Keep Winding the Clock

This may seem a strange title for a chant blog. However, I have been thinking recently about two aspects of the daily and weekly repetition of chanting: the effect that it has on my daily life and what it teaches me about simply “keeping at it.”

Living in a Benedictine community, we are privileged to chant the Divine Office multiple times a day. Catch me on a different day and I might say we have the discipline of chanting the Offices daily. Find me yet another day and I would say, “I can’t believe it’s already time to do the next Office – I can’t possible get there at this moment!”

When St. Benedict states in his rule to “prefer nothing to the work of God”–which in his case, Opus Dei referred to the Divine Office–I believe he knew all too well that at any given moment we might really feel inspired to get to the service and, in the next breath, not! However, regardless of feelings, he also knew how much we need repetition to stay focused on God.

Chant has the most wonderful and gentle way of reminding me that no matter the circumstances of the moment and their accompanying feelings for either good or ill, God is eternally present right now. Listening to the opening antiphon for Lauds, I am reminded that this has been the same sound heard at Lauds around the world, throughout this Easter season and for centuries! There are thousands of people today with all kinds of circumstances who are opening their mouths and chanting these words.

All of a sudden, I am not so focused on myself! Chant has the inherent ability to raise me out of myself and unite with others in this process of staying focused on God.

I can’t think of a better reason to “keep winding the clock!”

So Much Color!

We find ourselves today in a “liturgical waiting period” between the Feast of the Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost. The chants for both of these feasts always strike me with the extraordinary musical coloring of their respective texts!

Have any of you ever played the game where you stand and look up into the sky, and wait for others to stop and see what it is you are looking at? Well, the chants for Ascension do exactly this with each of us! For example, look at the opening of the Introit for Ascension – Viri Galilaei (O Men of Galilee) – in which angels ask the disciples why they are looking up. Instantly, your eyes will be led in an upward direction as will your voice, chanting from the bottom to the top of the mode on just the first two words!

The chants for Pentecost are equally descriptive but in a rather more “fiery” way. The Communion antiphon for Pentecost – Factus est repente (A mighty sound from Heaven) – opens with a dramatic horn-call motive that gives an almost operatic quality to the opening words.

These are but two examples of the incredible ways which the sound of the chant is really the “sound of the words.” If you have a moment, take time during this wonderful period of anticipation between Ascension and Pentecost to learn and chant these two works I mentioned and enjoy the “discovery process!”

Psalm 51: Have Mercy on me, O Lord

You might expect that this is a chant blog for Lent with such a title. No. At Friday morning Lauds, we chant Psalm 51 – perhaps the most well-known penitential psalm – throughout the year. Though we have often discussed beauty and the value of repetition in both the Divine Office and Eucharist, I think this psalm and chant deserve a special mention.
Chanting Psalm 51 reminds me that I am in need of God’s mercy and loving restoration. The gentle Mode VI antiphon creates an aural “portrait” of God welcoming us home, much as in the story of the prodigal son.
Chanting Psalm 51 reminds me that we are about to go into the weekend, which concludes with Sunday – the Lord’s Day. Though that may seem an obvious thing, I often forget this and think primarily (if not exclusively!) of the projects I must accomplish which received none of my attention through the week. Chanting Psalm 51 reminds me that I am in need of God’s mercy to help me prepare for the Sabbath.
Finally, and perhaps most important, chanting Psalm 51 reminds me that I need to offer God’s mercy, forgiveness, and love to others which has been so generously given to me. Once again, chant – the song of prayer – turns me and all of us to God’s loving and welcoming voice!

The Joy in Rehearsal

Any of us who are choir directors, choir members or choral accompanists know that one  - if not the - most important element of any good and effective rehearsal is attitude! Attitude effects every element of a rehearsal - from having good posture (or not!) so that our physical engagement is perfect for singing to our spiritual and mental approach to the music itself so that the message in the score takes on audible life.

One way that I have found that assists me is to remember "from whence I came." I do not for a moment believe I am alone in having had a series of extraordinary teachers and experiences from childhood all the way to today! How many of us take the time to stand back and actually recount those musicians - those people - with whom we have been so intimately involved in learning and practicing our art? It is so worth the time to do so.

I have mentioned before that Mary Berry, the extraordinary chant scholar and Augustinian nun, used to close all of her chant seminars with the question "You will pass this on, wont' you?"  She generally answered herself by saying "You must carry on." Every time I think of her and the smile on her face as she said this, my own level of joy rises! This is  one way that I have found to  "re-enliven" myself when I start to become bored with repetition of a piece or am having a day in which choir rehearsal is the farthest from my mind.

I hope you might find this helpful - let me know!

Understanding the Baroque Musical Titans - Buxtehude and Bach

       If you take a few minutes to do a basic internet search on the music of either Dieterich Buxtehude or J.S. Bach, you will rapidly discover documents that speak about vast influences on both men! They were the musical pinnacles of German baroque sacred music. They  traveled far and wide and did things like hand-copy the manuscripts  in order to learn styles of other composers from other lands. (Realizing, of course,  that there were no photocopying machines, no pdfs on-line, and no regional aircraft to cross what now seem like small distances). Bach himself crossed several hundred miles to hear Buxtehude perform his own music.

      I am making this point because this week's Gloriae Dei Cantores concert is music of Dieterich Buxtehude and J.S. Bach  - North German Baroque composers who were composing within about the same 75 year time span. It is a perfect opportunity to do some personal reading and study about two famous composers who were the musical embodiment of the German High Baroque spirit and musical language!  Then, if you are able to attend, I will be doing a pre-concert talk on these two men and together, we will discover even more about listening with "their ears."

         

Dieterich Buxtehude - A name worth getting to know!

When we think of music of the baroque, often the first (and perhaps only!) name that comes to mind is J.S. Bach. Bach's name is more than synonymous with the musical time period generally defined as 1600-1750. But, if you look at those dates, and realize that Bach was not born until 1685, an obvious question arises: "What was going on musically during the first 100 years of the baroque?"

The north German musical world of the early 17th century was centered around the music of Dieterich Buxtehude. Though Buxtehude is known primarily today for his "progressive"  organ music - that is, much more technically demanding and musically developed than that of his immediate predecessors - he left over 100 choral works which have only in the past 25 years been "re-discovered' and hailed for their beauty and depth! On our next choral concert, Gloriae Dei Cantores will be performing Buxtehude's cantata cycle entitled "Membra Jesu nostri" in which he pays musical homage to Christ on the cross, adoring first Christ's feet and ultimately, His face. The depth of musical illustration of this text is is simply mind-blowing. Having spent some time with this particular work, I have a much better understanding of why the young J.S. Bach would walk the  250 mile journey from Arnstadt to Lübeck to hear the music of Buxtehude and why he felt it was worth losing his job to stay a full three months to learn from this great master!

The Joy of Bach!

Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten (We run with stumbling but eager steps) - the 2nd movement of J. S. Bach's cantata, Jesu, Der Du meine Seele -  is among the most beloved and recognized works of J.S. Bach- why? Is it the delight to be found in the voicing of a soprano and alto "speaking" to each other in duet? Is it the "bouncing" instrumental bass line? 

We often speak of the "joy" found in the works of Bach but do we really stop to think about why we experience that beyond just the surface textures? While preparing this work, I was reminded of a touching conversation between coloratura soprano Beverly Sills and the 'Tonight Show" host, Johnny Carson. Mr. Carson, a long time friend of Ms. Sills, asked her if she was a happy person. Her response, to his surprise as well as the audience was "No, I am not". Ms. Sills went on to say that she loved her work and her family but that the suffering in her personal life would never allow her to be happy. But, FOR THOSE SAME REASONS, she was quite joyful!

It is my personal conviction that had J.S. Bach been asked Mr. Carson's question, he would have given an answer similar to that of Ms. Sills. He suffered great personal loss in both family and business and yet, what an outpouring of audible verve in his music. Here is why I believe that, without even knowing it , we are "hooked" by the music of Bach. He knew incredible suffering and yet offers such hope and joy. It is his suffering which produces such genuine hope and joy in his music - and a faith in God that is both grounded and unmistakable!