Hallelujah! Is all I can say
This has been a particularly challenging week, amidst a particularly challenging month. To say the American people have gone through the mill would in fact be an understatement. Our democracy has been challenged, fear and hatred are prevailing and the country is as divided as ever. It’s not over yet, but… there’s always a silver lining they say. Let us be patient.
In these strange times, let us hold onto something of meaning. Something that can soothe our soul and allow us to hope for better days to come. I choose music. And as it’s always been such a huge part of my life, it was not a hard pick, ha! In fact, it would be hard to imagine living without music. Since the beginning of this pandemic, however, it has been rather challenging for many of us, musicians & performers, as we found ourselves deprived of performing, creating and sharing with real humans.
Yes, there are live streams and opportunities for us online. But for me, the power of music goes beyond the music playing in and of itself. I love to experience how music brings people together in a completely unique way. We all have favorite songs that accompany our special occasions and important achievements. For one, I love singing at weddings because while performing a couple’s special song, magic always enters the room. Sharing moments together creates vivid memories. I’ve met sporadic best friends at concerts my entire life, well aware we were going to part ways at the end of it but feeling like the moment was intensified because of the camaraderie nonetheless. And I’ve seen it happen to my own audiences while performing and taking part in it from the stage is something quite wonderful. Our essence, as performers, is defined by these moments.
One performer in particular, a Canadian, had this unique capacity to do exactly that without the slightest effort. His beautiful songs have accompanied me along the road, in greatness and in darkness, and have brought meaning to several key moments of my life. 4 years ago on Nov 7th, 2016, 2 days after the last election, Mr Leonard Cohen’s candle went dark. Although his melodies and poetry are still living within, his death brought enormous grief to so many of us.
Mr. Cohen was a true inspiration: I’ve spent many evenings as a young adult sitting on his stoop in Montreal and singing his songs with complete strangers. Didn’t I say music brought people together?! 4 years ago, as the world sang his songs in mourning from all corners of the Earth, a revolution and deep desire for change was also brewing. Although Leonard Cohen’s poignant lyrics and compositions are still living within, their meanings have evolved in many of us.
This year, on Nov 7th, 2020, I’m singing his most iconic song with a completely different energy: I am hoping for change. I’m wishing for the world to be a better place, for ALL of us. Above all, I want nothing more than xenophobia, bullyism and self-entitlement to be eradicated from politics. All in all, I wish democracy was at the center of the agenda, and that patriotism was for the common good, not a partisan issue. I dream that equality, safety and justice didn’t have a color, a sex, an ethnicity, an income bracket or a religion, that opportunities were made equal for all, that love prevailed and non-biased critical thinking informed our choices in a celebration of diversity. Is it too much to ask?