It was a dark and cold winter afternoon, but the interior of the parish of San Bruno, in Madrid, was vibrant with light and illusion. All the seats in its spacious interior were occupied, even the last row against the wall; those who arrived at the end of the hour were only able to sit down thanks to the generosity of those who were punctual, who squeezed into the pews to make room for them. What could bring so many people together in a parish, at a dark hour of a cold afternoon, the weekend before Christmas?
The answer is only one: Him. Her Word. That afternoon the parish was flooded with the songs of Ain Karem, who presented their new CD:
On Saturday, December 20, Ain Karem shared for the first time publicly the songs of the new CD in front of an attentive audience. Prayer, as always in their meetings, occupied a central place; but there was also dancing, singing by the whole audience in song, and moments of sharing.
The anticipation and eagerness for this moment had been building up for years: Ain Karem’s previous release had been in February 2019, when they released the CD “Fuego y abrazo”.
Since then, they have held numerous prayer meetings, where the gathering around the Word is done through their music. Also, on August 28 of this year, they published the Hymn of the Vedruna Bicentenary, “Woman of the Confident Yes” in three languages, which is listened in the Vedruna presences of the whole world.
Throughout this time, they have worked to gradually create “Vivirás”, which will be available very soon on digital platforms.
They started recording in the summer of 2021, but with the pandemic and losses in between, the different circumstances made it take longer than usual, and they had to elaborate it in different stages. In their words,
To generate something like a CD, it takes time and dedication that we didn’t have this time. So we had to wait. And to find the space again, which is not easy.
The creation of a CD is also a collaborative work, involving many different people. In the artistic production, as in the first CD, it was done in “La Factoría Dalton”, with Josema Dalton: with him we build each song as if we were in a craft workshop. In the musical part, this time they recorded the choirs in Madrid, in David Santafé’s studio; and they counted on a group of students from the Vedruna School of San Fernando. A new violinist, Raquel Pavón, also participated, as well as two people at the piano, Jose Mª Chamorro and Juan Fernando Sempere. In the visual part, the drawings of the CD exposed in the parish during the presentation, are a creation of Miguel Angel Olivares, an artist and Salesian priest, who brings a lot of beauty; while Yasury Romero, friend and part of the Vedruna family, was in charge of the design and layout.
To learn more about the new creation, nothing better than talking directly to Ain Karem.
P. “Vivirás” is a beautiful title, what texts have inspired you to compose the new songs? How did you come to choose this title?
The song “Vivirás” (You will live) is at the center of the CD and was born in the time of the pandemic. It is inspired by a beautiful text of the prophet Ezekiel, which encourages us to trust in a God of Life, who knows no boundaries to make his love reach us.
Other songs have found their raison d’être in texts of different gospels, letters, psalms… and, some of them, in texts of Joaquina.
We decide the title at the end, once everything is already recorded. We let it rest and after a brainstorming, we choose the one that, in our opinion, best conveys the essence of the compositions.
Q. What word or intuition do you feel that God wants to give to the people who listen to him?
Our songs are born in spaces of silence and prayer; they are the dregs that remain in our hearts and give us Life in the midst of life, to which we put music so that it does as much good as it does for us.
In the midst of a society that leaves so many lives out in the open, and seems to bury the hopes of many human beings, we desire that the promise of our God reach us and revive us: You will live, you will get ahead, cling to me in the night….
P. You usually describe what you do as “encounter music”. What encounters have you had recently that have influenced you to create this album?
We are fortunate collaborators with the Spirit, so that the Encounter between God and the woman/man who is available is given… by His Grace, channel of His Word. That is the Encounter.
Photos by Yasury Romero.
P. You also speak of your music as a mediation for prayer and encounter with God and people. How have you lived this purpose in today’s context, with so many different forms of spirituality and musical language?
Ain Karem brings its uniqueness, within this context that you mention. Each initiative brings its unique and special value. The thirst for transcendence is there and everyone seeks how to quench it. In the awareness of the impossibility and foolishness of trying to “enclose” God in an idea or expression, our song is like a small tesserae of the infinite mosaic of God’s face.
P. This is your ninth album. It will soon be 25 years since Ain Karem was born, how do you feel looking back at the road you have come?
Thank you very much. This is a great gift. We have said on other occasions that our vocation, that of each one of us, a response to God’s call, has deepened, widened, affirmed, also thanks to Ain Karem.
Q. What are your dreams for the future of Ain Karem?
May the Word continue to reach and encourage us greatly, and may we continue to share it.
The presentation of “Vivirás” can be seen on the event’s YouTube broadcast:
Ain Karem’s music is available at:
