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The Spark+Echo Band brings to life the wild imagery of Isaiah 6 in their lively song Ruined, featuring nimble flute and piano underscoring Isaiah's text.

Isaiah 6

Ruined

By 

The Spark & Echo Band

Credits: 

Curated by: 

Spark+Echo Arts

2010

Image by Giorgio Trovato

Primary Scripture

In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew.
One called to another, and said,
“Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies!
The whole earth is full of his glory!”
The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Armies!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.
He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”
I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
He said, “Go, and tell this people,
‘You hear indeed,
but don’t understand;
and you see indeed,
but don’t perceive.’
Make the heart of this people fat.
Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart,
and turn again, and be healed.”
Then I said, “Lord, how long?”
He answered,
“Until cities are waste without inhabitant,
and houses without man,
and the land becomes utterly waste,
And Yahweh has removed men far away,
and the forsaken places are many within the land.
If there is a tenth left in it,
that also will in turn be consumed:
as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remains when they are felled;
so the holy seed is its stock.”

Isaiah 6

Six winged angels flying to your lips with a live coal, ravaged fields and ruined cities–Isaiah 6 is full of dramatic imagery. It's a vivid story filled with uncertainty and atonement that takes some time to sink in. This is the text that inspired "Ruined."


The recording is from the Spark+Echo Band's debut album.

Spark Notes

The Artist's Reflection

The Spark & Echo Band is a family outfit of songwriting-storytellers led by husband and wife duo Jonathon Roberts and Emily Clare Zempel. Their music brings forgotten poetry and wild stories from the Bible to life: visions of sparkling wheels in the sky, hunger and thirst, and legends of love as strong as death weave with memorable melodies and captivating rhythms. Drawing from a classical background, influenced by the pianism of Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds, and emulating Paul Simon’s narratival techniques, Spark & Echo sings epic tales of love and adventure.


The duo has collaborated on three full lengths albums (Spark&Echo, Inheritance, Cities Project), one video album (In the Clocktower), in addition to many theatrical collaborations, this very nonprofit, and two children. They live in beautiful Beacon, New York, with all of the above.



The Spark & Echo Band

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