an amazing job. :) 

13.  Do you consider yourself a musical theatre fan in general or do you just like a few musicals?
I'd consider myself a fan. Musical theatre makes up probably about 60% of the music I listen/sing/play on a daily basis, and I'm also an unashamed Fansie. :D 

14.  Are you tired of the word "musical" yet?
Never.

15.  Turn your music playing device on shuffle (or utilize Pandora if you don't have one) and tell us the names of the first three show tunes that come up-- no cheating!  How do these rank on your favorites/most-listened-to list?
"Without You", "Prince Ali" and "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin". Haha! We do listen to *quite* alot of Alan Menken/Disney soundtracks, My Fair Lady is always great (I'm a good girl, I am!) and that Oklahoma one is kind of random. We don't listen to that show very often. :) (and now it's "Chim-Chiminey!")
Til next time,
Sarah

Celebrating Musicals Blog Party: Wicked

Miss Dashwood (Or Gertie, as I'm privileged to call her), is a lovely young lady who runs Yet Another Period Drama which has a whole fandom of its own. Seriously. Like fan-girls and fans of fan-girls, etc. She's witty and funny and knows far too many lines of musicals for her own good. You can't read a post without either a song lyric or a movie-quote coming out a couple times. And you know how Sarah and I (and all the rest) love Broadway musicals!
So when dear Gertie went ahead and announced the Celebrate Musicals Week, in fine detail, I knew we had to participate! This blog has been absolutely dull as powder when it comes to "Audience Participation", you know, so we are hoping that if we come to the party, y'all will join us. ;)
The directions for Celebrate Musicals Week are that we, as the bloggers, were to choose one musical (go ahead and cut off my other arm and legs, m'kay?) and write several posts about it throughout the party. (There are to be tags and such as well.) Sarah and I really wanted to do Newsies, but after some thought we changed our minds and we will be focusing on the Wizard of Oz-inspired Broadway musical: Wicked.

Wicked is one of those musicals that you would find yourself humming before you even knew the story behind the show because the music is just that catchy and just that good. I have heard that the books Wicked is based off are no good at all--rather skanky in parts--so please don't trot off and get them from the library. But: "the music! ahhhh, such music..." as Mr. Tumnus would say. It's brilliant. From "Dancing Through Life" to "For Good", from ""Defying Gravity" to "Popular", Wicked is stuffed with the best of Broadway. As far as plot goes, the show follows the lives of Glinda, and the Wicked Witches of the East and West as well as the Tin-Man, the Scarecrow, and The Cowardly Lion of Wizard of Oz fame...but with a definite twist that will leave you on the edge of your seat with a lump in your throat. A must watch for fans of Oz!

 

So to kick off the party, let's start with some facts about this brilliant, passionate show!

• During the first big "quick change" of the show, 17 actors change from the mob to students in 1.5 minutes (including costumes, wigs, and shoes).
• In one year, the costuming department on Broadway used 1,000 feet of steel cable to restring the flying monkeys' wings.

 

• There are 179 different types and finishes of leather used in shoes, gloves, hats, and costume trims in the show.
• The show (on Broadway) uses 250 pounds of dry ice per show, while the traveling casts use 200. 
• The dragon's wingspan is the same as a Cessna 172
• All 90 wigs are made of human hair and specially crafted to fit the hairline of the actor wearing it for the most realistic look!
• Wicked was Broadway's #1 show for nine consecutive years.
• Wicked recovered it's $14,000,000 investment in 14 months. (Most shows take 2-3 years)

  

Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth started the roles and, in my humblest of Broadway-fan's opinions, think that there will never be a pairing quite this amazing. Kristen really is Galinda ("It's Guh-Linda..."), I'm quite certain, and for passion and heart and the ensuing bitterness when that heart is shattered, no one can match Idina Menzel. All you have to do is listen to "Defying Gravity" and hear the pathos in her voice.

In the week to come, stay tuned for our review of seeing the show live, The Modern Girls' Guide to Glitz by Galinda, The Introvert's Guide to Falling in Love and Flying With It by Elphaba, and more! So get your sparkle on, tame a flying monkey, and get ready for a week of  Oz-someness! ;)

You may call us Rodgers and Hammerstein. ;)

Ok, so while Mom and Dad were out of town, we decided to have some fun and create our very own musical. So that's what we did! After choosing a song and revising the lyrics, we'd film once and that was that! We hope you enjoy our latest project, Home Alone: A Musical. 

Disclaimers: Pardon our equiptment/quality/appearance. This was entirely for our own amusement, so we didn't both too much with the technicalities. ;)

Do You Hear These People Sing?

In all the writing we've done on this blog the past several years, I can't believe we haven't mentioned one love that Sarah and I share. That love? The Broadway musical, Les Miserables! I suppose our love for it only grew up this past year when we started using Pandora and created a Broadway station which then began to play all the amazing pieces we love so now.
It's changed my life in lots of ways. ;)

I never say "One more day!" It's always always always "One day more!"

If anyone mentions dreams you know what song I break into.

When we have a wet day I immediately start humming "A Little Fall of Rain."

You can't say Black Widow Spiders are black and red. Forever more they are "Red & Black".

 Then we heard rumors and then confirmed rumors, and then news, and then pictures and then TRAILERS! And it is true. They are making Les Miserables into an absolutely stunning movie which is set to come out Christmas Day.

 I absolutely cannot wait. There have been whole entire blog post sessions dedicated to the second by second dissection of the trailers and that's not what this is about. BUT! I will say that Sarah and I are monstrous excited about the movie. It's gonna be the highlight of my winter, I think. :)

Actually, I know. I know it's gonna be awesome.

'Know why?

Because these people are taking this seriously. I've heard that Anne Hathaway not only sheared her hair off, but got three teeth pulled. Three of her beautiful teeth. Just for authenticity's sake. That's commitment.

Last night my Grandmama (a fellow aficianado of the theatre) called to tell us that the 25th concert edition was on PBS! I could not wait. I've been wanting to see this version for FOREVER but our library has never heard of such a thing. Anyway, we turned it on at 8:00 and were absolutely transfixed till after 11. WOW. Just....yeah.

Besides Nick Jonas being cast as Marius, the cast was flawless. Absolutely Amazing with capital A's and confetti for good measure.

^This guy? Ramin Karimloo? He totally owns the role of Enjolras. The movie chap's gonna have to work hard to reach Ramin's level of Awesome-sauce. For reals.

Lea Salonga absolutely was the bomb-diggity as Fantine vocally. I could pick apart her appearance, beginning with the fact that she didn't appear to be a TB patient, but hey--when she opens her mouth to sing you forget about her looks. (Personally I think she's gorgeous--just not Fantine-ish.)

Alfie Boe played Jean Valjean and absolutely captured my heart. <3 He wasn't strong or broad enough, but MAN could he sing! Absolutely make-your-hair-stand-on-end voice.

Javert was played by Norm Lewis, and is looking considerably happier in the picture than in the concert! He actually looks mildly nice here. :)

Now we get to my favorite person of all: <3 <3 <3

Samantha Barks as Eponine.

I'm doubly excited about her performance, knowing she's playing that same role in the new film! *eeep!*

But the best part of all was after the whole concert was finished and the entire original cast as well as all four Jean Valjeans from the other productions came onstage and sang "Bring Him Home" and "Do You Hear The People Sing." It gave me thrills and chills and thrills and chills and lots more thrills. I cannot wait for this!!!!

Can you hear these people sing?

//higher throne//

Sometimes you'll just hear a new worship song and love it to death. Abigail gave Daniel some Keith & Kristyn Getty c.d.s some time back, and this beautiful song struck me....

There is a higher throne

Than all this world has known, 

Where faithful ones from ev'ry tongue

Will one day come.

Before the Son we'll stand, 

Made faultless through the Lamb; 

Believing hearts find promised grace—

Salvation comes.

Hear heaven's voices sing; 

Their thund'rous anthem rings

Through em'rald courts and sapphire skies.

Their praises rise.

All glory, wisdom, pow'r, 

Strength, thanks, and honor are

To God our King, who reigns on high

Forevermore.

And there we'll find our home, 

Our life before the throne; 

We'll honor Him in perfect song

Where we belong.

He'll wipe each tear-stained eye

As thirst and hunger die.

The Lamb becomes our Shepherd King; 

We'll reign with Him.

"Higher Throne" by Kristyn Getty

Truly, God is great and worthy of all this praise and so much more. Let's remember His greatness and beauty and strength and mercy today! 

"One more dawn, one more day..."

This song is a pretty accurate of my feelings today. ;)

(ah. i love this video so much. too bad it isn't in English.)

This is pretty much all you're going to hear from us for the next week because Rachel and I (along with two sisters and many friends) will be going to the Daughters of Destiny camp in the mountains of NC!!!! I'm so excited and tomorrow morning we'll be well on our way to an awesome week. xD We'd appreciate prayer for the week and for all the leaders. :)
Until then,
Sarah

//life is BEAUTIFUL//

Life is Beautiful by the Afters

Through the window
I see you waiting
You are smiling
Cause I'm coming
Your eyes are a story
An ocean of memories
Pictures of faces and places
And all of the things
That make us feel like we have it all

All of the times
That make us realize
We have it all
We have it all

Life is beautiful
Life is beautiful

Living and dying
Laughing or crying
If we have the whole world or have nothing
I know there are long nights
But we'll make it
With every sunrise comes a new light
And all of the things
That make us feel like we have it all

All of the times
That make us realize
We have it all
We have it all

Life is beautiful
Life is beautiful
Life is beautiful

A father's love
A wedding dance
New Year's dreams
A toast with friends
A soldier coming home from war
The faith the hope of so much more
A brand new life, a mother's prayer
Shooting stars, ocean air
A lover's kiss, and hard goodbyes
Fireworks, Christmas lights

These are things that make us feel alive
These are the times that make us realize

Life is beautiful
Life is beautiful
Life is beautiful

These are the times that make us realize

On this road that will take me home.

This song is so lovely and wistful...I thought it perfect for an early-summer evening. :)

They say there's a place where dreams have all gone

They never said where but I think I know

It's miles through the night just over the dawn

On the road that will take me home

I know in my bones, I've been here before

The ground feels the same though the land's been torn

I've a long way to go the stars tell me so

On this road that will take me home

Love waits for me 'round the bend, leads me endlessly on

Surely sorrows shall find their end and all our troubles will be gone

And I'll know what I've lost and all that I've won

When the road finally takes me home

And when I pass by, don't lead me astray

Don't try to stop me, don't stand in my way

I'm bound for the hills where cool waters flow

On this road that will take me home

Love waits for me 'round the bend, leads me endlessly on

Surely sorrows shall find their end and all our troubles will be gone

And we'll know what we've lost and all that we've won

When this road finally takes me home

The Wearin' O' the Green...plus a goat for good measure.

We have evil geniuses for pets. Other people call them goats, but I don't. They are so clever in a dastardly way that they made horrendous noises all last night so that when I finally woke up by my alarm this morning I looked out and got a turn because one of them was laying flat on her side and totally not moving. At least two of our does are pregnant and about to kid, so I was kind of worried about her. I went outside and she didn't even move till I was about 15 feet away. They were fine. But they'd managed to get me outside at 7:30 in the morning. So I sat down on the front porch and returned a phone-call to a friend. :D I was glad she hadn't wanted to sleep in this weekend, otherwise it might have been a bit early for her. Oh well. :D

I have so many things I ought to be doing instead of blogging.

Finishing Les Miserables for one...

...making breakfast for another...

...beginning to write back to three friends for a third...

...girding myself up for Saturday church-cleaning...

...memorizing the next chunk of Psalm 33...

...Yeah. I'd better get going! :D....

...this is random, but I really want to see War Horse! I also really want one of the chocolate chess-bars I made for choir on Tuesday...I also want biscuits for breakfast after writing a blog post about them. :D Oh! To close out this post since it is Saint Patrick's Day, check out this phenomenal sign-language guy signing to "The Rocky Road to Dublin" by The High Kings! It's amazing!

Wear green, everyone! :) -Rachel

In which I lament my unaccomplished-ness in the arena of music

I'm not sure Pride and Prejudice is good for me. It makes me want certain things....I'm not only talking about wishing I had a hero...though that can happen at times.

I'm talking about other more random things....

I long to have a real British accent...

I long to wear a Regency-era dress every day...

And it makes me wish I was accomplished, like Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

"All young women are so accomplished these days! They sing, paint, speak French and Italian, embroider, write poetry, and I know not what!" ;)

Mr. Bingley is so easy to please. But of course we'd all rather impress Mr. Darcy who has deeper ideas of the subject.

"I am no longer surprised at you only knowing six accomplished women, Mr. Darcy...I rather wonder at you knowing any!"

I can hold my own in many of these areas, but I regret that I am not much of a musician myself, though, to quote Lady Catherine DeBourgh, "I should have been quite proficient if I had ever cared to learn." ;)

It seems silly that I don't know how to play anything beyond a recorder (and can plastic be considered an instrument?) since both my parents are musicians. The Gentleman from Virginia plays the guitar extremely well, and even Sarah and Leah are becoming quite adept at the playing of the piano.

My voice is my only instrument, albeit a very portable one, and I do love to sing. I just don't know how good I am at it. :P I'd be afraid to spend an evening "entertaining" company with my songs. I think my voice takes after Katie's in the Doris Day Calamity Jane:

"I've heard you. Very nice for choirs and weddings, but I doubt that your voice would ever reach beyond the footlights." :P

Anyway, I love music very well. And I would love to learn how to play a bit on the piano.

"Do you play, Miss Bennet?"

"A little ma'am, and very ill."

Indeed, if I sat down to entertain people on the piano they would have to suffer through a halting "Mary had a Little Lamb" and someone would probably come over, put a hand on my shoulder and say, "There, there you do very well child. Now let some of the other young ladies have a chance to exhibit!" ;)

And I never hope to have this sort of a compliment payed:

"You are perfectly right, Miss Bennet. You have employed your time better. No one admitted to the privilege of hearing you play could think anything wanting."

I do love to listen to the girls play duets on the piano, or Daniel playing his guitar. All except one song the girls play. It's not their fault, but Sarah's part sounds like a fat hippo trying to dance. Seriously. It gives me the willies every time I hear it. :D

Mama says that she will teach me piano this fall, if I'd like. :) I think I'll take her up on that. I would like to advance past the "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and onto something more accomplished. ;)

I shall make that a goal, dear blogging friends. To get past nursery-rhyme songs...maybe I'll even make it as far as "My Mother bid me Bind my Hair"...I bet Mary Bennet could teach me a thing or two on that note. ;) ~Rachel

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder - Pig in a Pen

Hey Everyone! Matthew had loaded this fun song onto his iPod and we've been listening to it in the truck while going to work recently, so I thought I'd show you this video! :) We can't believe how incredibly fast the guitarist and mandolin player go! Hope you enjoy it!

-Sarah

Chris Tomlin Concert

Hey guys! (Man, I wish I could find a better opening than that to all these posts!) Anyhow, for Daniel's birthday, Sarah and I took him to a Chris Tomlin "Glory In the Highest" concert. A few other good friends and Matthew tagged along, and it was alot of fun! When we got to the church where the concert was held, a man from our homechurch, Mr. Jack, and Justin Wright were helping set up. So Mr. Jack asked us if we wanted good seats, and we were like... "Sure!" and he said, "It may be a little loud, and you'll have to sit on the floor!" so after a vote, we decided to take up his offer, and he proceeded to lead us down to the very front.. not the very front row, but literally seated on the floor with our feet touching the stage! We had such a great view! If we had had a camera, the pictures would have been just as good as those posted by Oliver about Third Day! Thanks Mr. Jack!
Of course, it was a little loud, and I was going to move, but then by the time Louis Giglio spoke and the second half of the music had begun, it was alot quieter and more worshipful, so I stayed.
After the concert we stayed around talking, and got to chat with the bass player. He had a really funny story to tell us: apparently, when they came onstage all was pitch black, but they could see us 8 or ten people sitting right near the stage. Since most of us were girls, he saw the vague outline of hair, and then one girl was holding a white coat. Then Mr. Jack was standing behind us with his white hair, and the bass player said, "I was getting really worried I thought Oh NO! They're doing a Nay-tivity!" He then said, "I was thinking, what are we gonna' do? Ummm... thanks for the nativity, now.... scoot! And when the lights finally turned on I was so glad ya'll weren't dressed up as Biblical characters!"
Ha-Ha-ha! So we hae succeeded in causing a moment of uneasiness to a famous person's band member! :) It was such a blessed evening, and I really enjoyed it! -Rachel