The Great Work

Reflection No. 21

A VOICE:
Look up, look up,
prepare the way
the infinite descent
A breath in air
floating down
Glory to …

It is the voice of The Angel, four divine emanations — Fluor, Phosphor, Lumen and Candle — manifested in one in the play Angels in America by Tony Kushner. 

Ever since I listened to Sara Perez talk about the Priorat, ever since the land and its people captured my heart, I have been thinking about that haunting voice of the Angel as she said "I, I, I, I" in four voices, possessed of the four emanations of light, delivering one essential message to save existence: "The great work begins!"

Not that long ago the Priorat was one of the most depressed regions of Spain. The vines were all but abandoned. Families had to move to cities in order to survive. The revival began when René Barbier and his friends arrived with a belief in the region and a dream. The result of their efforts received international attention and the region came alive again. But now, in the words of the Angel, "the great work begins" to recognize the value of history and preserve the distinction of the landscape and the spirit so deeply rooted to it.

Many in the Priorat are working in the traditional ways, using mulas to turn the soil of the steep slate-covered slopes, looking to the moon for guidance, using organic treatments instead of chemicals. They show by example that heritage has value. It defines the Priorat as a place not just of good wine but of blood, sweat, tears and devotion to the land. The great work has begun.