Enigmatic Messiaen

There’s been a lot of talk about composer Olivier Messiaen this year, in SDG circles and elsewhere around the world, as 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the late composer’s birth. And alright I’ll admit it, I have only a sparse and cursory knowledge of Messiaen’s music. It’s one of the many things on my unwritten list of things to do—to give my full attention to absorbing at least a few of Messiaen’s most popular works. Regardless, I already find myself drawn toward the model that Messiaen provides for Christian faith expressed in music that inventively commands attention from its audience, even from listeners who find its religious fervor off-putting (that would not be me).

One such listener is music critic Norman Lebrecht, who posted an article this week registering his complaint with the themes of music of Messiaen’s output, despite his respect for its craft. Here’s a bit of Lebrecht’s trouble:

There could be no doubt that Olivier Messiaen was a composer who spoke heart to heart, even if he left mine unmoved. Much as I appreciated his exquisite simulation of natural sounds, I refused to subscribe to his dogmatic certainties of religious faith and my place in the cosmos. Messiaen lodged in my critical faculty like a bone in the throat: a composer of great consequence whom I could neither ingest nor ignore.

.  .  . Blind faith belongs in church, not in the concert hall where those who doubt or deny are excluded. The artist’s job is to ask questions, not to affirm.

Lebrecht’s article is endearingly honest and I recommend it especially for anyone who tracks with the work of Soli Deo Gloria (click here for the full article). I’ve witnessed this sort of wrestling several times in the course of my work with SDG, most recently in remarks made by tenor Nicholas Phan. I think it’s part of sacred music’s value to prompt our thoughts toward the Divine, even if there appears to be no conversion or warming to faith at the end of the line. Lebrecht’s article brings to mind a recent NY Times feature that ends with the following anecdote:

My only encounter with Messiaen came during his visit to the New England Conservatory in Boston in 1986. I will never forget the enthralling performance he and Ms. Loriod gave of “Visions de l’Amen,” an audacious, wildly joyful and technically formidable work for two pianos. Taking questions from the audience, Messiaen was visibly moved when a young man asked, “Does a listener have to have had a spiritual experience to appreciate your music?” “Not at all,” Messiaen answered. But, he added, “it would be the highest compliment to me as a composer if you had a spiritual experience because of hearing my music.”

My pastor once commented that in our culture today it is “cool” to search for God, but not very cool to find him. Talk of a “spiritual experience” can seem suspect of that sort of spineless pluralism. Still, I’d like to believe that there are truths about God’s character and our “place in the cosmos”, as Mr. Lebrecht put it, that great music can get across to us in a disarming way, even if we are prone to resist. And I hope that that will be Norman Lebrecht’s experience in journing through Messiaen’s music the rest of this year—that he would find, as he wrote, “a key that unlocks the mystery of its attraction.”

September 11, 2008 | Filed Under Olivier Messiaen, Faith, SDG general | 1 Comment 

Kind words between political oponents

I’m getting sucked into the drama of the Presidential election. Admittedly, I’m not quite on the edge of my seat as I was this summer when swimmer Michael Phelps was racing for Olympic history, but maybe I’ll get there by November. In any case, I’ve noticed that when listening to the biting remarks both parties dish out toward each other—I’m sure we’ll hear plenty more over the next two months—my ears really perk up when the candidates say something complimentary about their opponents. I understand that’s not the point of the contest, but I find it warming nonetheless. So, for a little relief I’ve decided to start a running list of friendly exchanges between the major players. Here goes…

“Let there be no doubt, the Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect.” – Sen. Barack Obama

“Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. . . . Congratulations. . . . job well done.” – McCain to Obama, on the occasion of Obama receiving the Democratic nomination

“I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain.” – Sen. Barack Obama

“John McCain is my friend—and I know you hear that phrase used all the time in politics. I mean it. John McCain is my friend. We’ve traveled the world together. It’s a friendship that goes beyond politics. And the personal courage and heroism demonstrated by John still amazes me.” – Sen. Joe Biden

September 5, 2008 | Filed Under Culture | Leave a Comment