 Inspired by a spiritual vision, Ruth Fazal has composed a new symphony for orchestra and choirs which will be recorded in May 2009.
A SYMPHONIC VISION - FOR ORCHESTRA AND CHOIRS
Awakening, portrays a vision through music. Here is the vision in words.
THE SOUND
I look, and it is dusk over the whole earth. A large group of people are camped on a desert plain, and are settling down to sleep for the night. As darkness falls over the camp, I hear the sound of a distant trumpet. The sound is so faint that only one or two hear it. A few moments later, the trumpet sounds again…and then again….and again. With each sounding, the trumpet comes closer, and plays for longer. I see that gradually more and more people are stirring. Suddenly, The Trumpeter appears, seated on a huge horse. He is magnificent, and he begins to play over those who are now staggering to their feet, wondering what is happening. ‘Come away with Me!’ The Trumpeter is urging through his music. “You must come!” His invitation is tender, but it is also terrible. All at once, I see more Riders approaching on fast and strong horses. They must have been riding with The Trumpeter. These Riders now sweep into the camp, and hoist up onto the backs of their horses all those who have awakened to the call of the Trumpeter. There is no time to delay.
THE RIDE
With the Trumpeter at the helm, an exhilarating ride begins across the vast desert plain. The horses gallop at a terrific pace, and the Awakened Ones are clinging on to their Riders. They are surely wondering where they are going and when they might reach their destination.
THE GLORY
After what seems like hours and yet has passed as moments, the horses cross a line in the sand. Not a visible line, but rather a line in the atmosphere, and now the Awakened Ones are finding themselves in another realm, which appears to be suspended in time. The horses wait, standing as still as statues. Nothing is moving. A hush has descended on the people, and the extreme brightness of the light is making it difficult see what is happening. Finally everyone begins to dismount, and they are now standing with a look of amazement on their faces. It is not certain, but it is as though creation is taking place right in front of their eyes, as things suddenly appear before them. Or perhaps their eyes are simply becoming more accustomed to the light. Whatever it is, the Awakened Ones are clearly able to see things that they could not see before. The longer they wait, the more becomes visible to them, and not only that;
they are now aware of the sound of voices. The voices are singing in such harmony, and I can’t help wondering if they are listening to the Song of all Songs? As each Awakened One begins to join in, they are caught up in the most magnificent outpouring of praise. In the midst of it all, The Trumpeter is playing once more, this time with the interplay of many trumpets calling back and forth to each other.
Who would ever want to leave this place?
But look! What is happening? All of a sudden, I see that the Awakened Ones are becoming painfully aware of another sound crashing in. It sounds as though all creation is groaning, under a great oppressive force. Everyone is listening in terror and awe. The groaning seems to come from the place they have left behind them, and yet it is heard most clearly here in this very place. Surely, this is why the Trumpeter has brought them here. As the groaning fades, the quiet sound of a child’s cry emerges.
THE CALL
The trumpet begins to play again, and the Trumpeters’ voice cries out. He is singing “Comfort, Comfort My People, speak tenderly to Jerusalem”
I watch, as I see the Awakened Ones realising that somehow they must carry the beauty of what they have found here into the desert place they have left. One by one I see the Awakened Ones begin to respond. ‘HINENI’ they are singing. - ‘Here I am! Here I am”.
What is ‘Awakening’ all about?
“Awakening” began as a vision – something I saw one day as I was praying. It was rather like watching a movie unfold before me, and although I saw most of it at the one time, I had to keep going back to it over the following weeks and months to see its conclusion. I wrestled with it in many ways, as I was not really sure what it was that I was seeing, although one thing I knew; God was urging me to try to communicate it through music. Although I cannot claim a special ability to interpret too much about the things which Jesus spoke of concerning the last days, I do have a sense that we may well be in those days, and that the significance of the trumpet call that I am hearing and seeing so clearly in this vision could be far more important than I now know.
In the summer of 2007 I went to Israel, to begin working on the piece, hoping to capture the feeling of the desert scene in the opening movement. At the time I was staying in the Judean desert, and it was hot, and not too comfortable. It took quite a while for me to get to the place of being able to concentrate on it. But, I did get the sketchy beginnings of the first two movements of the piece, which I continued to work on after I came home. On returning home, the beginnings of a third movement was emerging. The Awakening was beginning to look as though it was approaching the form of being a symphony in proportions, and not the shorter piece that I had first imagined it was going to be.
For almost a year, the piece had only three movements in my mind. However, I had an uneasy feeling that maybe I did not have the whole picture, and that there was an ending beyond the one I realised. It was during the course of that next year, in visiting the vision again and again, entering into the heart of God, that I heard the words ‘Comfort, Comfort My People, speak tenderly to Jerusalem’. I immediately understood that this was the crux of what the whole vision is about, and that these were to be the key words in Awakening, that up until this point had no text at all. (The choir sings make-up words…but now here was something that was concrete and understandable.)
In the summer of 2008, I returned to Israel, with the intent of finishing the work, especially this final movement. During that visit I wrote a good portion of the final movement, and I found myself aligning my heart to the ancient promises of God to His people Israel. I know with all of my being, that His covenant with His people Israel is the key to everything. Everything that we are as Christians, everything that is happening in the world today, and everything that is going to take place in the last days that Jesus spoke about. I can’t say I understand it all, but I can say that I am convinced at a heart level that in the end, we will see that everything will revolve around
Israel.
On returning home to Canada, the ending of Awakening came to me. As on many occasions with writing music I cannot say exactly how it happened, but I began to sing HINENI (meaning, Here I Am!) At that point, I knew that the final piece of the puzzle had been given to me. It was the ending to the whole piece. It was the response to hearing God say ‘Comfort My people…’
HINENI
I cannot help but wonder what this response might mean for me, and for all those who respond in a similar way. Within the story of the Awakening, God is calling for the Church to awaken to the times that we are living in. Jesus does not want us to be sleeping when He comes and says ‘It’s time!’ He wants to bring us into the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven, even while we live in this earthly Kingdom. He wants us to pray ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on the earth as it is in heaven’ It is in the Kingdom of Heaven that our response will be truly birthed.
This is the purpose of recording Awakening, as it gives me the means to release the vision through the music to the Church.
A concert performance is also projected for the 2009/10 season in Toronto, and my dream is to see this concert have a theatrical element to it, by the use of lighting and other visual effects, to make the concert hall into the desert, the glory, etc. I feel that the use of these multi-media effects will be very helpful to bring a wider audience to the vision. At this point, Awakening moves outside the Church, and into the lives of those who may be encountering the sense of the trumpet call for the very first time. In addition, I feel that focus on Jerusalem at the end of the piece, will bring great comfort to those in the Jewish community who hear it, as they realise that in these troubled times, God is speaking to His Church, and He is clearly saying that they remain central to His heart.
What a challenge this is. I feel that the Lord has placed a tool in my hands with which to awaken the church to come away with Him, to hear Him, and learn of His agenda in these days that are so unknown and uncertain. But we can be sure…we have a hope and a future…and a purpose!
God wants His Church to be fully functioning citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is what Awakening is all about- awakening us to that possibility.
Violinist, songwriter, worship leader and composer, English born Ruth Fazal now lives in Canada where she serves as concertmaster for 4 different orchestras in the Toronto area. The music recording of Awakening is scheduled to take place in Bratislava, Slovakia on May 23-25, 2009 with CD release in August. Go to www.ruthfazal.com to learn more about this project and pre-order the Awakening CD.
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