GOD MAKES THE MUSIC. THE DIVINE MAESTRO AND SOME MUSIC STORIES
Smitten By Faith - Issue Number # 000087 - 27th April 2024
This article is not about great compositions, musical performances, musicians, techniques, genres, styles or musical traditions. Instead, it’s simply about God making the music. I hope that reading about God - as the divine maestro - sprinkled with some music stories, will take you to the emotional and spiritual dimension of music - elevating and connecting us with God and all that is good and pure.
“I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music.”
( J.S Bach)
When the legendary Saint Augustine of Hippo ( 354 -430 BCE ), one of the greatest saints, scholars and theologians of the Catholic church who also loved music wrote about his late conversion to the Christian faith, he used music to describe the extraordinary joy and elation he felt at his Baptism. In his book ‘Confessions’ which is a dialogue with God, Saint Augustine tells us how his own personal experience and love of music enabled him to connect intimately and completely with God. Saint Augustine addressing God with all humility, wrote :
“ The tears flowed from me when I heard your hymns and canticles, for the sweet singing of your Church moved me deeply. The music surged in my ears, truth seeped into my heart, and my feelings of devotion overflowed.”
( Saint Augustine of Hippo – Confessions )
Above : ‘Creation of the Universe’ by the great Venetian master, Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo ( 1727-1804); pen and gray ink with brown wash on laid paper; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
Do you know that God loves music ? YES ! Yes. Yes. This is perhaps a most agreeable and sublime truth for the millions of us who love music and know that since we have been created in the image of God, then God must also love music ! Look at the awesome artwork above, the ‘Creation of the Universe’ by Tiepolo, one of the greatest Venetian 18thcentury masters. It’s just an ink drawing and yet, you cannot fail but be mesmerized and flabbergasted by the magnificent figure of God. See how he is waving his arms high up in the air - the divine maestro – on his podium of heavenly clouds with his orchestra - the streams of angels - closely gathered around him; God bringing all the elements of creation together as if conducting his very own orchestra. Wow !
At the creation of the universe, when God made all things,
“…the morning stars sang together and the angels shouted for joy.”
(Job 38:7)
The famous composer J.S Bach believed that “…the final aim and reason of all music is nothing other than the glorification of God and the refreshment of the spirit.”
Indeed, you need only to look at the Bible which is full of references to music and the whole range of musical instruments ( from flutes, harps, lyres, reed-pipes, bells, tambourines, cymbals, trumpets, horns -the shofar- and of course the human voice gloriously singing ). Our faith; this belief in God undeniably offers us a framework to not just enjoy music but also to bring us closer to God. With music as our cadence of faith, we praise and glorify God and his great deeds; we acknowledge his love and his compassion for all of humanity.
“ Sing to him; sing praise to him; tell him of all his wonderful acts.”
( Psalm 105:2)
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy;
Let them sing before the Lord.”
( Psalm 98 :4-9 )
Psalm 98 is astounding. It invites us and all of Earth’s creation to add its own instrumental mix. The sea and all that fills it; the world and all that live in it are invited to roar and make the sound of thunder. The rivers are invited to clap their hands and the mountains to sing together for joy. What an imagery; what an orchestral gathering for the grand crescendo ! We can literally hear the angels hitting the high octaves as they sing with ceaseless praise and joy at the creation; an awesome choir singing before God.
Above : ‘The Wedding at Cana’ (1563), oil on canvas by Paolo Veronese( 1528-1588); Louvre Museum, Paris.
Left : Detail from the painting showing the musicians performing at the wedding. They are seated in front of Jesus, Mary and some of the honoured guests.
The magnificent and monumental painting above, the renowned ‘Wedding at Cana’ by Paolo Veronese is perhaps the largest painting at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Do you know that this painting is actually located in the same room - at the wall directly opposite the Mona Lisa ? And yet, I wonder how many people only come to view the Mona Lisa and in the process of queuing to get their iphone picture forget to lift their eyes to look across the room! They eyes would have held the beauty of this spectacular painting by Veronese. So, now look again at this painting, the ‘Wedding at Cana’. Set your eyes on the detail of the musicians. You will see that Veronese has taken the liberty of not only including himself in the artwork but also some well-known Renaissance artists. It’s rather amazing. Look at the musician in the white tunic playing the viola da braccio. It’s Veronese himself! In front, next to Veronese, is the famous artist Titian, in a red tunic, playing the Renaissance version of the double bass called the violone. Standing beside Titian is the celebrated 15th century Italian poet and playwright, Pietro Aretino. Then, seated behind Veronese, we see other musicians: the artist Jacopo Bassano playing the cornetto, a wind instrument and the bearded artist Tintoretto playing another viola da braccio. Also, sitting in the background, you can see more musicians playing different stringed instruments of the late Renaissance period such as the lute and the violone. The viola da gamba is being played by Diego Ortiz, the Chapel Master of the Court of Naples. What a musical gathering of notables ! As you view this great painting, you must surely feel like tapping with your feet in tune to the fabulous sounds of music.
SAINT CECILIA, PATRON SAINT OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS
Right : ‘St Cecilia Playing The Organ’; oil on canvas by Jacques Stella, Louvre Museum, Paris. Saint Cecilia is often portrayed with the organ.
Left : Saint Cecilia immortalised in beautiful stained glass at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Junction City, Ohio, USA.
Almost two thousand years ago, in the 3rd century, a Roman aristocrat, a virgin and a pure and talented musician who loved God and music was violently martyred for her faith. This was SAINT CECILIA who today is known as the patron saint of music and musicians. When Cecilia was between 12 to 15 years old, she was betrothed against her will to Valerian, a young pagan aristocrat. Cecilia who had a very close relationship with God and was visited by angels on a regular basis took a vow of chastity in spite of her impending nuptials. During the bethrothal proceedings when she took her marriage vows, Cecilia was not afraid to show her faith and resist her groom. She astounded all by sitting apart and “sang in her heart to the Lord” as the musicians played at her wedding. After the ceremony, Cecilia told her husband about her Christian faith and her vow of chastity. When Valerian asked for a sign, an angel appeared and not only did Valerian agree to respect Cecilia’s vow of chastity, he ( together with his brother ) were also converted to Christianity. However, as Christians, they were now all pursued and persecuted by the Romans and Valerian and his brother were martyred. Cecilia’s martyrdom soon followed but hers was gruesome and cruel. The Romans tried a few times to put her to death, first by boiling oil, then by fire and finally by be-heading ( with many failed blows before finally succeeding). Saint Cecilia was in excruciating pain at the end and suffered a lot. Cecilia was buried in the catacomb of St. Callistus, near Rome. At the beginning of the 9th century, her incorrupt relics were discovered in the catacomb and she now lies in Rome at the Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere.
RACHEL CHEUNG - REACHING OUT TO GOD WITH HER MUSIC
Above : Some pictures of the remarkably talented and rare musician, Rachel Cheung from Hong Kong
Fast forward to the light and let’s go to our modern 21st century.
Let’s meet a wonderfully talented musician from Hong Kong – RACHEL CHEUNG, a finalist for the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition who made her Carnegie Hall debut in New York in 2018. Rachel has received numerous international awards, too many to name and has appeared in prestigious music festivals worldwide. She has performed with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Chamber Orchestra to name but a few.
On the effect of music and God, I would like to quote here from Rachel Cheung’s comments on music in the book, “Millennials Meet Mary’ :
“ As a musician myself, I totally resonate with the message that God creates music and arts to communicate with us, and how music and life are inextricably linked. What a precious gift He has given the world! I am eternally grateful that God has given me the ability to transmit love, together with all kinds of human emotions by playing music and sharing the arts with audiences worldwide.”
Rachel Cheung has also released some great music CDs including her exquisite interpretation of Chopin’s 24 Preludes - so varied in terms of expression (from ecstasy to despair), dynamics (from very quiet to clamorous), tempos (from slow to extremely fast), rhythm (from monotonic to ragged or loose) and colour (from warm to rough).
See below, an informal You Tube video of Rachel at her piano playing the Vivace from Chopin’s 24 Preludes, Op.28, Nr. 3 in G major. Rachel’s magical performance of this short piece of less than a minute exudes such virtuoso, grace, energy and style ! She takes my breath away. Bravo Rachel ! Click on the link below; enjoy the music and see how Rachel Cheung is able to draw the listener closer to God.
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I would love it if different churches held a weekly sacred music 'Christian karaoke 🎤 ' with just a short prayer, but a focus on music where everyone could sing some of the selections, maybe others done by groups or individuals.
They could provide coffee and cookies 🍪 at intermission, raising some money. A donation box would be available.
Not long: 3 songs, intermission, 3 more, prayer, close.
An hour maximum. Churches could be more uplifting.