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I am grateful for the ways that Jesus continues to be present to me. This morning while walking to the subway station, a young girl, proudly pulling her backpack and walking behind her older brother (I assume), looked up at me and gave me most sincere and joyous smile that I have ever seen. I saw contentment and freedom written across her face. Throughout the day, she has been something of an icon. I picture that smile again in my mind and I can’t help but smile myself! What a gift!
And at church this week I’ve been enjoying rehearsals of the Clarion Music Society, an fine early music group that is using our Sanctuary to prepare excerpts from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio for a performance next Wednesday. Today I happened to walk in while they were rehearsing the alto aria, “Schlafe, mein Liebster.” Something about the music in that time and space spoke deeply to my soul. I felt loved, held with great tenderness. And as I left to run some errands afterward, the piece continued to work within me – a gentle reminder that I am indeed held in God’s loving arms, even as Jesus was held with great love and tenderness by his mother. Here’s a clip from Youtube – not the same as a live performance but a way to enjoy the beautiful music. (I found the video distracting, so I encourage you to close your eyes and enjoy!)
Schlafe, mein Liebster, genieße der Ruh,
Wache nach diesem vor aller Gedeihen!
Labe die Brust,
Empfinde die Lust,
Wo wir unser Herz erfreuen!
Sleep now, my dearest, enjoy now thy rest,
Wake on the morrow to flourish in splendor!
Lighten thy breast,
With joy be thou blest,
Where we hold our heart’s great pleasure!
I’m not a big concertgoer but I went to hear a performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony at a Saint Louis Symphony Fusion concert on Tuesday night. It feels strange to write but the sounds that I heard are still alive in me five days later. I think the piece is one of the great symphonic works of the 20th century but is not a symphony in the classic four-movement sense. Instead it’s something like a collection of 10 meditations. The symphony’s title is a combination of two Hindu words roughly translated “love song and hymn of joy, time, movement, rhythm, life, and/or death.” It covers all of this territory and then some!
The first third of the concert was comprised of “living” program notes given by conductor David Robertson in which the orchestra and soloists performed excerpts to give a sense of what to listen for. It was such a helpful way to enter Messiaen’s unique sound world. The commentary was brilliantly presented and included references to artwork and literature that gave a better understanding of the composer and his zeitgeist. There was a brief intermission and then the orchestra performed the symphony from start to finish.
For the first time ever, I kept my eyes closed during the entire performance. (No risk of falling asleep with this music!) And as I left the visual world behind my ears came alive. I started hearing amazingly rich colors and sonorities, was surprised and delighted by the form of the piece (fast-paced at times and very static in others), and felt a level of connection to the music that I have rarely experienced before. In the middle of the piece (end of movement five) I can still recall this shimmering final chord that overwhelmed me with its strength and deep power. I can still hear the doubling of several melodies with the unique combination of piccolo and bassoon. And then there were the bells…the joyous, exuberant sound of the piano, chimes and other ringing instruments. The orchestra played their hearts out; you could feel it. And the applause at the end was not the gratuitous, polite symphony fare. I jumped to my feet and went hoarse from shouting bravo. My hands hurt from clapping so hard. It was nothing short of amazing.
The music took me to a place that I have seldom been before and I’m not sure if it’s because I was open to it, there was a unique energy among the players and conductor, or it was just the luck of the draw. Somehow I also wonder if it has to do with the composer’s intention. I remember a section from the book Music and Color, which is a series of interviews with Messiaen. He talks with great ease about his Catholic faith, how it relates to his music, and how he intends his orchestral compositions (almost of which are rooted in the Christian faith) to transform the concert hall into a sacred space.
I certainly experienced this on Tuesday. It was a profoundly reconnecting experience that has made me deeply grateful for life, for the gift of music and for the amazing creativity and energy that the Creator has given to the humans who shape those sounds into life- and faith-affirming expressions.
Yesterday afternoon I heard an interview on NPR with Ma XiaoHui, an erhu virtuoso. It’s this amazing two-stringed Chinese violin that has a slightly nasal but amazingly rich tone. She plays Chinese folk music most of the time but has also adapted several pieces of classical music for the instrument. While talking about her transcription of Fritz Kreisler’s Liebeslied something she said really struck me:
“I don’t want to show people how great I am. That’s not the point at all. There’s the possibility [that] the famous melody played by my instrument can maybe give you another beautiful picture of this piece.”
What a beautiful understanding of what it means to perform and share music with others.
