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- Feb 21, 2009
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Even though I must confess I’m not very religious anymore, every year around this time, Eastertide, I enjoy listening to Cat Stevens’s inestimably virtuous rendition of “Morning Has Broken.” The hymn is tinged with irony: A venerable Christian hymn affectingly and reverently sung by a later convert to Islam; arranged with a beautiful, melodic piano introduction by Rick Wakeman, the keyboardist for the progressive rock band Yes; a traditionally Protestant hymn written by Eleanor Parjeon, prolific children’s literature author and a convert to Catholicism set to the memorable melody of a venerable Scottish ballad.
In the line “Praise with elation, praise every morning, God's recreation of the new day,” Stevens pronounced the word “recreation” as “rec-ree-a-tion,” when the context in which the word appears means to “create anew” and not “activity done for enjoyment.”
My question is was Stevens’s pronunciation a mispronunciation as the then young singer didn’t understand the context and intent of the author, or was his pronunciation a valid alternative one to “ree-cree-a-tion”? Perhaps with British pronunciation? Just curious.
Anyway, Holy Easter to all who celebrate the occasion and please enjoy (beautiful visuals):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXWI6ISkzlI
In the line “Praise with elation, praise every morning, God's recreation of the new day,” Stevens pronounced the word “recreation” as “rec-ree-a-tion,” when the context in which the word appears means to “create anew” and not “activity done for enjoyment.”
My question is was Stevens’s pronunciation a mispronunciation as the then young singer didn’t understand the context and intent of the author, or was his pronunciation a valid alternative one to “ree-cree-a-tion”? Perhaps with British pronunciation? Just curious.
Anyway, Holy Easter to all who celebrate the occasion and please enjoy (beautiful visuals):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXWI6ISkzlI
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