I would like to share a link of Chinese Children’s songs from the Ruhi Series. What distinguishes these songs from other Book 3 songs is that half of them are new and have very catchy melodies. The new songs also have some Chinese instrumentation on a few of them and the lyrics are different too. Several wonderful musicians and a talented producer worked on this project and sacrificed their time to make it available within a short period of time.
On the link provided below, you can download the songs for free as well as the instrumentals so that the children can sing along too. The notes for all the pieces are also available for download. Please enjoy and share them with your friends.
With all the excitement that I shared with you in my last blog about all the talented musicians, I neglected to tell you about some of the other exciting projects that I worked on with Jarome while he was in China. I’m thrilled to inform you that I plan to release the love and marriage themed CD mid to end of January 2009 (if all goes smoothly)! It is entitled, ‘Birds of Love’. The vocals have all been recorded and Jarome is now working on mixing each of the songs. The music will sound incredible as the instrumentation includes live oboe, cello, french horn, flute, guitar and piano.
We have already chosen all the quotations from different sources that will be included in the package in a special booklet that will be covered with Chinese gold silk. So we’re in the process now of designing the layout of the booklet in a modern Chinese style. This project is unlike any other that I have seen in that it will be a product with music and a booklet with beautiful Chinese illustrations and inspirational quotations. I will share more with you as the project progresses.
I may not have mentioned to you that I am also working on an instrumental CD. We recorded two of the pieces on the piano while Jarome was here and edited them together. It was lots of fun coming up with titles for the songs and trying to hear what the pieces portrayed as there are no lyrics! I will be practising the instrumentals daily so that I can record more pieces very soon.
It is so enjoyable juggling several projects at the same time (there is another music project we’re working on that I haven’t mentioned yet). I hope to share several of these projects with you very soon and will blog in more detail about each of them as they progress. I look forward to showing you a sneek peek of a part of the marriage booklet soon.
Thought of the Day:
“What greater thing is there for two human souls that to feel that they are joined… to strengthen each other… to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories.” - George Eliot
The marriage CD project is now in full swing and almost all the vocals have been recorded. We are now working on adding live instrumentation to the pieces. I look forward to going over all the songs with Jarome, hearing the different live instruments that were recently recorded and choosing the best parts. I did not have the opportunity to do that in person with Jarome for the ‘Fire and Gold’ CD and am cherishing the chance to do so this time. As I had written in a previous blog, this next CD will be accompanied by a special booklet which will include quotations on love and marriage. I am compiling quotations and am including quotes and lovely sayings from different sources that are inspirational and enchanting. If you come across any favorite quotes on this theme or have written your own poems/quotes on the subject, please send them. Thanks! Below are a few of my favorite quotes that will be printed in the booklet:
“Love is the poetry of the senses.” - Honore de Balzac
“Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years.” - Simone Signoret
“…Marriage is the commitment of the two parties one to the other, and their mutual attachment of mind and heart. Each must, however, exercise the utmost care to become thoroughly acquainted with the character of the other, that the binding covenant between them may be a tie that will endure forever. Their purpose must be this: to become loving companions and comrades and at one with each other for time and eternity…” - Abdu’l-Baha
Thought of the Day:
“Love is the only flower that grows and blossoms without the aid of the seasons.”
Now I must tell you about the second part of our blissful Sunday - the gorgeous wedding we attended. Youlia and Jose - the bride and groom to be - had invited me to sing one of the pieces from my upcoming CD on love and marriage. Up till now, I have sung the same piece for 5 weddings this year (love is definitely in the air)! For all the previous weddings, I had sung the marriage prayer with Martin Kerr as a duet on the original recording so I felt it was time for a change. Youlia and some of the guests had already heard that piece at Varya and Sarmad’s wedding (another dear couple whose wedding was held in our home a few months ago-what a blessing that was for us).
Jarome was just finishing up one of the new pieces for the CD called ‘Where there is love‘ so we set a goal of finishing it in time for the wedding (we only had 2-3 weeks). He made a backtrack so that I could use it for Youlia and Jose’s wedding. Let me tell you a little about this piece… It consists of a quotation by Abdu’l-Baha on love, an Apache (Native American) wedding blessing and a quote about love by Henri Matisse. The three quotes are intertwined in the same piece and sung together in parts. Naturally I wouldn’t be able to sing all the parts together live for the wedding so it took a little time working with Jarome on choosing how best to sing the song and which parts to sing live and which to leave out. So after a few trials, we finally made it work really well.
What I love about this song is that it has lots of rhythm. That is something that I haven’t used too much of before in my music but with some encouragement from my producer and an open mind, I have grown to love it and am feeling the need for more of it in my compositions from now on! Needless to say, there were a few surprised faces in the audience once the African djembe and the drums starting playing on the song!
The wedding was held outside in a beautiful garden and what a glorious and joyous wedding it was. These wonderful occasions are always such a delight to attend especially with Tarry as it brings memories of our own special day!
I am including the wedding invitation that Youlia and Jose put up on youtube (beautifully made by Sarmad in consultation with Youlia). I felt it was such a unique way of inviting guests to a wedding!
Thought of the Day:
“Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now you are two persons but there is one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling-place to enter into the days of your togetherness.
And may your days be good and long upon the earth.”
-Traditional Apache (American Indian) Wedding Blessing
I’ve been married for thirteen years and I often try to remind myself of how precious married life is. It is easy to take it for granted sometimes as we see with so many marriages that fall apart everywhere. Getting divorced these days has become so common that it is hardly given a second thought anymore. Often people enter into marriage without much consideration and split up on a whim!
About a year ago, Tarry, my husband and I were asked to give a talk on ‘Enriching Marriage and Family Life’ to a large gathering. We felt very humbled by this task and weren’t really sure what to share especially to an audience where some of our friends were married far longer than we were. So we decided to create a booklet of quotations with questions. We divided everyone into smaller groups so they could have discussions focused around the theme of marriage. It turned out to be very useful, enjoyable and enlightening for many of those who attended.
I am attaching the booklet we made in case you would like to use it or share it with your friends. At the end of it, we have included some fun questions for couples to ask one another. Enjoy!
I also look forward to sharing my new CD on the theme of love which I plan to release in January 2009! You can read more about it here.
Thought of the Day: “The true marriage… is this, that husband and wife should be united both physically and spiritually, that they may ever improve the spiritual life of each other, and may enjoy everlasting unity….” -Abdu’l-Baha
I’m excited to share my new project with you! In addition to working on music, there are other projects that I have been engaged in recently.About a year ago, I began the process of writing two children’s books on the lives of Amelia Collins and Taraz’u’llah Samandari.They were two unique individuals whose character and service to others are exemplary.I chose to write about them because children’s books of uplifting role models are quite scarce.However, the main reason I wanted to write about them was because my children are named after these two precious individuals.
As children’s books are illustrated with lots of color and beautiful pictures, I had started collecting photographs of them for the books.The photos I found were black and white so I was determined to find a way to have them colored.A few months ago, I had the pleasure of finding a wonderful artist who digitally colors photographs (thank you Alice).She has transformed each photo so beautifully (we had to receive special permission to color the original photographs).Here is a sample of one of the photos of Amelia Collins that will be included in her book.
At this time we have almost completed the first book about the life of Amelia Collins and hope to find a way to publish it soon.The photographs are lovely and I look forward to sharing the finished product with children and adults too! Here is a photo of my own Taraz and Amelia to whom the books are dedicated.
Thought of the Day:
“…regarding the education of children: It behoveth thee to nurture them…and urge them onward to the things of the spirit…that their ways may conform to the rules of good conduct and their character be second to none; that they make their own all the graces and praiseworthy qualities of humankind.” - Abdu’l-Baha
I am sitting on an island called Koh Samui, in the gulf of Thailand, watching the sunset with its layers of shimmering orange, gold, pink and purple cover the sky with its beauty. I am mesmerized by the vivid colors. The beauty of this creation is a sight one never tires of.
We are having a family reunion and members of my family have flown from different parts of the world.It has been several years since most of us have come together and catching up with each other’s lives has been delightful.We have been kayaking, riding motorbikes, taking walks along the beach, snorkeling, debating hot family topics and gazing at the immensity of the ocean.This time together makes me appreciate the uniqueness of each person in my family. Hoping you have a wonderful evening of celebration and a happy new year!
Thought of the Day:
If love and agreement are manifest in a single family that family will advance, become illumined and spiritual…
