However, the song “Anatevka” from Fiddler on the Roof is one of the ones that really pulls on me because it speaks of how the little things that people will miss when they will no longer have them. It is especially poignant for me because I am a Hurricane Katrina survivor who DID lose a sense of “place” after the storm for a while. And seeing what is happening in the state that my spouse calls home is bringing the feelings of “Anatevka” home to me again.
Also, in regards to the music used for the Modern Olympic Games, I find it interesting that the games are held DURING a period where a cauldron (aka hearth) is burning. This cauldron is lit with a torch that has bin lit in relay form and has its fire originally from a lighting ceremony on the site of the ancient Olympics done by actresses in the place of the original priestesses. I cannot help but remember the bringing sacred fire from the municipal hearth of the “parent” city to a colony city in ancient times. The Olympic Hymn ends with the following words:
Oh flame, eternal in your firmament so bright Illuminate us with your everlasting light That grace and beauty and magnificence Shine like the sun Blazing above Bestow on us your honor, truth and love
This music is some that in the modern day contains an echo of the hymn devoted to Hestia included in the Orphic Hymns. And I cannot help but feel saddened that the values embodied in it cannot continue past the ending of the games. Olympic Hymn being sung