Lord Of The Dance (Sydney Carter)

 Erscheinungsdaten

Entgegen der verbreiteten Meinung, „Lord Of The Dance“ wäre ein traditionelles Lied irgend einer britischen Landes, wurde es im Jahre 1963 von Sydney Carter geschrieben, die angeblich ursprüngliche, heidnische Version ist schlichtweg eine Parodie auf das Stück.

 Chorisches

Das Solo singt Christian Eichhorn aus unserem Tenor.
Unser Satz stammt von Jens Keienburg.

 Bedeutung

Sydney Carter hat einmal selbst etwas zur Bedeutung seines Stückes geschrieben:

   "I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality. By Christ I mean not only Jesus; in other times and places, other planets, there may be other Lords of the Dance. But Jesus is the one I know of first and best. I sing of the dancing pattern in the life and words of Jesus.

   Whether Jesus ever leaped in Galilee to the rhythm of a pipe or drum I do not know. We are told that David danced (and as an act of worship too), so it is not impossible. The fact that many Christians have regarded dancing as a bit ungodly (in a church, at any rate) does not mean that Jesus did.

   The Shakers didn't. This sect flourished in the United States in the nineteenth century, but the first Shakers came from Manchester in England, where they were sometimes called the "Shaking Quakers". They hived off to America in 1774, under the leadership of Mother Anne. They established celibate communities - men at one end, women at the other; though they met for work and worship. Dancing, for them, was a spiritual activity. They also made furniture of a functional, lyrical simplicity. Even the cloaks and bonnets that the women wore were distinctly stylish, in a sober and forbidding way.

   Their hymns were odd, but sometimes of great beauty: from one of these (Simple Gifts) I adapted this melody. I could have written another for the words of 'Lord of the Dance' (some people have), but this was so appropriate that it seemed a waste of time to do so. Also, I wanted to salute the Shakers.