🎵 Ginbot ፲፩/11 (May 19) marks the departure of St. Yared, the great Ethiopian composer who lived in the 6th century. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church attributes its rich, age-old chant tradition to the Saint and commemorates his disappearance each year on this day.
St. Yared, who was named after the father of Enoch in the Bible (Genesis 5:18), was born in 505 E.C. in Axum to Abyud and Tawklia. After the death of his father, at the age of seven, his mother sent him to her priest brother named Gidewon to teach the lad and to look after him. As a child, St. Yared never seemed to succeed in his studies as he had difficulty understanding what his uncle taught him. At one point, he had even fled from Gidewon, an incident which led him to the turning point in his life.
While taking shelter under the shade of a tree, Yared saw a caterpillar (some claim an ant) trying to climb the tree. Despite its repeated failures, the insect finally managed to creep up the tree and ate its fruit. Yared drew an inspiration from the determination of the tiny creature and went back to his uncle to start learning afresh. His efforts then bore fruit and he managed to learn by heart whatever he was taught including both Old and New Testament with unbelievable brilliance, and grew in excellence as he grew older and older.
Saint Yared also gained melodic insight through divine revelation and composed melodious sacred melody which had never been heard before in this world. He created a system of chants in three modes (scores) called Ge’ez, Izil, and Ararary. There is no any sound system out of the category of the three modes of these hymns St Yared invented divinely. Saint Yared also wrote five volumes of chants for church services and celebrations. These volumes include The Book of Digua and Tsome Digua (chants for church holidays and Sundays services), The Book of Me’eraf (chants for major holidays, daily prayers and the season of fasting), The Book of Zimmare (chants to be performed after Mass) and The Book of Mewasit (chants for the dead). ST. Yared also created ten melodic notations for his spiritual melodies many centuries before the world-renowned composers Mozart and Beethoven.
Yared eventually became the father of Ethiopian traditional church education. He pioneered biblical interpretation, hymnody and liturgical dance, yet is best known for his musical compositions. His antiphonary books also contributed to the Qene poetry in classical Ethiopic.
There are two views among scholars of the church about the final days of St Yared’s life in this world. Some say he passed away while others contend that he disappeared like Saint Henok and Elijah the Prophet.
Despite that, every year on Ginbot 11 (May 19), the Ethiopian Orthodox Church marks the disappearance of the Saint who adorned its service with melodious sacred music.
According to Ethiopian tradition, God sent three white birds from heaven to Yared, foretelling him that he will learn to recite the hymnody of the 24 heavenly priests. Having seen the divine liturgy, Yared immediately began to compose poetic hymns and went to the sacred Zion Church of Axum. There, in the year 541, he offered praise to the Trinity and improvised the following hymn that connects creation, Sabbath and the Ark (Tabot):
In the beginning, God made the Heaven and the Earth; And having completed all, He rested on the Sabbath; And Said He to Noah at the onset of the Flood: “Build yourself an Ark by which you may be saved.”
Since classic Ethiopic manuscripts are revered as sacred objects of the church, Yared’s hymns and chants remained stable. However, his students introduced minor additions. Other scribes slightly revised the text and music notations.
The three dominant musical instruments in the liturgy are the prayer staff (Tau-cross), the sistrum and the drum.
The major Yaredic melodies represent persons of the Trinity:
The Ge’ez tune (not the classic Ethiopic language) symbolizes the Father. It is hard and stern.
The Izl melody is gentle and full of love. It is a representation of the Son.
The Araray tune, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, has a melancholic quality. It is used for occasions like Lent and funerals.
💭 Eric Clapton testifies about his Vaccine Side Effects
Eric Clapton testifies about his Vaccine Side Effects to the CV 💉 Eric has received 2 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, AZ has been quietly withdrawn in the UK due to concerns of Blood Clotting.
Why does Eric Clapton’s story matter? He may have been injured by two doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, but this is not just an “AstraZeneca issue”.
This is a spike protein issue – regardless of the platform that delivers the spike protein into your body (Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, AstraZeneca, Novavax, Sputnik, Covishield).
💭 This saddens me greatly. May God help you, dear Eric! Although I’m a bad player myself, I play the guitar at least as a hobby. Eric Clapton is one of my favorite guitarists. Fifteen years ago I had the opportunity to visit one of his concerts; He is an absolutely wonderful player when seen and heard live. He is also a wonderful person! Cheer up Eric!
One alleged activist group in Norway is calling for Aretha Franklin’s hit 1968 song “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” to be removed from both Apple Music and Spotify after they deemed its lyrics offensive.
The Trans Cultural Mindfulness Alliance took to Twitter last week to condemn the ballad, citing that it has ignited harm against transgender women.
“Aretha Franklin’s 1968 song ‘Natural Woman’ perpetuates multiple harmful anti-trans stereotypes,” the organization tweeted. “There is no such thing as a ‘natural’ woman.”
The message continued, “The song has helped inspire acts of harm against transgender women. TCMA is requesting it is removed from Spotify & Apple Music.”
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on January 3, 2023
💭 Hitmaker band Earth, Wind & Fire’s drummer Fred White passed away at the age of 67 on New Year’s Day. The world lost another music legend as White served as backup to his brothers Maurice and Verdine. The Grammy-winning group was formed in 1970.
Maurice created the band, with Verdine as the vocalist, percussionist, and bass player, and Fred as the drummer. The band is known for its jazz, R&B, funk, soul, and rock music elements. Above all, they incorporated African music into their songs.
Drummer Fred White And His Legacy In The Music Industry
Earth, Wind & Fire has become a globally admired music band, with countless popular radio hits and incredible live performances. The group started to rise in fame after they went under Columbia Records’ management, which was then headed by Clive Davis.
Before he joined Earth, Wind & Fire, Fred has been playing the drums and was already successful. He played for Donny Hathaway in the mid-1970s. Verdine said that his brother is a truly gifted musician, and as young as 16 years old, he has already accomplished gold records.
The drummer’s brother did not reveal the cause of his death nor where he died. On the other hand, Maurice wrote in his memoir:
“Fred was the brick wall. He provided a rock-solid tempo and a rock-solid feel, priceless qualities in a drummer. He was one of the best things going for us.”
Fred White was born Frederick Eugene Adams in Chicago. He changed his surname to White to make certain that he is related to Maurice. He played the drums at the age of 9 and started joining gigs when he was 13. At 14, he already played for a nightclub band, and at 15, he met Donny Hathaway.
Earth, Wind & Fire made popular songs such as Let’s Groove, Boogie Wonderland, Shining Star, and September. These songs proved to be hits even to this day, with a whopping 1.18 billion plays on Spotify.
Aside from making music, the ensemble also played in the 2005 Super Bowl halftime show, won six Grammy awards, and joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Fred White eventually left the band in the mid-1980s, though he continued to play for other bands.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on October 10, 2022
💭 What Happened to Madonna? Material Girl Looks Demonic in New Video – In Her Latest Desperate Public Display for Attention
The Material Girl is looking a little weathered.
Madonna posted a video on TikTok this weekend teasing that she might be gay.
Does anyone care?
After her several soft porn videos, her pointy tits, her sex book, her masturbating on stage… does anyone really care if she sleeps with women too? Didn’t we already know that?
This one is not aging gracefully. That’s certain.
💭 People Are Horrified After Madonna Shares Creepy VIDEO
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