Gratitude for Singers

This post is being written in the early morning of the day after an amazing concert by The Michael O’Neal Singers.  There is no doubt the members of the chorus were tremendously  ”aided and abetted” by the excellent Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra, and four outstanding vocal soloists (Katie Baughman, Heather Witt, Adam Kirkpatrick, and John LaForge), but this post is directed toward my beloved chorus.   I am filled with thankfulness today for singers who have poured their hearts and souls for the past seven weeks into the preparation of one our great choral/orchestra masterpieces, the Mass in C Major by Ludwig van Beethoven.   During the rehearsal process I have observed with appreciation as the singers have exibited a growing understanding of the music and an empathy with the intentions of the composer.   All this resulted yesterday afternoon in one of the most satisfying concerts it has ever been my privilege to conduct.  A major goal of any conductor is to be “in sync” with his or her ensemble.  I felt that connection with MOS yesterday and I am enormously grateful for the experience.

Beethoven and Suffering for Art

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote an amazing document in 1802.  It is known as the Heiligenstadt Testament and it is actually a letter addressed to his two brothers, Carl and Johann.  It was discovered among Beethoven’s papers following his death in 1827 and there is no evidence that it was ever delivered.  Still, considering the content of the document, I imagine it was a cathartic experience for Beethoven just to put the words on paper even if it was seen by no person during his lifetime.

It is heartfelt writing and comes as a result of the increasing sense of desolation felt by Beethoven as his hearing loss was growing more profound.   In this document he strove to impart the reasons for his withdrawal from society and to provide assurances that he most sincerely wished for human love and companionship.  Here are some of the words he said:

Oh you men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn, or misanthropic, how greatly do you wrong me.  You do not know the secret cause which makes me seem that way to you.  From childhood on, my heart and soul have been full of the tender feeling of goodwill, and I was even inclined to accomplish great things.

I was soon compelled to isolate myself, to live alone.  If at times I tried to forget all this, oh how harshly was I flung back by the doubly sad experience of my bad hearing.  Yet it was impossible for me to say to people, “Speak louder, shout, for I am deaf.”  Ah, how could I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense which ought to be more perfect in me than others, a sense which I once possessed in the highest perfection…My misfortune is doubly painful to me because I am bound to be misunderstood; for me there can be no relaxation with my fellow men, no refined conversations, no mutual exchange of ideas.  I must live almost alone, like one who has been banished.

…I would have ended my life – it was only my art that held me back.  Ah, it seemed to me impossible to leave the world until I had brought forth all that I felt was within me.

These are but a few of the words shared by Beethoven in this remarkable document.  I encourage you to read the entire Testament (it is readily available on the internet).  It offers valuable insight into one of our greatest composers, and as many of us prepare to perform his Mass in C Major in a few short weeks, I would hope a contemplation of Beethoven’s thoughts would bring a greater empathy to our performance.

Worth a Second Listen

The Michael O’Neal Singers and Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra will be joining forces at the end of February for two performances of music  by Ludwig van Beethoven.  The program will consist of the Symphony #3 (Eroica) and the Mass in C Major, two masterpieces from Beethoven’s “middle” period of composition.  Although he had not yet arrived at his ultimate style, as evidenced in works such as Symphony #9 and Missa Solemnis, there can still be heard in the Eroica and Mass a genius in the process of developing his “compositional voice.”   Beethoven managed to pay homage to the greats who preceded him, men such as Haydn and Mozart, by acknowledging the forms and styles of the Classic period, yet at the same time finding ways to push the limits of those forms and styles.

The Mass in C Major was written as a commission for Prince Esterhazy in honor of his wife, Marie Esterhazy.  Beethoven knew as he wrote the Mass in C Major that he was following in the footsteps of Franz Josef Haydn, who had been in the employ of the Esterhazy family for many years and had written several very successful earlier masses for the Princess.  Beethoven recognized that his composition would be compared to those of Haydn, and in fact, the Prince was very disappointed in Beethoven’s work.  Following the first performance on September 13, 1807, the Prince was overhead saying to the composer, “But my dear Beethoven, what is it you have done now?”  The Prince did not hear in Beethoven’s music what he expected and wanted to hear, which would have been something familiar and comfortable.  What Beethoven had done, of course, was listen to his own muse and create a work that was pleasing to himself.  While we listen to the  Mass today and recognize it to be a magnificent piece of music, we hear it with ears “conditioned” not only by Beethoven’s later works, but also by the 200 years of composition that have occurred since its creation.

Perhaps this should be a reminder to all of us to be willing to give music that is new to us a “second listen” before deciding whether we like it or not.  By doing so we open ourselves to many remarkable musical experiences.  Thank goodness Prince Esterhazy was not the final judge on the Mass in C Major! 

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ludwig van Beethoven

Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 83 today, January 15, 2012, had he not been struck down by a sniper’s bullet on April 4, 1968.  He was only 39, but consider what he was able to accomplish in those few years.  Our nation was shown a better way to live and treat others through his words and actions.  As younger generations, both black and white, learn of this “larger than life” figure only through recorded historical accounts or the ever decreasing first hand accounts of persons who knew him, I can only hope we will continue to honor him as one of the greatest persons of the 20th Century.  While a national holiday exists to commemorate his life, it would be unfortunate if it became nothing more than just another “day off” for the majority of Americans.

I have always believed one of the best ways to honor Dr. King on his special day is to do something of value in his memory.  For that reason, MOS regularly rehearses on MLK Day each year.   Always at this particular rehearsal I am reminded how important it is for us to learn and perform music that moves us to a higher plain.  We are fortunate this year to be doing that with Beethoven’s Mass in C Major.  There is even a “King-Beethoven” connection in one of MLK’s quotes.  King uses Beethoven’s music as an example of something being done at the very highest level, and he reminds us in his statement of the importance of doing anything we do to the best of our ability.  Here’s the quote:

If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.

The world is a better place because of individuals like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ludwig van Beethoven.   Our lives are made richer because they lived.