By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger
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22 Jan, 2024
I am sitting and listening to my son’s piano lesson. Other children and teenagers are taking lessons in separate rooms. I am awash in a myriad of musical notes, scales and compositions, all flowing from different rooms. It’s pleasing and relaxing albeit a cacophony of different sounds. It’s lovely but also, it makes me feel sad for I begin to think of how much Quaker’s missed because music was forbidden by the meeting for so long. It also makes me realize why William Mitchell loved it. As I have noted before, Maria Mitchell’s father was a bit of a wayward Quaker. He loved bright colors, music, singing – everything that was frowned upon by Quakers (well, he did not smoke or drink – or at least I have not seen anything about that!). And, because of this, he found himself in trouble quite a bit. A very intelligent and clever man, he did manage to find his way out of this dilemma – he was very good at talking his way out of trouble. Another check mark for his intelligence. But for the rest of the people deprived, just think of what music does for you – it calms you, makes you happy or sad, energizes you, brings joy. For the most part, they missed that. Yes, they could hear it coming from other churches and spaces, but they could not sit and enjoy it themselves – or play an instrument. JNLF