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by Razvan Petre
4 February 2009
One cannot speak of beauty and happiness, one can only feel them into their heart. Nevertheless, I shall write here about the Swedish pop-band ABBA (1973-1982), which brought (and still brings) the resonance of beauty and happiness into the earthlings’ souls.
Although rated as “popular music”, their artistic product is genial and
accessible. I say that not only because my childhood and teenage were influenced
by their music, but also counting on cultural and sociological data. Their music
is on anyone’s understanding, not only for an educated elite, each generation
finding something pleasant in it. People from all social categories, from all
continents are moved by the lush sonority that dresses up original schlagers.
Today, more than 26 years after the band broke up, their albums are sold and
their songs are broadcast in mass-media on all stations. How is it possible to
listen their songs tens and hundreds of times without getting bored?! Surely,
not all of them are music chef-d’oeuvres, but many really are. Their albums make
together a masterpiece by the great number of wonderful top sellers.
To this artistic accomplishment also contributed the marketing strategy, clean
image on stage and television, live concerts with a great sound purity, team of
specialists (manager, sound engineer, guitarist, bandmaster and all the other
musicians), as well as the huge wave of public sympathy. Everything helped to
launch an artistic phenomenon at an international scale. Each of the members had
a great artistic talent, which showed its value and creativity. Their image, two
couples united in life and on stage, four beautiful people, elegant, radiant,
remained in the collective memory as a symbol of human harmony. Their original
and harmonious music matches perfectly with the image, rounding the sensation of
artistic and human beauty. That is why they acquired the status of music “gods”
and youth idols.
I
esteem and respect all the talented artists, because each of them has their role
to share light into the world. Pop music does not start or finish with ABBA.
Still, there is no other musical brand having so many praised hits, high quality
songs, lyrics full of love for fellowmen. The children and teenagers of today
rediscover by themselves the wonderful ABBA music, as though it were a new band.
Their pure young soul is spontaneously attracted to the beauty of this music,
which competes now with innumerable artistic low-quality products that pollute
our audio space and steal our precious time. ABBA music does not need promotion,
since its natural beauty is self-luminous.
After their official break up in 1982, each member of the band went their own way, becoming normal people again – talented, but relatively common artists. I wonder what spell raised them to the peaks of Olympus of art and awoke human veneration?
Meeting and forming of ABBA band was not by chance. Masterpieces never appear
by chance, never! It was the hand of the Providence. The guardian Angels worked
hard to develop their artistic talent and to get them together. They urged them
into true love relationships which strengthened the group solidarity. Brought
them in auspicious situations, quality collaborations and divine inspirations.
Taught them to create and sing with pleasure. The public joy returned to them
thousandfold, feeding their souls and stimulating their creativity. By God’s
blessing, the Angels promoted them as a model for the humanity, to oppose the
many antichrist models in the contemporary world. Sincere love between a man and
a woman, extraordinary friendship between the two couples, physical beauty,
charisma, exuberance, elegance, optimism, and of course the angelic inspired
songs as a melody, vocal harmony, lyrics, instrumentation – everything formed a
whole without fault. Yet all this art construction began to end when love cooled
off, when human resentments became stronger than the adherence to the
spiritual-artistic mission they were into. A mission to uplift the human souls
all around the globe.
I wrote this article as a homage for the ABBA band, but mostly for the “angelic
conspiracy” which made possible such effusion of beauty and artistic perfection.
In “ABBA THE MOVIE”, responding to the question “What do you like most in their
songs?” a girl said simply: “Their songs make me feel happy!”. It is perhaps the
best explanation for the band’s success. The recipe for this unique cultural
phenomenon could not be copied, although many tried hard. Do you know why not?
Because there was missing the main ingredient: the Angels’ blessings, who
brought together the proper persons at the proper time and place, in the benefit
of perfect art and love for people, in the name of Beauty.
Beauty blooms in the act of approaching the Divine Perfection, not in egoist-oriented artifacts. Artistic beauty is an echo of Divine Beauty. Happiness is the Grace of Spirit. Beauty and Happiness are the two sides of the delicate Spirit. Beauty is the concrete facet, and Happiness is the abstract facet. When the man is happy, he radiates charm, and when he receives authentic beauty he becomes happy… Esoterically speaking, happiness is an injection of luminous energy in our chest from our eternal Spirit. This spiritually originated happiness creates unconditional love, a totally generous state inside of us. Anything that we become aware of is dressed up in our expanding compassionate wise love. Beautiful music is a way to awake our happiness and universal love. In fact, the source of Happiness is the Spirit, whose fragrance cannot be described in any song or poem - a spiritual consciousness embedding all beings of the Universe as one being. Little children, if they are properly fed, protected and healthy, then they are happy whatever they did, wherever they lived, because their incompletely incarnated soul is still close to Spirit. This is the hidden meaning of Jesus’ saying “only by becoming as small children shall you go into the Heavens Kingdom”. On the spiritual paths, the adult soul strives to regain this childlike condition, close to his Spirit.
When we are really happy (not falsely “contented”), then is time to think of God and that particle of Him that is sheltered in our heart. That is the moment of Grace when the Spirit within is flooding our chest with warm pure love. It is then beneficent to address to Him our thanks for the moments of joy. Wonderful art, amour also, are only occasions in which Happiness is temporarily blazing into our soul. In a while, they may lose their power of seduction. Where is our love gone? Why does the artistry excite us no more? Everything goes, everything changes (“Move on”, as ABBA sings), and the only permanence is the pure Beauty and Happiness of eternal Spirit.
Let us ask our dear Spirit, that is dwelling in our bodily carcass, to reach us by its angel wing and warm up our heart with its noble and blissful energy. It is not necessary for us to wait for the rare moments of falling in love or contemplating masterpieces of art, we may simply ask for our Spirit’s blessing. Its energy is part of God’s energy, having the same beautiful characteristics. Let us speak to it mentally thus way: “You, my divine Spirit, I ask you to fill my chest with the happiness in which you are eternally live into, give my your love fluid and let me feel myself as part of you, same as you feel part of Divinity! So help my Spirit of mine, same as God helps you!”. This is not a poetic metaphor, but the essence of fulfilling spirituality…
Our human limited consciousness is in fact an extension, a temporarily separated fragment from our Divine Spirit. It is the right of our troubled soul to feel at the maximum extent the Happiness in which the originator Spirit lives. Let us ask for it and we will be granted! At the same time, let us strive to deserve it, by harmonizing our thoughts and deeds with the Spirit’s intentions, for he should be contented with us…
* * *
The Internet keeps the memory of the Angels of Music alive, the legendary ABBA band, four charming young people. Maybe by watching them and listening to their music and lyrics we will be captivated into the trance of Happiness and Beauty. May God fill us with Love!
Bjorn, Agnetha, Benny, Frida
Ring, Ring (1973) >> Ring Ring • Another Town, Another Train • People Need Love • Nina, Pretty Ballerina • Love Isn’t Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) • He Is Your Brother
Waterloo (1974) >> Waterloo • Sitting In The Palmtree • Hasta Mañana • Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) • Honey, Honey • Gonna Sing You My Lovesong
ABBA (1975) >> Mamma Mia • Tropical Loveland • SOS • Bang-A-Boomerang • I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do • Intermezzo No.1 (instrumental) • I’ve Been Waiting For You • So Long • Medley: Pick A Bale Of Cotton/On Top Of Old Smokey/Midnight Special
Arrival (1976) >> When I Kissed The Teacher • Dancing Queen • My Love, My Life • Dum Dum Diddle • Knowing Me, Knowing You • Money, Money, Money • That’s Me • Why Did It Have To Be Me • Tiger • Arrival (instrumental) • Fernando
ABBA the album (1977) >> Eagle • Take A Chance On Me • One Man, One Woman • Name Of The Game, The • Move On • Hole In Your Soul • Thank You For The Music • I Wonder (Departure) • I’m A Marionette
Voulez-vous (1979) >> As Good As New • Voulez-Vous • I Have A Dream • Angeleyes • King Has Lost His Crown, The • Does Your Mother Know • If It Wasn’t For The Nights • Chiquitita • Lovers (Live A Little Longer) • Kisses Of Fire • Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) • Summer Night City
Super Trooper 1980 >> Super Trouper • Winner Takes It All, The • On And On And On • Andante, Andante • Me And I • Happy New Year • Our Last Summer • Piper, The • Lay All Your Love On Me • Way Old Friends Do, The • Elaine
The Visitors (1981) >> Head Over Heels • When All Is Said And Done • Soldiers • I Let The Music Speak • One Of Us • Slipping Through My Fingers • Like An Angel Passing Through My Room • Under Attack • Cassandra • Day Before You Came, The
DOWNLOAD or listen online to ABBA melodies (mp3)
LINKS:
Music, lyrics, photos, videos:
http://ro.getalyric.com/mp3/versuri/artisti/abba-3/
http://www.post2share.com/lyrics/abba/index.html
http://www.last.fm/music/ABBA/+charts?rangetype=week&subtype=tracks
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABBA
ABBA official website: http://www.abbasite.com/ (no songs to listen online)
Unplugged: ABBA & Olivia Newton-John & Andy Gibb (1978)