Music (part 1)

 Third Monday of Lent

Lectionary texts for today:

OT: Numbers 21:4-9

NT. John 3:14-21

Psalm: 108:1-3, 17-22 (UMH 830)

In the daily lectionary there is usually, but not always, some relation between the OT and NT texts. You can understand John 3;14-21 without knowing about Numbers 21:4-9. Check it out.

Of my many regrets in life is that I never learned a musical instrument when I was growing up. My mother wanted me to take piano, as my older brother had. I wanted to play baseball. I won that argument. I wish I hadn't. I'm not playing baseball now, but I am listening to a lot of music. I've also read quite a few books on the subject. Not being able to read music is a detriment to me. Nonetheless, I've developed over many decades a good knowledge. Today I want to talk about classical music.

I became interested and started by classical records when I was in the 11th grade. In college I took three courses classical music. I started going to symphony concerts in college. I've been to hundreds of concerts since then, but none since an NC Symphony concert with Johnny Matthis last February 8. I miss it.  Covid has done enormous damage to the performing arts.

 

I won't go through my usual whole lecture on a subject, but I will lay out the basic periods in classical music history The dates are somewhat arbitrary and do overlap, but here's the basic. I'll give the name of the period, dates, and best known composer of that period.

Early--Before 1600                 Hildegarde of Bingen (though most of the period is anonymous)

Baroque--1600-1750              J.S. Bach

Classical--1725-1840             Wolfgang A. Mozart

Romantic--1800-1930            Ludwig vonBeethoven

Modern--1900-1970               Igor Stravinsky

Post Modern--1970--              Philip Glass

Here are some of my favorite works from each period:

Early: The Play of Herod (anonymous), Ordo Virtutum (Hildegarde)

Baroque: Mass in B minor (Bach), Adagio in G-Minor (Tomaso Albioni)

Classical: Symphony #41 "Jupiter" (Mozart) Overture to the Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)

Romantic: The Lark Ascending ( Ralph Vaughn Williams), Piano Concerto #3 (Rachmaninoff)

Modern: The Rite of Spring (Stravinsky), Concerto for Orchestra (Bela Bartok)

Post Modern: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (Henrich Gorecki), Short Ride in a Fast Machine (Adams)

 

Some would not separate Modern and Post-Modern. Many would use the word Minmalist instead of Post-Modern. Some would say 20thcentury rather than Modern. Impressionism (Debussy, Ravel) doesn't really fall into Romantic, though its the latter part of that time period. The impressionist saw themselves as anti-Romantic. "Classical" is a period within a genre of the same name--Classical

 

I have several hundred Classical CDs. I listen just about ever day. I have seen and heard many of the great orchestras and performers. It's hard to write about music. Vocabulary doesn't express the experiences I have in listening. It's something very deep in my soul. There is such profound beauty in so many works. I'll just relate one music listening experience. I went to a North Carolina Symphony performance in Duke about 40 years ago. They played Camille Saint Saens Organ Symphony (Symphony #3). It's a great, powerful work that needs great performance. I've heard it many times in performance. The North Carolina Symphony was really on it that Sunday afternoon like I've never heard them before or since. In the final coda, I felt like I was being lifted out of my pew, being drawn into the air by the power of full orchestra and massive organ and magnificent music. The power of full orchestra and organ seemed greater than the power of gravity. When the reverberations of last note had diminished to silence, the packed audience arose as one with thundering applause that went on for many minutes.

Next Monday will be on a different genre of music. 

God of all sound,

We give you thanks that you have given us humans the ability to put sounds together in an order that makes them beautiful, meaningful, and powerful. Help us to listen more clearly and to feel more deeply. Feed our souls with this nourishment that comes not through our mouths but through our ears. 

Amen

Faithfully,

Christian