Monday, May 7, 2007

Full Circle in Morocco

As one of the birds is currently on honeymoon in Morocco, it brings to mind an exquisite song written by Loreena McKennitt.

It was in 1993 in the month of Ramadhan, as she was flying out of Morocco, she heard the faint sounds of the azan and wrote this song. She described it as "one of the most moving and primitive sounds I have ever heard." With this as the background, as she sat near the Algerian dessert and woke up to catch the sunrise, she said: "I don't think I have ever felt something so simple and yet so powerful, I wondered if the first sunrise was just like this."

Although she never was a Muslim, that experience must have been absolutely awesome, watching the sunrise in the dessert and hearing the call to prayer and submitting oneself under the vast open skies. This very scene must be the reason why many have embraced Islam through the blessed sound of the azan. SubhanAllah!

Perhaps, the bird concerned may wish to share this beauty as he will be staying in the open dessert for 4 days in this period.

Stars were falling deep in the darkness
as prayers rose softly, petals at dawn
And as I listened, your voice seemed so clear
so calmly you were calling your god

Somewhere the sun rose, o'er dunes in the desert
such was the stillness, I ne'er felt before
Was this the question, pulling, pulling, pulling you
in your heart, in your soul, did you find peace there?

... Full Circle, Loreena McKennitt

7 comments:

Lampu said...

Salam Bruder,
Is this a book title? Pardon my ignorance.

Anonymous said...

Hi Professor,

Did not know you appreciate this Celtic singer... very interesting!

Maybe you can try playing one of the songs of the album at the class tomorrow evening?

Cheers,
Mufei

TheHoopoe said...

Salam Saedah,

This is taken from an album by Loreena McKennitt entitled "The Mask and Mirror".

This is an exquisite album made out of her personal travels ... at first glance physical, yet a deeper look indicate otherwise.

The title of the song which I quoted here is "Full Circle".

Hope you enjoy it :-)

TheHoopoe said...

Hi Mufei!

Welcome ... at last :-)
And I am not a prof...

You will be surprised at the various genres of music I listened to - but at the end, song are a means by people to relay their stories which they want to tell, as much as we have ours which we want part of it to be told to others, using other mediums.

I hoped you enjoyed reading this Blog thus far.

And perhaps, perhaps, perhaps ... I may just play a song from this album, in class when appropriate, insya-Allah.

And you are right, not many people here do know of Loreena McKennitt. Glad to meet one :-)

See ya tomorrow for class... on divine revelations.

Lampu said...

Salam bruder,

Thanks. Listened to her music and realised that she sounded like Enya.... my fav new age singer. :-)I enjoy browsing your blog. Great read.

Anonymous said...

yes, the sound of azan is amazing, two places worth the mention- Fez and High Atlas.

TheHoopoe said...

anonymous,

Sounds like this entry comes from one who have just returned from the deserts of Morocco. You would know how it feels...