J.Healer
The Music of J & K
Stained Glass
The Churches Album
The Churches Album
Reflections on Sacred Spaces
Stained Glass
The Origin
Coloured glass within the windows of a Church, created to provide signs and symbols.
The Emotion
This piece os music is intentionally bright and vibrant. I wanted to convey light streaming through stained glass with clarity, dispersing in many different directions and filling a Church with a warm glow each time the sun comes out from behind the clouds. Changes and fluctuations in light can be felt with the different segments in the piece.
The Connection
I have been told that the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres contains the most beautiful set of stained glass windows in the world. Apparently in 1939, the whole set of windows were removed to preserve them from the bombardment of World War II. I am intrigued at a story involving an American colonel named Welborn Barton Griffith Jr:
In 1944 he received the instruction to destroy Chartres Cathedral as it was suspected that enemy troops were using it. Questioning the order, he volunteered to go into the Cathedral, at his own risk, to see whether the Cathedral was empty. His request was accepted and he entered with another volunteering officer. They searched the Cathedral, including the bell tower and then sent signals back to their troops, resulting in the order being rescinded.
Perhaps the telling of this story can be a form of analogy for stained glass windows. They convey signs, symbols and stories from the past, that inform the present and point to the bright future ahead.
Pray for the grace to see the light and direction of God shining in your life today.
