Last night a concert by tenor Andrea Bocelli was televised. He wanted to offer a message of hope to the world; his own country has been ravaged by COVID-19. And so he was recorded with only an organist on Easter Sunday in the Duomo di Milan, resplendent and empty … when he walked outside, alone, to sing “Amazing Grace” on the cathedral porch, the screen displayed the empty streets of major cities around the world.
Listening, watching, I thought this is one of the most abiding images of our time.
A golden shovel today, in honor of Bocelli, his gift, the wounded world-in-waiting, the healing power of music, prayer, and hope:
How amazing
this lone figure of grace
standing on the church steps singing of how
prayer and hope turn bitter times sweet
while in the deserted streets his angel-voice is the
only sound.
Photo: Andrea Bocelli. laurentius87. CC BY-SA. Edited with Cartoona Sketch.
lit bits and pieces 
Love this! I watched on Easter Sunday and was moved. Your golden shovel is just right!
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It WAS moving – so sad, beautiful, uplifting all at once. For all the darkness Italy has endured, he stood there, a native son, shining forth like a ray of light. The empty street scenes – New York. Paris, etc., usually so crowded – haunting.
Thank you, Margaret ❤
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Music.
It’s so incredibly transformative, isn’t it? I’ve long felt that music is like a sense of smell – it bypasses the logical parts of our brains and brings us straight into memory, into the sensory world.
Magic, I think.
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