Simple Gifts

I opened my email this morning to find a lovely note from the woman whose picture I took in the park the day after a freak October icestorm. Because it was such a nice chance encounter and also her birthday, I blipped it here: Red

She'd sent the note on Thanksgiving Day with a link to a
You Tube video displaying Ansel Adam's photographs taken in Yosemite National Park. The photos are accompanied by Aaron Copland's 1944 rendition of "Simple Gifts." Both Ansel Adams and Aaron Copland are long favorites of mine and I was stunned.

"How could she possibly know that I love this song? How could she know that I pilgrimaged to Yosemite to photograph the Half Dome? blipped here My thoughts were whirling but they rapidly rested on the signifcance of her reciprocation and I was deeply moved.

Here are the lyrics to the 1848 Shaker song:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right."

If you'd like, please enjoy the video. The London Symphony orchestrates: Simple Gifts.