The President Sang Amazing Grace: Kronos Quartet and Meklit
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- čas přidán 21. 10. 2020
- As we approach a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, it is important to remember moments of empathy and compassion. Filmed at Bing Concert Hall, Kronos Quartet and Meklit pay homage to the moment Barack Obama sang Amazing Grace during the funeral of state senator and pastor Clementa Pinckney on June 26, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Stay tuned for the limited release of our exclusive film, "Kronos Quartet: Testimony," which features this recording and more. The film will be released Thursday, October 29 and available for viewing through Monday, November 2 - live.stanford.edu/testimony
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“The President Sang Amazing Grace”
Written by Zoe Mulford, arranged by Jacob Garchik
Performed by Meklit and Kronos Quartet
Produced by Stanford Live
Filmed at Bing Concert Hall - Krátké a kreslené filmy
How I long for a president to bring us together....
We have one in Donald Trump.
Nov. 3, 4 more years!
@@timothkeyyprice the Donald does bring his supporters together, in hate.
@@timothkeyyprice You surely are joking. Please write me a letter listing the ways he has brought us together. I have people in my community stocking up on ammunition. Really?
I miss him so much...
When she sings "my" president at the end instead of "the." This is just so moving. Thank you to all the artists and creators of this performance.
That last “my” may have taken more time than any of the verses. Zoe agonized over it (which surprised me because it seems inevitable).
@@bparsia And there is the rub ... agonised over it. The composer sings it with a simplicity and heartfelt honesty that hits the solar plexus.
This is exquisite in every way, and most particularly in its restraint. We are told what happened, and we are not told what to feel. The singer is the vehicle for the song, the song is not the vehicle for the singer. This could not be improved upon in any way, and I am grateful to have heard it.
You are absolutely right...it is so “not overwrought”...they felt it but kept it contained so we could feel it...magnificent performance all around. The arrangement and performance by the quartet made her performance possible...this just takes my breath away...
Have you though heard the song sung by the person who wrote it? I was privileged to hear it sung acapella by Zoe Mulford in our small folk club with a stark simplicity and feeling that this rendition lacks. Good though this is, it is overemphasised - better listened to than watched.
This brought tears to my eyes. I so miss the days when the President could laugh, cry, mourn, and sing with us.
Good days are coming again soon!!
Me too. I adore him🥰
I cried throughout her song and if this doesn't put a lump in your throat, you don't have a pulse. I miss my country so much!!
Me, as well.
Love or hate. Four years of healing, or four more of tweeting. Compassion or conspiracy. A nation that's united, or a nation that's divided. Your vote, your choice.
MY PRESIDENT ...
We argued where to lay the blame
On one man’s hate or our nation’s shame
Some sickness of the mind or soul
And how those wounds might be made whole
But no words could say what must be said
For all the living and the dead
So on that day and in that place
The President sang Amazing Grace
My President sang Amazing Grace
Joan Baez sings Zoe Mulford's wonderful song also. But this arrangement is awesome. The quartet sets the heart-strings to vibrate while Meklit's voice massages the soul. Thank you all for this!
Although we are in a very dark place at this point, we know from this song that there is still light and we will see it together.
I hope so
Thank you for saying that. Let’s all hold that vision together.
Yes, we must believe. @@jannanijland5336
Lovely message, Eileen.
Beautiful. As is the author's and Joan Baez's cover. I am in tears always whenever I hear this song. It reminds me of grace itself, the divine capacity to overcome any tragedy. And, of course, it fills me with yearning for a leader like Obama, who found a way to heal our devastated hearts by simply being a decent and good man and calling forth the best within us when darkness threatened to swallow us whole.
Kk
We emerged from four terrible & very long years of darkness...It will take many years to turn around this calamity. With hope & continued inspiration & guidance, it can be done & we can share our light with all others.
The perfect, and most blessed reminder of what the struggle is all about: HUMAN DECENCY.
Well said.
A beautiful reminder of a time when our nation had a leader to see us through dark times.
Devastatingly beautiful. Thank you
“Lay the blame on one man’s hate or a nations shame” has been with us since the Europeans walked on these shores. It didn’t have to be this way but they chose to kill, displace and enslave. The indigenous peoples, the Africans and every minority has suffered, and still suffers to this day, at the hands of those who look down us, instead of at us. We have a chance to make a change on November 3rd. We have a chance to change the world to truly end the racism that has been a self-perpetuating plague for over 500 years. Please vote.
Lovely thoughts, well written.
Amen.
Thank you Gregory, you are right on. I just finished reading 'Indigenous Peoples History of the United States, a must read for everyone, though it is very painful, about how the Spanish and then Europeans and Americans, in colonizing the US, brutally murdered, terrorized, and lied to the Indians as they stole their land. They called Indians savages, but it was the americans and presidents, military, and individuals who wanted their land . . . they were the savages. It was these people who started scalping men, women, and children, not the Indians. Even California had a law that people could bring in the scalps of Indians and they would be paid for doing so. Truly horrific.
@@juliecarville9585 I read that also - Native Americans are so poor & widely distributed that mass protests would be difficult. We need to keep them in the conversation when talking about justice.
Thanks GH - very well said!
Just magnificent. A president who had a soul and cared.
Magnificent. Beautiful. Moving. True. Thank you.
One of the most beautiful things I've ever heard ❤️
There are two candidates on Tuesday, one of whom would understand the beauty and meaning of this message. Let's hope we do see Meklit in Jan.
Stunning performance all the way around...so rich yet so controlled...it is so beautiful it hurts all the way down.
The newest American folk song. It captures that moment so powerfully and transports me. With the simple choice of two letters, a tiny pronoun that says so much about the grace, pain and pride of that moment. Beautiful sound, beautiful picture, beautiful memory recaptured.
Melkit is amazing! In one song she totally captured the horror of the event and balanced that with the Amazing Grace of one president. Thank you for sharing your gift.
Very moving, powerful lyrics, beautiful melody, love her face and expressions ❤ 💙 ♥
One of the most beautiful pieces that I wish never had to be written.
On the side of HOPE♡ That.k you.
Exquisitely rendered. Thank you Meklit for giving us this amazing reminder that there is beauty and compassion in times of despair. And thank you Zoe Mumford for writing it.
It is sad to think of the harm a world leader can cause with his hate. Liberty is not just a word but a positive attitude of a loving and caring society ADonovan43
Thank you for this incredible offering of grief, prayer, reflection, inspiration, and faith. What an extraordinary offering for humanity right now. Thank you to all the musicians and Meklit!!!
Thank you. Just thank you.
soulful
Beautifully sung, with heart & soul, dignity.
I love this song - and this arrangement gives it a deeper more haunting quality. Peace, love and blessings to all.
So beautiful and a poignant reminder of what leadership and empathy can and should be.
So moving...I wish they could get this video out across the country to show the people what a caring, empathetic president is actually like.
Powerful. Song written by Zoe Mulford.
Thank-you to artists and for their passion as changemakers for a better world.
Truly one of the most moving performances I have ever seen and heard. It is a song for this time.
Very Moving - The words reminds us of the power that decency, integrity and wholesomeness hold to help people rise from the lowest lows. And the beautiful vocals and music thoroughly amplify those words. Thank you for posting this!
Perfection! My soul thanks these five amazing people for such a moving performance.
Moved from within the deepest part of my soul with gratitude for this beloved gift and voice in song from Meklit and Kronos Quartet. Let us sing; let us choose to bridge the walls to freedom. Thank you for all that you do.
Thank you! Beautiful singer!
Very moving. I hope we can go back to that kind of caring in our country. Make your vote count, please.
Vote straight Republican to save our nation.
Beautiful, made me weep!
Beyond all words.
Powerful. I just saw this on today's Democracy Now with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. Democracy Now plays some great music during the breaks.
Gives me goosebumps every time I listen. So beautifully worded and sung.😻😷😻
Wow!
Better learn THIS one. I want to learn all the songs that make me cry.. 🎶💔 ^..^
Simply incredible
You are brilliant. Thank you for making me weep-it was necessary. And yes, I treasure the footage of our president singing Amazing Grace.
Speechless...
I am so moved. In tears. Such a beautiful expression of human sickness, pain and grace. What an accomplishment. Thank you.
I think we've found singer for Biden's inaugural.
Biden's trial for treason coming soon..
@@timothkeyyprice Troll alert!
Wow. Simply sublime.
So moving, beautiful and profound. A wonderful piece of music, and a great performance by all of the artists - singer and string players together.
Brought me to tears
Beautiful.
This is absolutely beautiful
Every time I try to understand where we are as a nation, I find myself coming back to this song. This version is one of the very best. Joe Biden has the same sort of empathy and heart that his former boss has. But is that enough to start the healing? I pray that it is so but I fear that it is not.
Powerful. A wonderful performance. It brought me to tears which leads me to believe that perhaps the stress of the times in which we are all now living are having a major effect on me. No matter what is happening happening, this is beautiful and I long for the day when a majority of the country can appreciate a performance such as this endsAnd we have leaders who can inspire us.
So, so beautiful!
One of the most beautiful and profound song I have ever heard^ i thank you
I first heard this song by joan baez on her album "whistle down the wind" and I was really touched. this version here by kronos quartet and meklit is deeply moving. thank you.
Incredible. I do hope he sees this....
Thank you
Glorious. Wonderful.
Beautiful ❤️
This is epic and profound. Thank you for this.
anyone here got a hankie?
so touching
This gave me chills. I am grateful.
Gorgeous!
Beautiful I am grateful for this being brought to my awareness.
exquisite! 🙆 great thought Tom McCallister!
Just found you! and i'm not letting you go.....
I wish this video was more inclusive by having accurate captions.
Muito bonito!
This song was written by Zoe Mulford.
czcams.com/video/2qdB1EypJFU/video.html
I have a lasting memory of Zoe singing this acapella in our small folk club in Guildford - no frills, no furbelows, just straight honest heartfelt singing. You could have a heard a pin drop, and it was like a blow to the solar plexus in effect. Not an experience that I shall forget in a hurry. (And still the best version of her song). This is a good version, but I would have preferred to hear Zoe singing it to this backing - hers is a simpler and less laboured and emphasisedrendition, and has so much more impact for me.
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Amazing absolutely beautiful!! #IAMAME
I listen transfixed
The New York Times has linked to this.
White America (including me) has never understood who we, what we are guilty of or the undeserved grace that those who we have thoughtlessly exploited offer us when we face ourselves.
May I suggest by Susan werner
AMEN ! LIKE MAHAILA JACKSON
They didn't shoulder their rifles and there were no commissar's
Shattering
Her singing is a beautiful gift from God. I pray she continues to sing for our failing evil morals in America. The American government pays women good money not to marry and have babies. I know of one black women who has four children and is not married. But her fiance lives with her. He cuts the grass and stays home all day. She works part-time.
I know one white woman who has two children and does not work and not married. He boyfriend and the father of her children left her to make babies w/another woman. He sets them up with his children and he gets his spending money from them. He's pimping the women and his children. Six women with 2-4 children @ 100$ per week... the man gets 600$ week and pays no bills.