a few days ago, i started a classical music youtube video on the tv system in our living room. my wife was resting in her recliner after completing a series of exercises for her knee, as i left the room to do a few chores around the house. when i returned, i found her weeping. i thought that she was in pain and asked if she needed some medication. she replied through her tears that the music was so beautiful and reminded her of our frequent access to wonderful music in the town we had moved from. there we had a symphony orchestra, a college that offered frequent free musical programs, and a church that supported lovely music in its services. in our new home, there is little interest in good music. only one of the churches in town consistently employs good music in its services, and it has a tiny choir that cannot sing the great choral music that we love. in most years, the only classical musical presentation is our community chorus's annual performance of the christmas portion of messiah, though last year we did add a spring concert of good choral music.
the school district here has an excellent music program, with fine choirs at the high school level. the leaders of the music program do not seem interested in providing leadership in the town outside their teaching responsibilities. it doesn't appear that they encourage their students to sing in the community or church choirs, nor are they active in bringing good music to the local churches, where so-called "praise music" is the mainstay of what congregations hear and sing. i wonder why there is this disconnect between what students sing at school and music in the "real world" of community life. like my wife, i long to hear music that nourishes both my heart and mind, music that challenges me to pay attention and listen carefully, but it seems the only way to access such music is through listening to recordings, which, though wonderful, are no substitute for live performances by fine musicians or by traveling seventy miles to a larger city that supports good civic musical organizations.
for both my wife and i, listening to good music is as important as eating and breathing. without it, life is not worth the living. it puzzles us that others don't have this same yearning for music that nourishes the heart and mind. hearing second-rate music is painful to us. we cannot abide listening to it and cannot support institutions that promote its performance. great music is as essential to a free society as great literature, drama, and visual arts. the glorification of mindless commercial music is part of the overall "dumbing down" of our culture that results in a populace that is willing to believe and support the lies that are foisted on us by donald trump and his ilk.
may we do what we can to promote those things that are noble and intelligent. may we use our minds to discern good from bad, excellent from mediocre, mindfulness from mindlessness. may we nourish our souls with beauty. may we love and care for that which makes us better people. shalom.
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