Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves..

Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate known in English as 'Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves' is a chorus from the third act of Nabucco (short for Nabucodonosor, or Nebuchadnezzar in English), an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi 1813-1901 an Italian romantic composer. Nabucco follows the plight of the Jews as they are assaulted, conquered and subsequently exiled from their homeland by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar (Nabucco).

Known as Verdi's "Jewish" work of art, it recollects the story of these Jewish exiles from Babylon after the loss of the First Temple in Jerusalem. The opera with its powerful chorus established Verdi as a major composer in 19th century Italy. Here we see the chorus performed at New York's Metropolitan Opera House with James Levine conducting.

The lyrics translated in English from the original Italian:

Fly, thought, on wings of gold,
go settle upon the slopes and the hills
where the sweet airs of our
native soil smell soft and mild!
Greet the banks of the River Jordan
and Zion's tumbled towers.
Oh, my country, so lovely and lost!
Oh remembrance so dear yet unhappy!

Golden harp of the prophetic wise men,
why hang so silently from the willows?
Rekindle the memories in our hearts,
tell us about the times gone by!
Remembering the fate of Jerusalem
play us a sad lament
or else be inspired by the Lord
to fortify us to endure our suffering!

(PostScript) The video I posted here originally has been removed from YouTube due to some violation or other. I hope it's nothing to do with the fact that I embedded it here on this blog. Fortunately I was able to find a replica also on YouTube, but the sound quality is not as good. Anyway, I hope you still find it enjoyable..

Wow, it's one year already

On 27 February 2009, I set out on a journey. I sat in front of this computer and wrote this post. It was the first post on this blog titled "Greetings Everyone" and for those who do not wish to click on the link, I have reproduced the post here..

Hi, welcome. For years, I have dragged my feet about starting a blog of my own. This has been because I wasn't able to make up my mind what the theme of my blog should be. My interests are varied and my mind wanders all the time like a butterfly. I haven't found it easy to decide on what exactly I should be blogging about. But suddenly, today, I have had a brain wave. Surely, I do not have to blog about anything in particular. I can blog about me and my wandering mind. I can talk about the things that bother me, the things that annoy me, the things that make me smile, the things that make me squeal with uncontrollable laughter. Oh my, there is a world out there waiting to be written about. So yes, I have taken up the challenge. Here we go.

Now, one year later, having had the blog running for all of 365 days, I'm still exactly in the same place in my mind. Except, of course, that since I started the blog, I've met some amazing people in the blogosphere, people I would not have met if the circumstances were different. And you know what, I still have not run out of things to say. And I'm pinching myself, wondering if this is real, but hoping and praying that it is.

I've been somewhat incapacitated for much of the last two weeks. For the first time in about ten years I couldn't get online, and it was as if there was a hollow inside of me, as if something was missing from my life. It's great to be back, it's wonderful to be here, to be a part of a community spread across the world. It's fantastic to be alive in 2010! Thanks to every person who has participated in this journey with me, a journey that God willing has only just begun. Thanks too to those who have allowed me to be a part of their online experience.

Gosh, it appears that the rankings of this blog have slipped considerably over the last few weeks, but I can only look on this as a challenge. I must vigorously strive to regain the position that the blog once held. As you probably can tell, it's late Friday night/early Saturday morning, but there are no corks popping. It's just been a quiet, solemn sober evening, sitting in front of the computer with soft music in the background.