Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 20:59:45 -0600
From: James Jordan 
Subject: (urth) Lupine Music

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While we're briefly on the subject of music, church and otherwise:
         1. My claim that the Lutheran tradition has produced the most good 
hymns was not a comment on current hymnals, which are all smorgasbords. The 
modern Anglican and Methodist are quite good, as is the Christian Reformed 
Psalter/Hymnal (which has the added advantage of the French/Genevan and 
Dutch traditions) -- but many of the hymns in these books that people 
consider the richest are in fact Lutheran in origin -- and there's a reason 
for this. There's good stuff in all traditions, from Sarum Chant to Black 
Gospel. There was, however, a certain "peak" of hymnody, both musically and 
textually, in the late Renaissance and early Baroque in the Lutheran areas 
of Yerp -- not in the Catholic areas, because they were stuck with earlier 
plainsong, and not in Calvinism, because they sang only psalms. And I mean 
pre-Bach. Bach is too rich for true congregational hymnody, and he 
straightens out the original jazzy rhythms.
         I'll get to Wolfe, but for the interest of the few: Luther was a 
musician himself, and an excellent poet. He set in motion a church 
tradition that prized musicians more than any other tradition had done 
before or since. The results were predictable over the next century and a 
half. These were educated and trained musicians and poets, who had a 
sensitivity to what congregations of ordinary people could sing -- even if 
they also wrote for courts and professional choirs. They took folk 
traditions and Catholic plainsong traditions and moved them up a few 
notches. If you play the piano, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of the 
old Missouri Synod "Lutheran Hymnal" (1940) and just play though it. You 
will be astounded: at the texts, at the melodies and their rapid harmonic 
motion, and especially at the jazzy rhythms.
         But let me remove my "minor in music history" and "Professor of 
Liturgical Theology" hat, and add for everyone's interest:
         2. I wrote Wolfe a decade ago a list of questions, including what 
kinds of music he likes best. (Jack Vance, for instance, is a fan of 
authentic improvised jazz.) I wondered if Ockeghem, or Bach, or Mozart, or 
Shostakovich, or Messiaen, or bluegrass, or Gregorian chant, or what? (I 
didn't bother to ask about rock; I'd read enough Wolfe already). He replied 
that he favors filk, and that was his hobby music. So, SF all the way when 
it comes to old Gene!
         3. Hey! Did anybody see "Futurama" two weeks ago? Leela's first 
name turns out to be Turanga. Turangalila (pronounced Turanga Leela) is the 
name of a 10-movement symphony by Olivier Messiaen (an absolutely WILD 
piece of music, but hardly standard repertoire; a cult classic, so to 
speak). I was astounded at this allusion. It can't be a coincidence. I 
wonder if "turangalila" appears in any context other than as the title of 
Messiaen's "hindu symphony." I've never heard of it, if so. Messiaen on 
Futurama? Amazing. (No musical quotes on the show, however. Still, my jaw 
dropt!)

Nutria the Almost-Nutricious


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While we're briefly on the subject of music, church and
otherwise:

        1. My
claim that the Lutheran tradition has produced the most good hymns was
not a comment on current hymnals, which are all smorgasbords. The modern
Anglican and Methodist are quite good, as is the Christian Reformed
Psalter/Hymnal (which has the added advantage of the French/Genevan and
Dutch traditions) -- but many of the hymns in these books that people
consider the richest are in fact Lutheran in origin -- and there's a
reason for this. There's good stuff in all traditions, from Sarum Chant
to Black Gospel. There was, however, a certain "peak" of
hymnody, both musically and textually, in the late Renaissance and early
Baroque in the Lutheran areas of Yerp -- not in the Catholic areas,
because they were stuck with earlier plainsong, and not in Calvinism,
because they sang only psalms. And I mean pre-Bach. Bach is too rich for
true congregational hymnody, and he straightens out the original jazzy
rhythms. 

        I'll get
to Wolfe, but for the interest of the few: Luther was a musician himself,
and an excellent poet. He set in motion a church tradition that prized
musicians more than any other tradition had done before or since. The
results were predictable over the next century and a half. These were
educated and trained musicians and poets, who had a sensitivity to what
congregations of ordinary people could sing -- even if they also wrote
for courts and professional choirs. They took folk traditions and
Catholic plainsong traditions and moved them up a few notches. If you
play the piano, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of the old Missouri
Synod "Lutheran Hymnal" (1940) and just play though it. You
will be astounded: at the texts, at the melodies and their rapid harmonic
motion, and especially at the jazzy rhythms. 

        But let me
remove my "minor in music history" and "Professor of
Liturgical Theology" hat, and add for everyone's interest:

        2. I wrote
Wolfe a decade ago a list of questions, including what kinds of music he
likes best. (Jack Vance, for instance, is a fan of authentic improvised
jazz.) I wondered if Ockeghem, or Bach, or Mozart, or Shostakovich, or
Messiaen, or bluegrass, or Gregorian chant, or what? (I didn't bother to
ask about rock; I'd read enough Wolfe already). He replied that he favors
filk, and that was his hobby music. So, SF all the way when it comes to
old Gene!

        3. Hey!
Did anybody see "Futurama" two weeks ago? Leela's first name
turns out to be Turanga. Turangalila (pronounced Turanga Leela) is the
name of a 10-movement symphony by Olivier Messiaen (an absolutely WILD
piece of music, but hardly standard repertoire; a cult classic, so to
speak). I was astounded at this allusion. It can't be a coincidence. I
wonder if "turangalila" appears in any context other than as
the title of Messiaen's "hindu symphony." I've never heard of
it, if so. Messiaen on Futurama? Amazing. (No musical quotes on the show,
however. Still, my jaw dropt!)


Nutria the Almost-Nutricious



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