Michael Appelt

What does harmony really mean?

Not harmony only as a musical idea, but harmony as a way of seeing life: the hidden connection between people, nature, memory, beauty, and the world around us.

This new episode of Musical Poetry begins a series on harmony, inspired in part by the documentary “Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision”, which explores King Charles III’s lifelong interest in nature, sustainability, traditional wisdom, and the idea that humanity is part of nature, not separate from it.

That thought led me to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem “Each and All.”

Emerson, who lived from 1803 to 1882, was one of the great American voices of the nineteenth century and a central figure in Transcendentalist thought. His writing often invites us to look at nature not merely as scenery, but as something full of meaning, spirit, and connection.

In “Each and All,” Emerson reflects on a simple but profound truth: beauty does not exist in isolation.

A bird is not only a bird.

A shell is not only a shell.

A river is not only water moving through a landscape.

And a human life is not complete when cut off from the whole.

At the heart of the poem are the lines:

“All are needed by each one;

Nothing is fair or good alone.”

For this episode, Emerson’s poem has been transformed into a contemporary Irish folk song. The music gives the poem a new emotional landscape: open, reflective, natural, and quietly uplifting.

The result is a meditation on beauty, belonging, nature, community, and the fragile music of being human together.

In a time when so much pulls us apart — noise, speed, ambition, division — Emerson’s message feels deeply relevant.

Harmony is not sameness. Harmony is relationship. Each part keeps its own voice, but becomes fuller when it belongs to the whole.

You can listen to the episode here: